The effort, led by 17-year-old club member Brittany Bach, takes advantage of a state law allowing youths to register prior to reaching the legal voting age of 18. Early registration is allowed as long as the person reaches legal age by the next general election.

"Most people don't know that they can register before they're 18," said Bach, a student at Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill. "The events that we do, most of the people that actually stop by are older."

Bach has run registration booths at GavFest, a community outreach day by Gavilan College, and plans to do the same at the upcoming Morgan Hill Mushroom Mardi Gras and the Gilroy Garlic Festival.

The legality of conducting voter registration in high schools remains in unclear, however, and will likely involve navigating federal and state laws and school district regulations.

Gilroy Superintendent of Schools Edwin Diaz could not be reached for comment.

"Right now we're developing a plan to go to the schools to get them registered," Bach said of her peers. "We have started the legal process, but we haven't gotten as far as we would like."

In the meantime, she and the South County Democratic Club are trying to reach potential young voters through innovative new ways, including a Weblog and events such as carnivals, concerts, and dances.

Bach understands the challenges of raising interest among fellow teenagers.

"Most (youths) aren't registered to vote because they' don't think they can make a difference, or because they don't think it's cool," she said. "We're planning activities to be more teen-oriented. We want to do activities they're more interested in."

Bach and other local party members hatched the idea for early registrations several months ago, during a state Democratic Party convention in Los Angeles.

"Our primary goal is to let young people know what their roles in the democratic process are, whether they join our party, the Republican, the Green," said Chris Cote, a member of the South County Democratic Club.

Mark Zappa, a strategist with the Santa Clara County Republican Party, was wary of voter registration in the schools but encouraged efforts to get more youths involved.

"We currently do not do registration drives in schools," he said of his party. "We believe people should be 18 when they register to vote... Any effort to get people involved in the voter process is a good thing and I would encourage people to do that. But at the same time, I would hope that these voters getting registered would be educated voters who actually look at the issues and not just go along party lines. I think that younger voters tend to be more influenced."

Bach said more of her peers are paying attention to politics since the November election, especially the war in Iraq and related rumors about the reinstatement of a military draft.

"Now they're really starting to understand that things affect them," she said. "Before the elections, they weren't really sure of what was going on. I came across a group of people who were mixed - a good amount were Republican and Democrat. Now I'm running across more Democrats. I think they're becoming more aware of the situation and becoming more educated about what's going on. That's a plus."

Whatever party students join, Bach seems to have a clear understanding of historic trends among young voters and the stakes involved in mobilizing that group.

"They have the worst voter turnout, but they're one of the biggest voter groups," Bach said. "Someone could easily win an election if they got the youth vote to turn out."

POST A COMMENT

If you are under 13 years of age you may read this message board, but you may not participate. Here are the full legal terms you agree to by using this comment form.