California bill would require high schools to provide resources for students to preregister to vote

A proposed bill in the California Assembly would require high schools to provide the time and resources to students who are at least 16-years-old to preregister to vote.

Allowing students to preregister has been state law since 2014, but Assemblymember Eloise Gomez Reyes of Colton, the bill's sponsor, said many students don't know about it.

"We want them engaged, their voices are really important," said Reyes. "Not only are they our future, we talk about that all the time, but they're our present."

Reyes spoke out in favor of AB 2724 at a recent hearing in Sacramento, where more than a dozen students voiced their support as well.

"I grew up with immigrant parents, and so I was never educated on my rights as a united states citizen," said John Haro, one of the students who spoke out in favor of the bill. "It's a really big problem today with our youth; they're not really educated on their rights."

Asked if students care about politics at that age, Reyes said: "I think they do. And I think that the students that have been engaged, the students that I have spoken with, they're the students that want to make a difference."

If approved, the bill would go into effect starting with the 2026-27 school year.