SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Tuesday is National Voter Registration Day, and organizations across the country are pushing to get people signed up to vote ahead of the midterm elections.
Sacramento County officials set up a mock election at Natomas Pacific Pathways Prep High School to encourage students to register to vote.
“We are on the brink of turning 18, which is the voting age, and we should be learning how to vote properly, smart, and learning about the effects of what could happen,” said Erika Charlote Galvez, a senior at NP3.
Organizers say more than 500 students registered at Tuesday’s event. Those who are 18 got to register on campus, and 16 and 17 preregistered.
“By voting, we're making a difference and we're impacting ourselves and our future; so vote to make a change to what we want to see,” said another student.
Many of the teens ABC10 talked to said they felt the pressure to encourage their peers who aren't as motivated to go to the polls.
“The youth vote is the lowest vote that we get, especially in midterms and elections. So we want to increase that,” Galvez said. “We always say that we want our voices heard, but when it actually comes to it, we have to show that we really care.”
Sacramento County officials say the mock election is part of a three-week outreach program at different county high schools to get students registered.
“It gives them experience of what it will look like and shows them just how easy it is to vote, which encourages them in November to exercise that,” said Jakob Franco, a senior at NP3. “It also gives them the knowledge of who the candidates are and what the issues are at hand for November.”
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