In between AP testing and graduation rehearsals, our students registered their peers to vote and made tangible change in their communities. Across 115 completed voter registration drives, an in-depth conversation between our fellows and the former Archivist of the United States, and closing remarks to the Carnegie Young Leaders cohort, New Voters continued building the skills, confidence, and opportunities for students to lead. Read on!
Selina Wu hosted an incredible voter registration drive at Jericho High School in New York! As a sophomore, Selina coordinated with school administrators and her county board of elections to bring voter registration directly to her classmates. With the support of her mentor Rachel Ledoux, Selina’s drive registered 124 of her classmates to vote!
“The mentor meetings were most helpful. I learned from my experience how to talk to [administrators] and my local county board and committee to organize and plan events.” - Selina Wu, Class of 2028
Through the Carnegie Young Leaders (CYL) for Civic Preparedness program, members of the New Voters team developed a Media Literacy and Political Discourse Toolkit that will now be distributed to future drive leaders nationwide to better prepare them to navigate the tough political conversations that often stem from voter registration efforts. Hear from a few of our students about their project :
To close out the CYL experience, New Voters President and Founder Jahnavi Rao joined The Institute for Citizens & Scholars to offer closing remarks to the 2025 CYL cohort. Jahnavi highlighted the benefits of the program that she personally witnessed through the New Voters CYL team, and left the cohort with a message of hope as they continue their journey of civic leadership.
“You as young people are uniquely positioned to get other young people to act.” - Jahnavi
The New Voters 250 Fellowship continued with the fifth installment of our national webinar series, featuring Dr. Colleen Shogan, 11th Archivist of the United States and CEO of In Pursuit. Dr. Shogan talked about her experience as the first permanent woman to serve as Archivist of the United States and how that experience led her to create the history-based civic initiative ‘In Pursuit’. For many fellows preparing to continue their community organizing projects this summer, the conversation was a timely reminder that meaningful change rarely happens without persistence - and that setbacks are often part of the path to impact.
“Don’t ever think that failure is the opposite of leadership or the opposite of success. It’s really just something that you experience on your road to leadership and on your road to success.” - Dr. Colleen Shogan
This month, our staff gathered in the birthplace of both America and New Voters to prepare for the New Voters 250 Summit, fall voter registration drives, and the road to the 2026 election. The retreat, held in Chester County PA, also coincided with Pennsylvania's primary election, giving our team the opportunity to reflect on the importance of civic participation not just as organizers, but as voters ourselves.
New Voters is teaming up with ChallengeUS to launch the summer cycle of their Future Leaders Competition. Starting June 1st, students will be asked to express how they’ve come to believe they can (or cannot) make a difference through entries in creative writing, analytical writing, speech, or art. The contest closes August 7th with a top cash prize of $1,000.
The competition aligns closely with New Voters’ belief that young people develop civic agency by taking action in their communities and reflecting on those experiences. Interested students can find more information and the full prompt starting June 1st using the link below.
High School Students: Sign up to run a drive at your school
Not a high school student? Refer a high school student you know to run a registration drive and/or donate to support our continued work.
Check your voter registration status, register to vote, and more with New Voters’ official Voter Toolkit.
Sincerely,
Jahnavi and the New Voters Team
Did you like what you saw today? Pledge a future subscription to support our work to mobilize the next generation of voters. New Voters is a 501(c)(3) dedicated to helping high school student leaders make positive change through civic engagement.
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