Virginia Encourages Voter Registration In High Schools As Part Of Statewide Challenge

VIRGINIA — Virginia is holding its sixth annual Governor’s High School Voter Registration Challenge, a program that encourages high school seniors to register if they will be eligible to vote in the next general election.

The annual competition, created in 2016, is the result of a collaboration between the Office of the Governor, the Secretaries of Administration and Education, the Virginia Department of Elections, and the League of Women Voters of Virginia.

The sixth annual Governor’s Challenge, which started Tuesday and will end the last week of April 2022, helps Virginia high schools comply with a 2020 law that requires them to facilitate voter registration during the school day. Students born on or before Nov. 2, 2003, can register to vote in this year’s Nov. 2 general election.

“Our landmark 2021 Voting Rights Act of Virginia makes voting easier and more accessible,” Gov. Ralph Northam said in a statement Tuesday. “This challenge helps ensure young people have the resources they need to become active and civic-minded citizens for life.”

High schools that register at least 65 percent of their eligible senior class will receive a congratulatory certificate from the governor.

Volunteers or local election officials will provide voter registration opportunities for students in public and private high schools. Virginians are automatically registered when they access services at a Department of Motor Vehicles office or on the DMV website.

Additionally, Virginians can register to vote by submitting paper applications to their local general registrar by mail, in person, or by completing the online form on the Virginia Department of Elections’ website.

“We encourage high schools to give students an opportunity to register before the October 12 deadline for the November 2nd general election,” League of Women Voters of Virginia President Deb Wake said in a statement Tuesday.

Schools participating in the Governor’s Challenge can get credit for each student who registers to vote via the Department of Elections’ Citizen Portal by using their school’s unique URL that can be found on the League of Women Voters of Virginia website.

For more information about the challenge, contact Janet Boyd, voter services director for the League of Women Voters of Virginia, at HSVRChallenge@lwv-va.org.