7215 – Voter Registration for Students

Election Law §5-507 requires school districts to adopt a policy regarding the pre-registration of students aged 16- and/or 17-year-olds.

Currently, many states allow 16- and/or 17-year-olds to pre-register to vote. Getting young people involved in the election process allows them to form the habit of voting and contribute to civic life early. There is very little guidance at this time as to how this needs to be done. The district may choose to have collaboration with county boards of elections to conduct voter registration and pre-registration in schools. NYSSBA recommends leaving this up to the superintendent, building principals or other designees.

The Board of Education believes that getting young people involved in the election process helps to secure the future of democracy by preparing young people to be educated, engaged voters who have formed the habit of voting and contributing to civic life early.

In an effort to promote student voter registration, the Board directs the [superintendent, building principals or other designees] to offer all students who are at least 16 years old (but will not be 18 years old by the next election) the opportunity to register. These students must be otherwise qualified to register to vote. These pre-registrations will be automatically registered upon reaching the age of eligibility following verification of the person's qualifications and address.

References

• Election Law § 5-07