Holyoke City Clerk Brenna McGee and her staff will be coming to Holyoke High School on October 5th, 2016 to help register students to vote.

Traditionally, individuals who wish to register would have to be 18 years old; however, with new legislation passed, 16 and 17 year olds can pre-register to vote.  Now this does not mean that individuals under the age of 18 will be able to vote, since the voting age remains 18 years old.  Pre-registration just allows 16 and 17 year olds to be in the system; and when they turn 18, they will then be able to participate in elections.

For October 5th, Holyoke High students who are of age to pre-register must meet two requirements:

• Must be a United States citizen
• Must live at a Massachusetts address

“I think it is important because as a citizen, the people you vote for can make a direct impact on your life,” said City Clerk McGee.

Students at Holyoke High seem to agree…

“I think it is great that I will be able to be register sooner than usual,”said Nolan Keane ’18.

Owen Lavelle ’18 commented, “Registering to vote at a younger age is great because it will get kids to think about voting and decision making at an earlier stage in their life.”

There is also an online component if registering in person at either the city clerk’s office or at Holyoke High is not possible.

The link is https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ovr/.

If any students at Holyoke High School would like to help register their peers, please speak with your guidance counselors prior to October 5th.  The deadline to register in Massachusetts is October 19th, so register next week!