[Mb-civic] Voters' Ed By JOHN B. ANDERSON and RAY MARTINEZ III

[Michael Butler]

The New York Times
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April 6, 2006
Op-Ed Contributors
Voters' Ed
By JOHN B. ANDERSON and RAY MARTINEZ III

Washington

HIGH school seniors already have a lot on their minds: SAT's, college
acceptance letters, job applications. But our democracy should demand
something else of these 18-year-olds: that they prepare to cast their
first-ever vote in this fall's Congressional elections.

Unfortunately, all too many young people will graduate from high school
without registering to vote and without even taking a class on the basics of
voting. We need a new "leave no voter behind" policy.

There is precedent for us to build on. In 1993, Congress passed the National
Voter Registration Act, which promoted voter registration at motor vehicle
and social service agencies. A recent survey by the federal Election
Assistance Commission measured steady increases in voter registration since
passage of the law.

Still, only 72 percent of eligible citizens were registered to vote in 2004,
according to the Census Bureau. And the registration rate among 18- to
24-year-olds was a dismal 58 percent, which helps explain why voter turnout
for this age group in the presidential election was far below the national
average. That's simply unacceptable.

We propose automatic voter registration for all high school seniors; our
goal is the registration of all eligible students before they graduate.

This approach would be a change from relying on private, nonprofit
organizations to register most voters. But it's a change worth making. High
schools, after all, are the ideal environments in which to introduce young
Americans to voting and to impress upon them the importance of active
participation in our democratic system.

Some jurisdictions have, in fact, already taken steps to establish
school-based voter registration programs. In New York City, public high
school graduates get registration forms with their diplomas. Hawaii allows
citizens to pre-register at 16, making it easier to achieve 100 percent
student registration. And in Vermont, Secretary of State Deborah L.
Markowitz has designated a "high school voter registration week."

Many high schools require students to fulfill a certain number of community
service hours to graduate. Under our plan, that community service could
include working in election offices. The hope here is that we would be
training the next generation of election administrators and, equally
important, providing poll workers who are comfortable with computers ‹ a
desirable qualification given our increasingly modern voting systems.

Finally, high school government or civics classes should not only explain to
students how to vote in their community but also emphasize the value of
lifelong voter participation.

Some election officials might worry that automatic voter registration would
create more work. But systematically registering students in classes would
decrease the number of errors on registration forms, teach students about
how best to change their addresses and get absentee ballots, and ease the
burden of processing new registrations near Election Day. New statewide
voter registration lists should also help reduce the likelihood of duplicate
names. Ultimately, election officials would save time and money.

Of course, voter registration is no guarantee of turnout, but it is the
first ‹ and often, most difficult ‹step. There is perhaps no better place to
begin this critical task than our high schools. By improving our
registration and education efforts, we will not only help protect the voting
preferences of younger Americans but the long-term vitality of our
participatory democracy. Let's not leave any voters behind.

John B. Anderson, a candidate for president in 1980, is the chairman of
FairVote, which promotes fair elections. Ray Martinez III serves on the
United States Election Assistance Commission.

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