RBHS holds voter registration drive Sept. 12-16

Maddie Powell

RBHS seniors handed out voter registration forms in senior English classes Sept. 12-16.

Maddie Powell and Fatimah Yousuf
September 20, 2022

In preparation for the upcoming Missouri Primary Election on Nov. 8, RBHS hosted a voter registration Sept. 12-16. AP World Studies teacher Gregory Irwin and senior volunteers aimed to register as many students as possible to vote by attending senior English classes on Sept. 15-16. Registration requirements include the last four digits of their Social Security number and, if applicable, their driver’s license.

“In my Young Democrats leadership last year, [voter registration] was one of those things that they felt passionately about,” Irwin said. “We brainstorm[ed] places [to register students] and the next week I got emails from the counselors about visiting senior English classes. [We were] like, ‘Hey this is the one place where almost every senior is, let’s just get on the tail feathers of senior English classes,’ and so that’s what we did. We had some 50 registrations last spring so we’re just trying to realize that maybe the system that works best is having their classmates go visit them.”

Irwin recruited many seniors from his AP Literature and Composition Class. Senior Yogev Angelovici volunteered to help because he sees voter registration as important to furthering the next generation of voters.

“I think the drive is super important because it’s a civic duty and an honor to vote. Personally speaking, this is the first election anyone in my family can vote in since we all just gained our citizenship,” Angelovici said. “I want to share some of that excitement I have about that fact with the rest of [RBHS], and also impress upon them just how much some people work towards that right and responsibility. Being a part of something larger than yourself is absolutely necessary towards the workings of this nation, and it’s just my belief that everyone should take part in that experience.”

Alongside Angelovici, senior Braden Daughtery is passionate about voter registration.

“I think voter registration is important because it is important for younger voices to get involved in what happens in our country,” Daughtery said.

Though the drive is geared towards seniors and voting registration, it is also an event to raise awareness about primary elections among youth. 

“Your activism probably matters more than any one individual vote,” Irwin said. “[Activism] could be through your job, like mine kind of is, or it can be through some outside organization. Hopefully, what I think is going to reinvigorate our democracy and [help] move past some of the nationalized polarization that exists, is people working together in local communities about issues that they care about.”

All information about voting registration and the new absentee voting policy can be found on the Boone County Clerk’s Website. 

“The takeaway here is that people care,” Angelovici said. “We care about your vote and your voice. You should too. Whether it’s at the ballot box or a protest or anywhere else, let yourself be heard and appreciated. You and your opinions matter, and you shouldn’t be afraid of expressing them to the world.

Are you going to vote in the Primary Election? Let us know in the comments below.