Full Text of SR0532 103rd General Assembly
SR0532 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY | | | SR0532 | | LRB103 34537 MST 64371 r |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION | 2 | | WHEREAS, Illinois residents may register to vote online, | 3 | | in person at the office of the election authority, at driver's | 4 | | license facilities, with deputy registers who are appointed in | 5 | | each jurisdiction, or through mail using the Illinois Voter | 6 | | Registration Application; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, The Election Code provides that school principals | 8 | | or another qualified person designated by the principal may be | 9 | | appointed as a deputy registrar through their county clerk; | 10 | | and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Public Act 103-0467 provided that a 16-year old | 12 | | may preregister to vote, with the registration held in | 13 | | abeyance by the Illinois State Board of Elections until that | 14 | | individual turns 18; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, The Election Code provides that a county clerk | 16 | | may appoint an individual who is at least 17 years old and | 17 | | registered to vote in the State of Illinois to serve as a | 18 | | deputy registrar; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, The Election Code specifically prevents a public | 20 | | high school from prohibiting nonpartisan voter registration | 21 | | activities on its premise; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, A 2020 survey from the Center for Information and | 2 | | Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University | 3 | | revealed that only 50% of young people, ages 18 - 29, were | 4 | | taught how to register to vote in high school; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, A 2022 post-election survey conducted by the | 6 | | Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and | 7 | | Engagement at Tufts University found that 16% of Latinx youth | 8 | | reported that they did not register to vote because they did | 9 | | not know how to register, compared to 6% of non-Latinx youth; | 10 | | and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Research found that, during the 2008 elections, | 12 | | African Americans who preregistered to vote in Florida at 16 | 13 | | were 5.2% more likely to vote than those who registered after | 14 | | turning 18; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, In its 2014 report to the General Assembly, the | 16 | | Illinois Task Force on Civic Engagement recommended that | 17 | | Illinois public schools should provide access for eligible | 18 | | students to register to vote and encourage students to vote on | 19 | | Election Day as one of the ways to substantially increase | 20 | | civic literacy and civically informed members of the public; | 21 | | and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, The Center for Information and Research on Civic | 2 | | Learning and Engagement at Tufts University found that | 3 | | teaching students about voting increased the likelihood of | 4 | | student voting when they turned 18 by 40%; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, Research published by the Sandra Day O'Connor | 6 | | Institute for American Democracy indicated that there is a | 7 | | positive correlation between a child voting in their first | 8 | | age-eligible election and the probability that their mother | 9 | | votes in the next presidential election, and the correlation | 10 | | is stronger for nonwhite children and children who qualified | 11 | | for free or reduced lunch, which suggests that registering | 12 | | young people to vote may improve civic outcomes not only for | 13 | | students but for their families as well; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Developmental psychologists found that early | 15 | | civic engagement, through voting, volunteering, and activism, | 16 | | is associated with positive health outcomes later in life, | 17 | | including improved mental health, greater educational | 18 | | attainment, and higher personal and household incomes; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, When the State of Illinois expanded who may serve | 20 | | as an election judge in 2003 to include students, the American | 21 | | Political Science Association surveyed alumni of Loyola | 22 | | Academy in Wilmette after they served as election judges while | 23 | | in high school, and the findings confirmed that practical |
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| 1 | | political experience in high school, if presented in tandem | 2 | | with classroom learning, can increase later political | 3 | | involvement; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, Numerous nonpartisan organizations are eager to | 5 | | help facilitate voter registration drives on high school | 6 | | campuses; therefore, be it | 7 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL | 8 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize that | 9 | | public high schools in the State are uniquely positioned to | 10 | | reach all young people, that public schools have a civic | 11 | | purpose to prepare youth, regardless of college or career | 12 | | aspirations, to participate in our democracy, and that public | 13 | | schools fulfill that civic purpose when the school provides | 14 | | education on the registration process and the infrastructure | 15 | | to register qualified students to vote; and be it further | 16 | | RESOLVED, That we urge election authorities in the State | 17 | | of Illinois to conduct outreach and trainings for high school | 18 | | principals to encourage principals to become deputy | 19 | | registrars; and be it further | 20 | | RESOLVED, That we urge election authorities in the State | 21 | | of Illinois to conduct outreach and trainings for qualified | 22 | | students to serve as deputy registrars so that students |
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| 1 | | appointed as deputy registrars may register qualified peers to | 2 | | vote on their school campuses; and be it further | 3 | | RESOLVED, That we encourage every public high school in | 4 | | the State of Illinois to conduct voter registration drives on | 5 | | its campus for all qualified students. |
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