Mayor Steinberg applauds push by schools to sign up voters as young as 16

More than 200,000 high school students in California have pre-registered to vote since the state introduced the option to do so in 2016. It allows young people 16 years or older to sign up so they automatically join the voter rolls when they turn 18.

On Sept. 25, National Voter Registration Day, Mayor Darrell Steinberg and other leaders challenged students to double that number in the next two years. Mayor Steinberg joined Secretary of State Alex Padilla and Sacramento County Superintendent of Schools Dave Gordon at Leroy Green Academy in Natomas to urge students to participate.

Numerous groups are actively supporting high school student pre-registration and registration. The County Office of Voting and Elections is working with Sacramento County Office of Education to hold mock elections and registration events at high schools during election season.

The League of Women Voters is also complementing these efforts by doing mock elections and registrations at additional schools. The Sacramento Chapter of Links, Inc. the Sacramento Chapter of the NAACP and the Greater Sacramento Urban League are focusing in on black student unions by holding pizza parties that include civic education and voter registration. You can learn more about VoteCal pre-registration here.