Statement to the 16 Million Future Voters Now In US High Schools on the Failure of the US Senate To Pass Voting Rights Reform
Following the U.S. Senate’s vote against changing Senate rules to enable the passage of the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act yesterday, The Civics Center’s Executive Director, Laura W. Brill, issued the following statement to the 16 million future voters now in U.S. high schools.
The Civics Center encourages Congress to pass the Freedom To Vote Act
Executive Director Laura W. Brill celebrates the introduction of historic voting rights legislation, reflects on the inclusion of youth voting rights provisions, and calls for immediate passage.
Introducing Future Voter Scorecards: OC Edition
The Civics Center is introducing Future Voter Scorecards, which measure the percentage of registered voters among new 18-year-olds by school district. We are starting in Orange County, California, where approximately 35,000 young people will have turned 18 between last November’s election day and September 14 of this year, the final date to vote in California’s gubernatorial recall election.
On the 50th anniversary of the 26th Amendment, the need to protect voting rights is clear
Young people are as crucial to our democracy today as they were in 1971 when the 26th Amendment was enacted. It is time for our country to live up to its promise.
Statement on the For the People Act to 16 million Future Voters now in US high schools
Laura W. Brill, Executive Director of The Civics Center, issued the following statement to the 16 million future voters now in US high schools regarding their role in strengthening our democracy following Joe Manchin’s assertion that he will not vote for the For the People Act.
Youth voters in New York City high schools could shift the Mayoral race, if they’re registered
Tens of thousands of potential new voters will be graduating from New York City’s high schools in June, and polls show that next month’s primary election for New York City Mayor is a wide-open race. These youth voters could play a decisive role in the outcome of the election, but only if they are registered to vote.
The heroes of our democracy deserve more
You were the heroes of our democracy in 2020, and you deserve more than what this year has given you. You deserve a reliable and transparent democracy that welcomes you.
Happy Mother’s Day! 2020 Edition: Calling all moms.
A lot of lofty generalizations float around on Mother’s Day. One generalization that is often ignored is that moms perform a lot of unpaid labor at home and at work and solve problems that result from a lack of public planning. I know a lot of moms now who, when they are not worried about health and the economy, are worried about our democracy.
Governor Sununu: Don’t Make New Hampshire Choose Between Health and Voting
New Hampshire is the only state in the United States that requires its citizens to register to vote and update existing registrations in person.
Our beautiful yellow map
There are many different kinds of maps. Some show the present, like where the roads and rivers are. Some show past events, like the red / blue maps of an election night, proclaiming the count of votes already cast. There are other maps that show the future. They tell us about opportunity instead of objects or outcomes.
Students in North Carolina Take Advantage Of Voter Preregistration Law
As reported by a new analysis released today by The Civics Center, as of August 2019, an estimated 39% of 16- and 17-year-olds in the state were pre-registered to vote. North Carolina’s pre-registration rate exceeded the rates of many other states with similar laws.
New York’s Preregistration Law Goes Into Effect January 1. Counties are not paying attention, but students will.
The issue of low rates of voter registration among young people will be mitigated by allowing preregistration for 16- and 17-year-olds, who would then be automatically registered by the time they were 18. These voter reforms have enormous potential but, as always, implementation will be crucial to determining their effect.
California’s Preregistration Rate Is Up, But We Still Have A Long Way To Go
A recent report issued by the California Secretary of State shows a significant statewide increase in the number of 16- and 17-year-olds preregistered to vote. Between October 22, 2018 and October 1, 2019, most of California’s 20 largest counties experienced increases in preregistration rates.
Will the Class of 2020 Vote Next November? California’s Governor Just Vetoed Legislation That Would Have Made it More Likely.
Almost every member of the Class of 2020 in California high schools will be old enough to vote next November. But will they be registered? Governor Gavin Newsom just vetoed AB 773, which would have required public high schools to give students the opportunity to register or pre-register to vote and to teach students about the voting process.
In D.C., the Doors are Open
According to The Civics Center’s new analysis, as of August 2019, only 19% of 16- and 17-year-olds in D.C. are pre-registered to vote. Despite D.C.’s success in passing reforms aimed at removing obstacles to voter participation, there is still room for improvement, especially in fully engaging youth in the electoral process. An estimated 4% of D.C.’s 16 year-olds are pre-registered to vote, while there is a significant increase of pre-registered 17 year-olds at 35%.
Delaware’s Pre-registration Rates Lag Behind Many States
Despite Delaware’s high voter registration rate and efforts to continuously increase the accessibility of voting, this progress is yet to be reflected in the numbers concerning youth pre-registration.
Takeaways from Maricopa County: Sometimes you just have to ask
Arizona’s Maricopa County, home to Phoenix, has a population of over 4 million people, and approximately 119,000 of those residents are 16 and 17 years old. If they don’t already know it, we have some good news for them.
Br[e]aking Democracy
Last week Tennessee joined states like Texas that throw up barriers to citizen-led voter registration drives. Despite ranking 45th in voter registration nationwide (and 49th in voter turnout), the new Tennessee law threatens people and organizations helping to register their fellow Tennesseans with fines and criminal charges for a wide range of potential violations.
What Is Voter Suppression?
One of the reasons I started The Civics Center was to help high schools get the resources they need to teach students about democracy and how our governmental institutions should work. One issue that can harm our democracy and that needs greater understanding is voter suppression.
Texas needs to walk the walk
The Texas Secretary of State says he wants to improve voter registration rates among young adults by promoting voter registration in high schools. That’s going to be hard because Texas is pretty far behind when it comes to adopting rules that encourage youth voting.