In anticipation of the first Newark Board of Education election in which eligible residents as young as 16 can vote, a variety of student voter registration efforts were launched.
Superintendent León arranged for voter registration drives during lunch periods in all District high schools, a promotional video featuring Board of Education Student Representative Zuri McCune was released earlier this month, and the District partnered with the Victoria Foundation to hold a contest for the most civically engaged high school in registering student voters.
District and school officials at the Newark School of Data Science and Information Technology welcomed Governor Phil Murphy, Mayor Ras Baraka, Congresswoman LaMonica McIver, and other dignitaries for a student voter registration rally.
When the Newark City Council voted unanimously last year to allow 16-and-17-year-olds to vote in school board elections, about 6,600 Newark students gained the right to vote – over 91% of whom are Black, Latina/o, or from other communities of color. With this expansion of democracy, young people will have a say in who makes the rules that directly affect their daily lives.
The deadline for voter registration was March 25th. The Board of Education election is scheduled for April 15th.