CCHS students registering to vote

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

When Charles City High School junior Justin Heyer gets his first chance to vote, he knows who he wants to vote for.

“Donald Trump,” Heyer said, without hesitation.

Heyer and other students at CCHS were putting their names on the voting roll Tuesday, as the school is registering 17-year-olds to vote as part of Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate’s initiative to register students.

The Iowa Legislature passed a law in May 2017 that lowered the voter registration age to 17 as of Jan. 1 of this year. Under the new law, those who will be 18 in time for the next general election also may participate in primary elections.

Pate recently announced plans to award schools that register at least 90 percent of their eligible students to vote with the Carrie Chapman Catt Award, named after the Iowan who was a national leader in the women’s suffrage movement.

As of Tuesday afternoon, 19 students had registered at Charles City. The school is registering students through Wednesday this week.

Unlike Heyer, junior Gillian Anderson wasn’t so sure which candidates or issues she would vote for when she first gets the chance.

“I don’t know yet,” she said. “I’m registering to vote so we can do it when the time comes, because it’s an important thing to do.”

Both Anderson and Heyer said they intend to study the issues so they can make an informed choice when they get the opportunity to vote for the first time.

The National Association of Secretaries of State established September as National Voter Registration Month in 2002 to encourage voter participation and increase awareness. Tuesday was National Voter Registration Day. Last year, nearly 5,000 Iowans used the state’s online voter registration system on that day.

Floyd County Auditor Gloria Carr joined Pate and auditors across Iowa to encourage all eligible residents to register to vote or making sure their voter information is current.

Approximately 90 percent of eligible Iowans are registered to vote, and there are more than two million active registered voters in the state.

To check your voter registration status, register to vote or update your information, visit VoterReadyIowa.org or www.floydcoia.org/172/Election-Voter-Registration-Information.