KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The League of Women Voters is going into schools this week to register 18-year-olds to vote. The group is holding registration drives in all 16 Knox County high schools.
High school seniors will have the opportunity to register during their lunch breaks and learn about the importance of civic engagement and political participation. Andrew MacDonald, one of the volunteers at Central High School, said it's important to inform young people about what it means to vote for someone who represents their interests.
"We're here to do voter education or, you know, future voter education, and also register seniors who are going to be turning 18 on or before, March 5 of next year," Macdonald said. "The biggest concern is that they just don't know about the political process."
Low turnout among young people is a problem, MacDonald said. At their booth, they also offered civic education. Having a voice matters, he said — expecially in Tennessee, which is a state that ranks low in voter turnout.
According to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, a non-partisan independent research organization that focuses on youth civic engagement, Tennessee ranks 13% in young voters.
"They don't know about voting or what an election is, or who they vote for, who represents them," MacDonald said. "By using your vote, you're able to say who you want to represent you in government. And hopefully, you'll vote for someone who will represent your interests and do what's best for you."
They're also trying to appeal to the demographic accordingly. As a non-partisan organization, MacDonald said, their goal is to encourage the younger generation to participate in the process, in a language they can relate with.
They show them the GoVoteTN App.
"It's an app, you can download it on your phone and you put in your address, and it'll tell you all of your elected representatives and where you can go vote based on where your address is," MacDonald said.
He said the hope for the future is for more young people to participate in elections.