Cap, Gown & Ballot: The opportunity to reach 4 million new voters exists right now. But we lose it if we wait.
High school graduation season is voter registration season. Work with us to build a resilient onboarding system that will strengthen our democracy.
Two years ago, we sat down to come up with a big name for a big idea.
Teens across America are old enough to register to vote before they graduate from high school. We wanted them to know. We wanted their friends, families, and schools to know, too. We wanted to provide a way for everyone to understand graduation as a critical deadline for voter engagement.
Cap, Gown & Ballot was born. That’s our way of telling America that GRADUATION SEASON IS VOTER REGISTRATION SEASON.
Graduation season is all about stepping into adulthood, and the rights and responsibilities that come with it. Like using your voice to engage with your representatives and build the life you want for your community. Graduation also represents a deadline. Once Seniors graduate, especially the 40% that do not go on to college or get a drivers license, it becomes much harder to reach them and help them to register to vote. Today, we know where they are, and they are there every day until they graduate.
What started out as just an idea is now taking shape in practice all across the country.
Here’s what it looks like:
Here’s how it works
High school students and educators come to a training session to learn how to run a voter registration drive for their peers in school.
They sign up with us to let us know they want to run a drive.
We send them swag – Democracy in a Box – full of energizing, actionable materials to help get them going.
They learn the ropes and organize within their schools. They learn how to work with their administration. They dive into questions about how government at every level affects their lives, and how registering to vote and voting can send a message to elected officials.
We provide high schools with data to see how many 18-year-olds in their county remain unregistered, a dedicated registration portal for their school, and a leaderboard so high school communities can see their registration rates go up as they work to engage their communities.
When students complete the requirements of our organizing program, we send a $150 gift card to up to three student leaders per school, or we send their club a $450 gift card to celebrate their accomplishment.
We have toolkits for educators to guide them through the process of supporting their students, and sustaining the program so it continues even after Seniors graduate.
We provide shareable graphics to post around school or to post on their social media or in group texts with their friends, letting students know about their opportunity to register in school, with the help of peers and trusted adults.
The high school communities do the work themselves. They own it.
The students make connections. They combat cynicism and loneliness. They develop as leaders and realize their rightful role in our democracy. They get ready to do it again and again – fall and spring, twice each year, every year, aligned with the school calendar, the election calendar, and their own coming of age. It’s civics education at its best because it’s hands-on knowledge, skills, dispositions, and relational organizing all at the same time. Life skills they will carry with them well beyond the halls of their high school.
The basic policy support already exists all across the country. Young people have a right to vote starting at age 18, and they can register or preregister before they turn 18, in some states 2-3 years earlier. Almost all Seniors are old enough to register to vote before they graduate from high school. And students have the right to organize and communicate in their high schools, including about the right to vote.
Why isn’t it happening already?
The challenges are:
Awareness–few Americans, even many experts, remain unaware of laws allowing for preregistration in all 50 states.
Implementation–doing something for the first time is hard, and that’s why we’re here to support. Once students and teachers take the reins, it’s easy!
Resources–training, boxes, gift cards…they’re all part of the plan but they cost money!
The support of our community makes all the difference.
Please restack and share this post with educators and teens or with three friends who are connected with educators or teens. You can use our volunteer toolkit with shareable graphics and model communications to encourage everyone in your network to participate.
You can also buy our merch and share it with the high school community in your area. (Please note: The Civics Center does not receive any funds from these sales.)
The gift cards are $150.
A Democracy in a Box swag costs $100.
Providing resources like training sessions, educator toolkits, and the data and analysis to track progress over time require higher levels of investment and are just as critical.
Please donate here
In 2024, more than 300 high schools ran drives as a result of our program, and we’re looking to more than double that in the current cycle.
4 million 18-year-olds are graduating this spring, and another 4 million next year. Virginia and New Jersey have statewide elections in November 2025. Across the country, we’ll have midterm elections in 2026. We need your help to reach up-and-coming voters now.
One of the best ways to strengthen democracy and to promote free and fair elections in 2026 is to ensure that young people are not only registered but aware that they have power and their voices are critical.
Great. Often the social studies chair in a school is a good person. At the district level, there is often someone responsible for social studies curriculum. Guidance counselors and college counselors are also great, since they understand the importance of the leadership development opportunity. Thank you!!
I love this idea! Does The Civic Center have a ballot app? 18 to 24 year olds use their phones (primarily) to organize information - let's give them a voter app to organize and manage their ballot.