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SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 532
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(As Amended By Senate Amendment No. 1)

 
3    WHEREAS, Illinois residents may register to vote online,
4in person at the office of the election authority, at driver's
5license facilities, with deputy registrars who are appointed
6in each jurisdiction, or through mail using the Illinois Voter
7Registration Application; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Public Act 103-0467 provided that a 16-year old
9may preregister to vote, with the registration held in
10abeyance by the Illinois State Board of Elections until that
11individual turns 18; and
 
12    WHEREAS, The Election Code provides that a county clerk
13may appoint an individual who is at least 17 years old and
14registered to vote in the State of Illinois to serve as a
15deputy registrar; and
 
16    WHEREAS, The Election Code specifically prevents a public
17high school from prohibiting nonpartisan voter registration
18activities on its premise; and
 
19    WHEREAS, A 2020 survey from the Center for Information and
20Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University
21revealed that only 50% of young people, ages 18 - 29, were

 

 

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1taught how to register to vote in high school; and
 
2    WHEREAS, A 2022 post-election survey conducted by the
3Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and
4Engagement at Tufts University found that 16% of Latinx youth
5reported that they did not register to vote because they did
6not know how to register, compared to 6% of non-Latinx youth;
7and
 
8    WHEREAS, Research found that, during the 2008 elections,
9African Americans who preregistered to vote in Florida at 16
10were 5.2% more likely to vote than those who registered after
11turning 18; and
 
12    WHEREAS, In its 2014 report to the General Assembly, the
13Illinois Task Force on Civic Engagement recommended that
14Illinois public schools should provide access for eligible
15students to register to vote and encourage students to vote on
16Election Day as one of the ways to substantially increase
17civic literacy and civically informed members of the public;
18and
 
19    WHEREAS, The Center for Information and Research on Civic
20Learning and Engagement at Tufts University found that
21teaching students about voting increased the likelihood of
22student voting when they turned 18 by 40%; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Research published by the Sandra Day O'Connor
2Institute for American Democracy indicated that there is a
3positive correlation between a child voting in their first
4age-eligible election and the probability that their mother
5votes in the next presidential election, and the correlation
6is stronger for nonwhite children and children who qualified
7for free or reduced lunch, which suggests that registering
8young people to vote may improve civic outcomes not only for
9students but for their families as well; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Developmental psychologists found that early
11civic engagement, through voting, volunteering, and activism,
12is associated with positive health outcomes later in life,
13including improved mental health, greater educational
14attainment, and higher personal and household incomes; and
 
15    WHEREAS, When the State of Illinois expanded who may serve
16as an election judge in 2003 to include students, the American
17Political Science Association surveyed alumni of Loyola
18Academy in Wilmette after they served as election judges while
19in high school, and the findings confirmed that practical
20political experience in high school, if presented in tandem
21with classroom learning, can increase later political
22involvement; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Numerous nonpartisan organizations are eager to
2help facilitate voter registration drives on high school
3campuses; therefore, be it
 
4    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL
5ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize that
6public high schools in the State are uniquely positioned to
7reach all young people, that public schools have a civic
8purpose to prepare youth, regardless of college or career
9aspirations, to participate in our democracy, and that public
10schools fulfill that civic purpose when the school provides
11education on the registration process and the infrastructure
12to register qualified students to vote; and be it further
 
13    RESOLVED, That we urge election authorities in the State
14of Illinois to conduct outreach and trainings for qualified
15students to serve as deputy registrars so that students
16appointed as deputy registrars may register qualified peers to
17vote on their school campuses; and be it further
 
18    RESOLVED, That we encourage every public high school in
19the State of Illinois to conduct voter registration drives on
20its campus for all qualified students.