A very decisive general midterm election is coming up, with early voting starting October 19th and ending November 3rd. There’s the question of why does this matter, if you’re a high school student who can’t even vote, but this is actually very important as a candidates policy and opinions directly impact you in the form of legislation around education and other variables, such as funding to roads to get you to school or funding to libraries. There’s a lot of factors at play that will directly impact the average student like you. That’s gonna be determined by the outcome of the midterm elections, be it the outcome of the governor, representatives, or the senators. One crucial way to become civically involved is by pre-registering to vote! You can pre-register to vote if you’re 15, 16, or 17 years old, and online pre-registration ends Monday, October 26th (8 days before election day), and in-person pre-registration ends November 3rd, or until voting ends! Pre-registering enables someone to be able to cast a vote when they turn 18. But why does pre-registration start so young and why is it important?
Why Does Pre-Registration Start So Young in Colorado?
The reason pre-registration starts so young is because it enables young people to be registered to vote in the next general election, and that’s very important since only 44% of 18 year olds were eligible to vote in the 2024 election, meanwhile 75% of people aged 45 and up were eligible to vote. Starting pre-registration for the youth so young enables them to be more involved civically at an earlier age and for them to already have a foot up when it comes to actually being able to vote.
Why Is Pre-Registration Important?
Pre-registration is important because it has a positive effect on youth voter turnout, and it builds better voting habitats for young people. It also incentives politicians to be better engaged with the youth and to view them as future voters. Pre-registrating to vote announces to the candidates and politicians that the youth voting block is powerful and should be held in esteem. So if you want your voice to be heard as a youth, pre-registering to vote is a great way to achieve that.
So if you got an email informing you that you can pre-register to vote or if you’re a high school student who can actually vote, remember, being civically involved is very important even if you’re a young person.
