On National Voter Registration Day, Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar is encouraging high schools across the state to apply for the Helen J. Stewart Award, which honors schools that register or pre-register at least 85 percent of eligible seniors to vote.
“Voting is one of the best ways to make a change in the community, and teachers across the state are crucial to getting students engaged and educated,” said Aguilar. “Nevada is on track to become the nation’s leading state for youth voter turnout – young voters can and are making a difference in our communities. Almost every student will be old enough to register by the end of their senior year, making high school the time and place to register.”
The award, established in 2016, is part of a statewide effort to increase civic engagement among high school seniors.
Any Nevada high school that meets the 85 percent registration goal is eligible.
Winners will receive an award presented by the Secretary of State or a member of the office’s staff, depending on availability.
Eligible students can register or pre-register at VOTE.NV.gov.
To register to vote in Nevada, individuals must be U.S. citizens, at least 18 years old, and have continuously resided in their county for 30 days and their precinct for 10 days.
Pre-registration is available to 17-year-olds who meet those requirements, and those who pre-register will automatically become registered voters on their 18th birthday.
People with a felony conviction may register to vote as long as they are not currently serving a term of imprisonment for a felony.
The award is named for Helen J. Stewart, who moved to Nevada in 1873 and became the first woman elected to the Clark County School District’s Board of Trustees in 1916. In 1922, she donated land for the Las Vegas Grammar School, the first public school attended by Native American children from the Southern Paiute Indian Colony. The building still stands and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
Applications for the Helen J. Stewart Award can be submitted through the Secretary of State’s website.
More information, including eligibility and past winners, is available by clicking here.
