More than 100 Santa Maria High School students participate in Spring Fair voter registration drive

SANTA MARIA, Calif.– Over 100 Santa Maria High School students registered and pre-registered to vote in the Mar. 31 voter registration drive during the school's Spring Fair, according to school officials.

SMHS say the SMHS Close Up Washington DC Club alongside the League of Women Voters of Santa Maria Valley organized the voter registration drive encouraging students to engage and get interested in politics.

“It was so inspiring to meet the wonderful Close Up Club members and see how organized and enthusiastic they were about preregistering their school mates. When I saw the results of the Google survey and the stack of over 100 registration forms it confirmed my conclusion. This voter registration effort was the best one we have partnered with in Santa Maria for over 10 years, " said Virginia Souza, President, League of Women Voters Santa Maria Valley.

During the voter registration drive students learned about political parities, got creative in a social justice & equality selfie booth, and participated in a survey of the top issues of concern for students.

According to the results of the survey, as provided by SMHS, top most pressing issues for students was as follows.

Free College 89%, Free Healthcare including Women’s Health 87%, Social and Economic Issues 67% and Foreign/Immigration Issues 64%.

The turnout was so large the club reportedly ran out of paper registration forms having to switch to online resources.

“I have some incredibly dedicated students in my club that helped to make this event a success. We had over 100 students register, and we ran out of registration forms and could have registered more. I am proud of how our students responded to the event and the level of interest. I am looking forward to continuing work on projects like this in the future with my club.” – Teacher Amy Hennings.