Back in 1983, a unique law was passed requiring high school principals in Texas to register eligible students to vote. Thirty-four years later, few principals are complying with the law. And,as The Texas Tribune reports, voter registration is at a historic low in the Lone Star State.
The 1983 law requires principals to circulate voter registration forms to eligible high schoolers at least twice a year. But many high schools in the state simply aren’t going along with the law. And that could help explain why less than half of Texans aged 18 to 24 are registered to vote. One issue is that there are no penalties for school officials who don’t obey the law.
Texas Secretary of State Rolando Pablos recently wrote a letter to school superintendents across the state, asking them to try to get their principals on board.
“Texas students deserve better,” Pablos wrote.
Before the 2016 general elections, only 14 percent of Texas public high schools requested voter registration applications from the Secretary of State.
