El Paso County wants to register more teen voters

After a historic presidential election in November, The El Paso County Elections Department wants to register more voters, specifically those who just earned the right to vote by turning 18 years old.

The elections department will spend the next few weeks visiting area high schools to register students who have not done so yet.

The efforts begin Wednesday at Bel Air High School from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Last Fall, a voter registration drive was conducted just before the election. Officials registers 2,000 students from the Borderland area.

“Our registration drives last September were very successful,” Lisa Wise said, the county elections administrator.

She added the department wants to keep the momentum going.

“These elections often see a much lower turnout and we want to do whatever we can to change that,” Wise said.

More than 25 schools will be visited by the elections department.

ABC-7 spoke to students at Bel Air, one who said community members, no matter the age, should their part to be involved in local issues including voting.

“It’s influential for a lot of people especially minorities to vote,” said Michael Rodriguez.

“It’s not only for society and our government, but also for our culture. It represents our ethnicity and shows that, yes, we do care about our government.”

For a complete schedule of the voter registration drives at local high schools, check the “Links Mentioned” section at kvia.com .