Several high schools in Iowa will conduct voter registration campaigns on Tuesday. It is part of Secretary of State Paul Pate's annual effort to get young people involved in voting and elections.
Last year, Iowa changed the law to allow anyone who turns 18 on Election Day in November to register now. And they can vote in the June primary even while they're still 17.
Pate says hundreds of high schools participated last year.
“We alone had 22 high schools that accepted the challenge and registered 90 percent or more of their qualified students to vote, and we want to see us grow beyond that.”
Pate says a record number of young people aged 18 to 24 have voted in the last two elections in Iowa. For example, in 2020, the turnout for this age group reached 62 percent.
“I think it is important that young people are taken seriously and their voices heard in elections, whether it is school board elections, city elections or national elections. So registering them to vote is the first thing. It's a big step."
Working with county auditors, the Iowa Secretary of State reaches out to social studies teachers, principals, and youth groups to promote the annual High School Voter Registration Day.