High School Democrats and Youth Action Team host voter registration drive

October 23, 2016

By EMMA SWAIM
Staff Writer
The High School Democrats Club and Youth Action Team joined forces to register and pre-register UHS students to vote. In total, 37 students were registered and pre-registered. Pre-registering for youth at least 16 years of age allows them to be automatically registered to vote upon turning 18.

Students register to vote at the school library during office hours (Cathy Sun)

“The election this year has encouraged a lot of youth to become politically involved and conscious,” President of the High School Democrats Cathy Sun (Jr.) said. “We were counting on this enthusiasm to increase youth voter registration rates. We decided to hold the drive with YAT to motivate more young people to stay active – because that’s the only way their voices will be heard.”
Vicki Chen (Sr.), a YAT representative, thought that the registration drive went well. “I think [the drive] definitely makes [voting] easier and more accessible to students,” Chen said.
While YAT has traditionally held voter registration drives at all Irvine Unified high schools every year, this year it joined with the High School Democrats at UHS to motivate more students to be politically active.
“I think voting [is very] important,” Eric Nguyen (Jr.) said. Nguyen was a student who pre-registered at the library during the drive. “[Voting] gives everyone a chance to speak their mind, [and] is fundamental for a community to thrive.”
However, Nguyen does not think that youth should limit their activism to registering to vote. “Age is just a number, and voting isn’t the only way the youth can show what’s on their mind,” Nguyen said.

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