Wake youth register in thousands

Good work, Wake County schools, and good work, those more than 3,000 high school students who have registered to vote in the last couple of weeks as part of a drive in the district to get young people more involved.

The drive is nonpartisan and aimed at 18-year-olds who will be eligible to vote Nov. 8. Students as young as 16 also can pre-register. The drive ends Friday.

Here’s a student who was paying attention in civics class, or perhaps in discussions at home. Faith Brin, 17, pre-registered to vote, saying, “If you want your voice to be heard, then voting is important. It really is kind of one of our civic duties.” A number of her Broughton High School classmates agreed.

Her thoughts were echoed by fellow senior Laney Allen, who said, “If they don’t vote in the election, then they have no room to complain about who went into office and what happens after that. If you don’t put in your part and don’t at least try to make a difference, then no difference is going to be made.”

School officials are hoping the drive will bring in 5,000 voter registration forms by the time it’s over. As younger people are typically the most under-registered group, this is a good effort and, in a year when elections around the country are likely to be close, a timely one.

This story was originally published September 29, 2016 at 6:25 PM with the headline "Wake youth register in thousands."