By Malia Salas and Alexys Hart

The NAACP came to Arundel High School on the 21st of February as part of a regular effort to talk to seniors about registering to vote. The organization focuses on ensuring political education and equal rights for African Americans. They set up a booth in A hall, where they spoke with students about the importance of registering to vote before graduation, and also provided them forms to register.

Senior DJ Curtis is not registered to vote but is planning to. “…I feel like if I don’t, I won’t be able to get a say in who gets to lead our country,” he said. He says that he learned of the importance of voting from his Government class and believes that it is important for students to learn about how important a role they can have in government. “They could learn stuff that carry on to their actual lives, whether it be laws or whatever. Stuff like that should be taught whether it be in government classes or any teacher could say, ‘Hey, you can do this by the way’,” he said.

According to Mr. Ladika, an Arundel AP Government teacher, it’s important for seniors to register to vote because, “…if they don’t register as soon as possible they will forget down the road.” He also said pushing students to be more involved in things like registering to vote will help them prepare for their futures.

According to NPR, about 46% of voters in the 2016 election were of ages 18 to 29-years-old. The turnout of youth in the midterms was an estimated 31% which is double the amount than in the 2014 midterms turnout. Statistics say as the years go by the percentage of youth voters increases, which is believed to be because of the increase in interest in politics among youth. 

According to a 2018 story by Duke Today, lack of political education was one of the main causes for students not voting. Additionally, 55% of college students messed up on voter registration because of minimal understanding of what information forms were requesting.