Newark rallied teens to vote in historic school board election. Only 73 did.
Only 73 teen voters – out of 1,851 who had registered – turned out for Newark’s historic school board election despite weeks of targeted efforts to get the city’s 16- and 17-year-olds out to the polls.
The April 15 election was the first since the city lowered the voting age for school board elections to 16 – and Newark leaders had hoped a new wave of teen voters would boost turnout.
But, overall, only 3.47% of Newark voters participated in the election, slightly below the 3.94% turnout rate among the city’s youth voters – and about average for school board elections, in which 3% to 4% of voters typically participate.
At the beginning of February, local organizations and school leaders launched campaigns, hosted voter education events, and promoted registration drives to mobilize young voters who gained their right to vote in Newark school board elections in 2024. The efforts also drew Gov. Phil Murphy, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, and other elected officials, who visited a Newark high school to reinforce their support for the teen vote in school board elections statewide.
https://www.chalkbeat.org/newark/2025/05/09/less-than-four-percent-of-teens-vote-in-2025-school-board-election/