Did your AP Gov Teacher Help You Get Registered to Vote?
Not every high school student is so lucky, and it shouldn’t be a matter of luck or privilege.
Laws in 26 states seek to create uniformity, access, and opportunity, not just for the few, but for all high school students, so they have a real opportunity to register to vote in high school.
Let’s start with New York State
They passed a law in 2023 requiring school boards to have voter registration policies. And New York City has recently amended its law so that NYC Public Schools, the largest school district in the country, will have greater obligations for helping students register.
The law doesn’t go into effect until the 2026-27 school year, but there is nothing preventing NYC schools from getting ready in advance and starting to implement the law now. What would that entail? First, it would mean actually distributing voter registration forms to high school seniors (instead of merely making them “available,” as current law requires). If you are scratching your head about what it means to make a form available, so am I. Are the forms stowed away in some file cabinet in an administrative office, only to be retrieved upon request? That’s not super helpful if the goal is to help students actually register to vote. So, NYC can start distributing now.
The other big advancement is that the new law will require NYC Public Schools to make forms accessible to people with disabilities. High school students with disabilities have just as much of a right to vote as anyone else, and it’s great that NYC is taking steps to make registration accessible. Again, schools really do not have to wait until the 2026-27 school year. Why not start addressing accessibility issues for students with disabilities for voter registration now?
The numbers surely warrant getting started sooner rather than later. We looked at NY’s voter file, and under 6% of 16- and 17-year-olds in NYC are preregistered. Those low preregistration rates translate into low registration rates for 18-year-olds, with only 33% of 18-year-olds registered in the City, even after the youth-mobilization of the NYC Mayor’s race in 2025. That’s a full 8 percentage points lower than the statewide rate for 18-year-olds and 47 percentage points lower than the statewide rate for NY voters ages 45-79.
We are often asked, how does this happen, and one answer we know to be true, is that low youth registration rates happen one month at a time, month after month, year after year.
Here’s what it looks like in NYC, where, except for big bumps associated with deadlines for the 2025 Mayor’s race, 18-year-olds are getting left behind in dramatic fashion.
This is a shock for many. They believe that young people register as a matter of course when they turn 18, or that their AP Government teacher manages to take care of everyone, or that DMV or online registration systems are working great for young people.
But none of this is true, or the numbers wouldn’t be this low.
So kudos to NYC for changing its law. Double kudos in advance to everyone in NYC Public Schools who will be involved in diligently implementing the new requirements. Triple kudos to NYC students who get a hold of this post, feel frustrated by their own disenfranchisement, and who are determined to stop the cycle starting now. I have the most hope in them because it is their right to vote, after all. They are the ones who can help their friends get registered and help their schools do more.
They are the driving reason we started The Civics Center, why we created our Cap, Gown & Ballot program, and why we’re working with great partners to get it done.
Pennsylvania & Ohio could use help, too
It’s not just NY that is trailing when it comes to making new voters. Every month, in nearby Pennsylvania and Ohio, which we’re also tracking, 18-year-olds are getting left behind, as well. Here’s their month-by-month tally of new 18-year-olds on the voter rolls from January 2025-January 2026.
And here’s a special bonus for those of you who like the super-granular look. When we go down to the school district level for populous counties, we see huge disparities and a huge need for interventions that work. See the Scorecards below to find your district.
