About This Webinar
Sponsored by the Albert Shanker Institute and the Civics Center, this session will give teachers the tools to help their students understand why voter registration and voting are important and how to lead voter registration drives in High School, both where laws encourage high school pre-registration and where they obstruct young people’s ability to register and to vote. High schools are the most efficient and equitable system for getting young people registered, particularly the 40% who do not attend college. The structure, support, and recurring educational cycle that high schools offer combine to create the conditions for the cultural change needed to make voting a habit that lasts a lifetime. Engaging young people in a positive way is critical to the effort. By focusing on high school students, we can foster an educational, nonpartisan framework for civic engagement, voter registration and casting a first ballot which is critical to the future of our democracy.
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Executive summary via On24 AI:
The webinar outlined how schools can build civic engagement through student-led high school voter registration drives, emphasizing that these efforts are most effective when students lead with support from a teacher and community partners.
Panelists shared practical models—classroom presentations, lunch-table signups, and event-based drives like cap-and-gown pickup—adapted to different state laws, including preregistration rules and, in some cases, in-person requirements. Key guidance included keeping drives strictly nonpartisan, ensuring equal access for all eligible students, avoiding incentives tied to registering, and using state statutes and standards to protect educators in polarized environments.
Community organizations such as the League of Women Voters and The Civics Center can reduce teacher workload by providing training, materials, form-handling support, and engagement tools, while The Civics Center also offers a data portal and classroom-ready inquiry lessons linking policy to youth registration rates. Speakers highlighted that high schools are the most equitable place to reach all young people and that student leadership in these drives can build confidence, transferable skills, and long-term voting habits.
