City Council targets young adult voters in new bill

Legislation is now in front of the City Council whose goal is to ensure that city high schools properly promote voter registration amongst graduating seniors.

The legislation – introduced by City Councilmember Ben Kallos and backed by Councilmembers Helen Rosenthal and Fernando Cabrera – would mandate the distribution of the forms in class rather than simply making them available or mailing them with diplomas.

“Voting and civic engagement must be a part of every child’s education so that they can grow up to become active participants in their democracy,” said Kallos, stressing that New York State ranks last among states for voting.

The bill would also require the Board of Elections to provide coded voter registration forms to public and private schools in order to improve tracking, as well as mandating that the Department of Education report annually to the Council on its efforts, as well as vital statistics.