New legislation seeks to increase voter registration among California youth

Could engaging teens before they’re even eligible to vote help mitigate low youth voter turnout in elections?

A bill introduced this year by Assemblymember Eloise Gómez Reyes, D-San Bernardino, aims to do just that. Dubbed the High School Voter Registration Act, the legislation would ensure all high school students in California, starting with the 2026-27 school year, receive the opportunity and resources necessary to pre-register to vote at least once by the end of their 11th grade year.

“Unfortunately, millions of Californians pass up on the opportunity to exercise their democratic right to vote at every election,” said Reyes. “Currently only 11% of 16- and 17-year-olds in California are actually pre-registered to vote. By focusing on our youth and bringing the resources to them at their high schools, we can ensure more Californians, especially young Californians, are voting and developing the habit of doing so at an early age.”

According to Tufts University’s Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, California youth voter turnout was 22.1% in the 2022 midterm elections, an 8.2% decrease from 2018 and lower than the national average at 23%. In California, according to the Public Policy Institute,  young adults makes up the small percentage of likely voters.

The goal of the legislation is to get a variety of resources into students’ hands, including information on whether and when they’re eligible to vote, what kind of services they could receive from the county elections office and about the secretary of state’s online voter registration tool at registertovote.ca.gov.

Students would also be introduced to the Student Poll Worker program, which allows high schoolers age 16 and older who are U.S. citizens and maintain a 2.5 grade point average to earn a stipend working at the polls on Election Day.

And if a student or their parent or guardian asks for a paper copy of a voter registration card, schools would be required to provide it.

The legislation would largely leave it up to schools and education boards to decide how to provide these resources to students, but suggests engagement could be done in class or through family information sessions and school counselors.

The state already has several measures in place that provide access to young Californians to register to vote. High School Voter Education Weeks, for example, occur over the last two full weeks in April and in September and allow county elections officials to register students and school personnel on any high school campus.

Then there’s the California Motor Voter program launched in 2018, which automatically registers eligible Californians completing a driver’s license, state identification or change of address transaction through the DMV, unless they choose to opt-out.

Reyes said her legislation would provide comprehensive voter education within the school setting, engaging students before they reach the voting age.

“We need to find a better way to get our young people registered to vote. Get them engaged in a nonpartisan way, in a safe place in their high school where they can have dialogue,” she said.

Under the legislation, schools and education boards would also be allowed to contract with a third-party nonprofit with “demonstrated experience providing nonpartisan youth civic engagement” to implement the law.

The legislation is currently awaiting review in the Assembly Elections Committee.