A Model for Promoting Student Voting
BY JONATHAN B. PERMAR/School Administrator, September 2020

North Carolina’s Guilford County Schools transports eligible students to a polling site during early voting as part of its comprehensive voter education program. PHOTO COURTESY OF GUILFORD COUNTY SCHOOLS, GREENSBORO, N.C.

Last fall, Guilford County Schools in Greensboro, N.C., launched a comprehensive voter education program, during which nearly 3,000 students became registered voters, a 185 percent increase.

This initiative took shape as we considered recent scholarship on voter interest and turnout among young people that suggests, contrary to popular belief, they are overwhelmingly interested in politics and voting. Yet these young, first-time voters face barriers in understanding the process, registering and getting to a polling site. These obstacles disproportionately impact students of color and those living with poverty. Among our high school students, one of those characteristics applies to at least 66 percent.

Nearly all 28 high schools in Guilford County provide civic education and registration through courses, projects and voting drives. However, these are handled independently by individual teachers at different points during students’ education. When we considered the numbers — that seven in 10 individuals under age 24 who are eligible to vote don’t vote, and one in five who are eligible to register won’t register — we asked what else we could do as a school system.

Alongside a nonprofit community partner known as You Can Vote, we delivered nonpartisan, unbiased, fact-based education on voter requirements, registration and elected offices and supported students through the registration process. We established optional field trips to early-voting sites for eligible students to mitigate transportation barriers.

Shared Lessons

After a full year of operation, we have discovered a few key considerations.

»COMMUNITY PARTNERS. A partner dedicated to voter education and registration can help develop content around voter eligibility, registration and government offices, which helps provide uniformity in message. A community partner’s network of trained volunteers and organizations lends support in delivering the program. Our partner connected with the League of Women Voters’ regional office to reach even more schools.

»UNBIASED, NONPARTISAN AND CONSISTENT MESSAGING. By ensuring these qualities across all schools, we accomplish three things: eliminate opportunities for unconscious bias; honor our students and families by respecting their rights to their own beliefs; and emphasize civic engagement rather than politics.

»SCHOOL-BASED LEADS AND SUPPORT. Principals understand the climate and culture of their buildings. School schedules vary. Administrators and teachers engage with students and families differently. They are the ones who know the ins and outs of their buildings and can ensure classroom implementation runs smoothly.

High school students in the Chicago Public Schools show off their wristbands after voting in city elections for the first time. PHOTO COURTESY OF CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS

»EARLY VOTING. Transporting students to vote on Election Day can be difficult, if not impossible, for students, their schools and the polling places. Early-voting windows provide multiple days and opportunities for student voting.

»COLLABORATION WITH THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS. The local elections body can provide insight you might not get from others. They can suggest polling sites with more workers, larger parking lots or bigger spaces that can accommodate a school bus of students. They can help you understand and communicate regulations about voter registration and polling sites, which are important for students to follow.

»TRANSPORTATION. Without our transportation department, the logistics of providing travel for students to polling sites would have been impossible. We faced snowstorms, road construction and busy polling sites, and their ability to coordinate logistics quickly and flexibly with schools and drivers is what got students to polls.

»SUPPORTIVE, STRONG LEADERSHIP. From the school’s program leader to the superintendent, supportive leadership is necessary. Recognize that helping students register to vote and eliminating barriers that obstruct them from voting can be controversial.

Without a superintendent who believes young people should engage in their communities, this initiative never would have gotten off the ground. Without a district team ready to support students in exercising civic rights and responsibilities, implementation would be impossible. Without principals and teachers who believe the voices of their students should be heard, a program like this wouldn’t happen.

JONATHAN PERMAR is director of preK-12 social studies in the Teaching, Learning and Professional Development Department of the Guilford County Schools in Greensboro, N.C. Twitter: @JonathanPermar