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Newark’s school board election is two months away but city and school leaders are already working to get one group of voters fired up: 16- and 17-year-olds who will be eligible to cast a ballot for the first time.
The city passed a historic ordinance last year to lower the voting age for school board elections, allowing those first-time voters to choose from candidates vying for a seat on the Newark Board of Education in the April 15 election.
Three seats on the board are up for election and anyone interested in running has until Feb. 24 to submit a petition to run. The school board oversees Newark Public Schools, the largest school district in the state.
“Whether it’s curriculum, being able to learn and understand your own history, being able to decide or have a say in what foods you get served, our young people are now going to be able to have a direct say in that, and they’re the people who are directly affected,” said Assatta Mann, senior community organizer at the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice.
This year’s school board election could also coincide with a special election to fill a city council seat left vacant when former Central Ward councilwoman Monica McIver resigned after winning her bid for Congress in November’s general election. The City of Newark pleaded its case to an Essex County judge this month to hold a special election at the same time as the city’s school board election to fill the vacant seat.
If allowed, the special election, in addition to the expanded voting rights for youth, could boost voter turnout for April’s election, which historically has seen around 3% to 4% of registered voters participating. Newark residents have until March 25 to register to vote in April’s election.
Newark’s city council approval to lower the voting age gives 7,257 16- and 17-year-olds in the city the right to vote, according to data from the Institute. Gov. Phil Murphy also reaffirmed his support for lowering the voting age for local school elections statewide during his State of the State address this month.
The Newark school board candidates will have to work to gain the support of young voters and address the public school’s most pressing issues such as district finances, transportation, facilities needs, academic recovery efforts, implementing federal and state policies, and supporting its growing number of multilingual learners and students with disabilities.
The board has recently faced criticism from the community over transparency in addressing racism in schools, its attempt to remove one of its longest-serving members, and its approval of thousands of dollars for a staff fun day that the state’s education department deemed an inappropriate use of funds.
Newark’s youth are outspoken and passionate about their new rights, Mann, the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice community organizer, says, but now the work “is about ensuring [teens] understand this crucial next piece of taking their voice and exercising their power.”
“We really want young people to understand that there are lots of different ways to make change and voting is one of those,” Mann added.
Voter registration begins on Feb. 1 and on that day, the Institute will host a “Vote16” campaign town hall with Newark’s city officials at Bethany Baptist Church to encourage 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in the upcoming election. The Institute will host future community conversations about Newark’s needs, recruit student and teacher ambassadors to support voter registration efforts, and work with city teens to drive this year’s voter outreach.
Newark Public Schools will launch a voter registration campaign starting Feb. 3 when Superintendent Roger León will meet with high school students eligible to vote and discuss the importance of participating in the election.
Other organizations such as the non-profit The Gem Project and the Abbott Leadership Institute’s Youth Media Symposium will continue their work to promote youth voter participation and disseminate election toolkits and candidate information to young voters. Amanda Ebokosia, founder of the Gem Project, said this year’s 16- and 17-year-olds have the power “to become one of the largest and most influential voting blocks” in this year’s school board race.
Students at The Gem Project have been surveying their peers on their experience in schools and collecting data to find the most pressing concerns among youth, Ebokosia said. The students gathered data on school climates, infrastructure, and teacher effectiveness to develop a report and identify ways to address the concerns, Ebokosia added.
“This is a real opportunity to shift the narrative of youth engagement in our city, and it has historic impacts because everybody is looking at Newark right now, trying to see how youth will show up,” Ebokosia said.
Jennifer Made, director of youth programs at the Abbot Leadership Institute’s Youth Media Symposium, said they are working with The Gem Project to host a candidate forum in March and support youth voters in understanding their new rights.
“The school board’s work directly impacts [students], and it’s not that young people are unaware of the work, but sometimes they may lack knowledge or understanding of it,” Made said. “That’s where we want to help.”
Jessie Gomez is a reporter for Chalkbeat Newark, covering public education in the city. Contact Jessie at jgomez@chalkbeat.org.
