GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2007

H                                                                                                                                                    4

HOUSE BILL 359

Committee Substitute Favorable 3/29/07

Third Edition Engrossed 4/4/07

 Senate Education/Public Instruction Committee Substitute Adopted 7/16/08

Short Title:     Promote Voting by High School Students.	(Public)
Sponsors:
Referred to:

February 26, 2007

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT to PROMOTE AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP EFFORTS BY ENCOURAGING VOTING BY ELIGIBLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 163‑82.23 reads as rewritten:

"§ 163‑82.23.  Voter registration at public high schools.

Every public high school shall make available to its students and others who are eligible to register to vote the application forms described in G.S. 163‑82.3, and shall keep a sufficient supply of the forms so that they are always available. A local board of education may, but is not required to, designate high school employees to assist in completing the forms. Only employees who volunteer for this duty may be designated by boards of education."

SECTION 2.  G.S. 115C‑81(g1) reads as rewritten:

"(g1)    Modifications to the social studies curriculum to instruct students on participation in the democratic process and to give them hands‑on experience in participating in the democratic process:

(1)       The State Board of Education shall modify the high school social studies curriculum to include instruction in civic and citizenship education. The State Board shall require as part of the curriculum instruction to students regarding voter eligibility, including age and United States citizenship, and instruction in the process of completing voter registration forms. This instruction shall not encourage or in any way try to influence students to register to vote with a particular affiliation. The State Board of Education is strongly encouraged to include, at a minimum, the following components in the high school civic and citizenship education curriculum:

a.         That students write to a local, State, or federal elected official about an issue that is important to them;

b.         Instruction on the importance of voting and otherwise participating in the democratic process;

c.         Information about current events and governmental structure; and

d.         Information about the democratic process and how laws are made."

SECTION 3.  G.S. 115C‑47(51) is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:

"(51) Assist with Student Voter Registration. – Local boards of education shall ensure that voter registration forms are distributed in a timely manner prior to the voter registration deadline for each primary and general election to all enrolled students 17 years of age and older, in compliance with G.S. 163‑28.23.  Local boards of education shall require that schools submit completed forms on the student applicant's behalf to the county board of elections, and that schools report to the county board of elections, by the twentieth day before a primary or election, the number of students who have received voter applications and the number of completed applications which have been submitted by the school."

SECTION 4.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies beginning with the 2008‑2009 school year.