Young people showed up at the polls. We need to teach young Americans to vote smartly
At the end of the 2018 spring semester of Advanced Placement Government class at Blue Valley North High School, students were offered an opportunity to register to vote. My grandson Brandon was one of those who took advantage of the opportunity and registered to vote along with many of his fellow classmates.
This past year, he and his friends voted in their first presidential election.
Across the country, youth turnout was much higher in the 2020 election than in 2016, according to Tufts University’s Center for Research & Information on Civic Learning and Engagement. Between 52 and 55% of voting-eligible 18- to 29-year-olds voted in the 2020 presidential election, compared to 42 to 44% in 2016.
When states such as Kansas prioritize civics in their schools, they have higher rates of civic engagement among their youth, says the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Center for American Progress.
Certainly the importance of engaging our youth in civic responsibility has never been more important as our country experiences the greatest assault on voting rights since the Jim Crow era.
At last count, legislators across the country had introduced 361 bills with restrictive voting provisions in 47 states.
In Kansas, lawmakers gave initial approval to bills that would strip the executive and judicial branches of some of their authority over elections and would limit who can return a mail-in ballot on behalf of another person.
On the other side of the state line, Missouri lawmakers have proposed a bill to make it illegal to send out absentee ballot applications unless voters specifically request them.
Despite the claim that these laws would “protect” our electoral system, instead they threaten to disenfranchise generations to come from participating in elections.
That is why during this era of misinformation, it is more important than ever that schools teach critical thinking skills, civics knowledge, and voting responsibility.
In Kansas, high schools are required to give a course of instruction in government and U.S. institutions, particularly the Constitution. Students cannot graduate without completing the course. Any eligible 17-year-old can register to vote with the disclaimer that the registration is only valid when the individual turns 18.
In Missouri, any student attending a public, charter or private school must pass a civics exam in order to graduate high school. The test uses questions from the United States citizenship and immigration exam. Any eligible 17 1/2-year-old may register to vote in Missouri.
However, it shouldn’t be just the job of schools to inform and educate the next generation on civics responsibility. State and municipal governments, community organizations, nonprofits and the business sector can offer resources and opportunities to young people that support civic engagement.
Further, as parents, grandparents, neighbors, and friends, we can encourage the next generation to get directly involved in politics and elections. Campaigns are always in need of volunteers, and there are ample opportunities for poll workers, translators, and clerks.
Finally, many young people have interests and passions that transcend politics of the day but are intricately involved in our system of government and laws, such as the environment and climate change, gun rights and safety, abortion rights, the death penalty, marijuana legalization, freedom of speech, data security, and on and on. Engaging young people in their interests opens a world of opportunity for an education in civics responsibility.
I have many reasons to be proud of my grandson, but one on the top of that list is his participation as a voter this past fall in the greatest democracy in the world.
Leawood resident Lisa Spigarelli is a co-founder of www.100yearsofthevote, which celebrates the passage of the 19th Amendment and continues to advocate for voting rights.
