Should There be Grants For School Districts to Give High School Seniors Voter Registration Information? (S. 2240)

What is S. 2240?

(Updated March 18, 2019)

This bill — known as the Students VOTE Act — would direct the Election Assistance Commission to carry out a pilot program that provides funds to local educational agencies to provide voter registration information to high school seniors before they graduate. Local educational agencies would have to apply to receive funds by providing a description of the initiatives they’ll undertake, estimate the associated costs, and provide other information and assurances as needed. They would also be required to consult with state and local officials who are responsible for administering elections.

Within 90 days of receiving funds, grant recipients would have to provide the Commission with report describing the use of funds and analyzing their effectiveness. Within 60 days after receiving its final report from a local educational agency, the Commission would be required to submit a report to Congress about the pilot program. While this bill doesn’t actually provide funding for the grants, it does authorize the appropriation of such funding.

Argument in favor

This bill would help provide school districts with the resources they need to provide high school seniors with voter registration information, ensuring that young people can exercise their right to vote once they turn 18.

Argument opposed

There are a multitude of ways for high school seniors to access the information they need to register to vote if they want to. It’s not the federal government’s job to encourage registration, so this bill is unnecessary.

Impact

High school seniors; local educational agencies; and the Election Assistance Commission.

Cost of S. 2240

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced this bill to create a pilot program to educate high school seniors about registering to vote:

“It has never been more important for young people to make their voices heard, and voting one big way to do just that. Our bill would help empower high school seniors with the knowledge they need to register to vote as soon as they are eligible and make those voices count.”

This legislation has the support of three cosponsors in the Senate, all of whom are Democrats.

Media:

• Sponsoring Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) Press Release