City kicks off annual teen voter drive in Long Island City

Students at William Cullen Bryant High School in Long Island City participated in a Civics Week kickoff event with Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza Monday. Photo via the Mayor’s Office.

By Rachel Vick

The city kicked off an annual teen voter drive Monday morning in Long Island City, registering high schoolers to vote while raising awareness about other ways young New Yorkers can get more civically engaged.

The Civic Week initiative is designed to sign up first-time voters ahead of upcoming elections, including the special election for Queens borough president on March 24. New Yorkers head back to the polls for the Democratic presidential primary on April 28. 

“Our students are the future leaders of our City, and what we do now to empower them to vote will strengthen our democracy for years to come,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio after the event at William Cullen Bryant High School. “I encourage all students to register and show up at the polls on Election Day because their voice matters.”

Student Munjie Merci informed fellow high schoolers that New Yorkers as young as 16 can now begin pre-register to vote. 

“We’re taking it one step further in making it possible for students not just to register to vote but to pre-register right here in school,” Merci said. “For the first time this year, students age 16 and older can pre-register to vote so that the moment they turn 18, they will be registered to vote.”

“How great is that,” Merci added.

The Student Voter Registration Drive in Long Island City was just one of dozens of events in public schools across the city promoting civic engagement and youth participation in community issues.

The programming ranges from poster concerts and guest speakers to workshops that help students find their voice. Letter writing campaigns and public speaking competitions through the Mikva Challenge Project Soapbox promote and prepare students for active participation in community issues. 

In addition to voter drives, the week highlights the importance of local community boards and the U.S. Census.

Some students will engage in participatory budgeting, which gives them a say in how school funding will get used. Census education continues the effort to ensure every household is counted and that the city receives all the funding it deserves.

“Across the City, our schools are hosting voter registration drives, participatory budgeting, town halls, and other activities that get students of all ages engaged in the democratic process,” said Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza. “I’m thrilled to kick off Civics Week this election year by encouraging as many students as possible to register to vote!”

Civics Week runs through Friday, March 6 and is part of the Department of Education’s Civics for All program, which works to implement civic education throughout curriculums.