In Newark school board election, all eyes on youth voting

Newark residents will elect three school board members on Tuesday in the first election in the state’s history to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote.

By the time voter registration closed, 1,771 Newarkers under 18 had signed up. The New Jersey Institute for Social Justice estimates that roughly 25% of eligible 16- and 17-year-olds registered, according to ChalkBeat Newark.

One incumbent, Kanileah Anderson, is seeking re-election on the city-backed slate alongside Louis Maisonave Jr. and David Daughety.

The establishment-backed slate faces a challenge from a trio of Ade’Kamil Kelly, Shana Melius, and Nathanael Barthelemy. Melius worked as a staffer for the late Rep. Donald Payne Jr. and later ran to succeed him in Congress, where she finished sixth in a crowded race won by now-Rep. LaMonica McIver.

Five other candidates are running independent campaigns.

Newark is one of fourteen municipalities with school board elections on Tuesday, though it’s the only one with youth voting.

Proponents of youth voting in school board races hope Tuesday’s election acts as a proof-of-concept. Gov. Phil Murphy and other supporters hope the new policy will empower youth involvement in politics and boost the paltry turnout rate in spring school board elections. With a bill in the Legislature and a proposed $1 million to help school districts and municipalities implement youth voting in school board races, success on Tuesday could inspire other state officials to join in the push.

But early voting numbers show the experiment is off to a slow start. Election officials have so far received 1,007 vote-by-mail ballots for Tuesday’s election—only five belonged to voters under 18.

Newark’s council approved the youth voting policy last year, but officials didn’t implement the policy until this year because of technological and logistical issues.

There’s been a serious push for a successful implementation: Murphy rallied with First Lady Tammy Murphy, Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-Newark), Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, and Assemblywoman Cleopatra Tucker (D-Newark), and rapper A Boogie Wit da Hoodie at a high school last month.

McIver passed the Newark policy while she led the city council, and Tucker is a sponsor of a bill that would allow residents 16 and older to vote in school board elections throughout the state.