Throughout the week of Oct. 15, members of the Amnesty International Club and Human Rights Club assisted Redwood students in pre-registering to vote on the CEA mosaic stage during lunch. Registration forms, both in paper and online forms, were distributed as members of the two clubs encouraged students to sign up.
In order to pre-register to vote, students need to be at least 16 years old and are required to show a valid driver’s license, California State Identification Card or Social Security number. Although individuals who pre-register cannot v
ote until they are 18 years old, junior Olivia Raskin, a member of the Human Rights Club and one of the drive’s organizers, stresses the importance of starting the registration process early.
“It’s super easy and only takes three minutes. [Pre-registering] makes it easier; when you’re 18 and you need to vote, you can directly register. You may [still] have to do a short procedure if you’ve pre-registered and want to vote when you’re 18, but it’s not as long as the process would be otherwise,” Raskin said.
According to Raskin, pre-registering is a simple, uncomplicated endeavor that won’t cost students much time or effort, but makes a difference in the long run.
Emma Wait, a junior who has pre-registered, elaborates on how easy it was for her to pre-register, and how it can even be done at places such as the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
“If you get your driver’s license or your permit, when you go to the DMV, all you have to do is check a box that says ‘Yes, pre-register me for voting!’ I was at the DMV when I was getting my permit and just pre-registered,” Wait said.
With the ability to vote comes the chance for individuals to voice their opinions. Assistant Principal Saum Zargar believes that pre-registering to vote is something students should take advantage of so that they are easily able to vote in the future.
“As big or as small as issues may be, [voting] is an opportunity to voice your position on issues, and I fully believe that
every single vote counts,” Zargar said. “I believe that students and adults, as citizens, should participate by voting. It is one way to communicate to our politicians, like senators or congressmen and elected officials, what we care about.”
The upcoming midterm elections on Nov. 6 serve as an opportunity for students speak up through voting. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, only 46 percent of citizens ages 18 to 24 reported voting in 2016. According to Raskin, getting more students to vote is the main purpose of the registration drive.
According to Wait, if there are any students that can legally vote, meaning that they are 18 years old and registered, they hold the ability to support issues they care about in the upcoming elections. Wait elaborated on how important voting is in the current political landscape.
“I think it’s important to vote so we don’t end up with somebody else in the office that we don’t want there. A lot of people didn’t believe that Donald Trump would become President, so a lot of people didn’t vote [in the 2016 presidential election],” Wait said. “If you don’t vote, then we can end up with people that are representing our country that we don’t necessarily want there. It’s important to have our voices heard, and contribute to our country.”
Zargar echoed Wait’s statement, stating that he also believes that students should have a role in shaping the country by utilizing the benefits that come with voting.
“I think for students, voting, whether it be on a proposition or in an election, is an opportunity for us as citizens to participate in the democratic process,” Zargar said.
