(The New York Times) Photo caption: Student volunteers registering their classmates to vote at Brooke Point High School in Stafford, Va., last month.


WASHINGTON — The pace of new voter registrations among young people in crucial states is accelerating, a signal that school shootings this year — and the anger and political organizing in their wake — may prove to be more than ephemeral displays of activism.

They could even help shape the outcome of the midterm elections. If voters in their teens and 20s vote in greater numbers than usual, as many promised during nationwide marches for gun control this spring, the groundswell could affect close races in key states like Arizona and Florida, where there will be competitive races for governor, the Senate and a number of House districts in November.

Many governors are promoting voter registration drives in their state’s high schools, including Virginia in recent weeks.

Click to continue reading. By MICHAEL TACKETT and RACHEL SHOREY – May 20, 2018