As part of coalition of voting rights groups, Project Vote and the New Jersey Department of Public Advocate filed a petition with the State Board of Elections today, proposing new regulations to improve and enforce voter registration efforts in New Jersey Schools.
The coalition, which also includes the Fair Elections Legal Network and the ACLU of New Jersey, signed a petition with the Department of Public Advocate asking for “rules to ensure all New Jersey high schools distribute voter registration forms to eligible seniors and educate them about the fundamental importance of voting,” as mandated by a 1985 law. Though the law requires the state education commissioner to adopt implementing regulations, none have been issued in 24 years.
This lack of regulation shows in the 40-60 percent of public schools that have not provided students with the mandated voter registration forms or voter education. Furthermore, citizens aged 18-24 lagged behind older voters in voter participation by 11 percentage points in 2008, despite increases in voter participation among young people in general.
In addition to implementing regulations for New Jersey election law, the proposed rules would “mandate that schools report to the state with details about their compliance with the law and the number of students they helped register.” These rules, petitioners say, will “supply a heretofore missing mechanism that will ensure that all students receive a meaningful voter registration opportunity and the voter education materials to which they are legally entitled.”
Read the N.J. Dept. of Public Advocate press release here.