16- and 17-year-old Newark voters are no shows in school board election

The pilot program to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in the Newark school board election appears to have failed after just 67 non-adult votes were cast yesterday, an analysis from the New Jersey Globe shows.

Of the 1,771 Newark residents under the age of 18 who registered to vote, a mere 3.4% of them actually voted.  Late-arriving mail-in ballots and provisionals could increase that number.

Of the 67 young voters who showed up, 62 voted in-person at polling locations, and five returned vote-by-mail ballots.  Election officials mailed 190 VBM ballots to 16- and 17-year-olds who requested them; only 2.6% of them have been marked as returned.

Unofficial election results show voter turnout of 3.2% after 4,515 of 142,806 registered voters in Newark.  That’s up from 3% in 2024.  Among voters over 18, turnout was 3.15%.

There are 198 provisional ballots that have not been counted, but that is a citywide total; it’s not clear how many – if any – were 16- and 17-year-olds.  Still, there is an anecdotal report of a Newark high school vice principal telling students to go to the polls and vote; she did not limit her GOTV to registered voters.

The New Jersey Institute for Social Justice estimates that roughly 25% of eligible 16- and 17-year-olds registered, according to ChalkBeat Newark.

Advocates of youth voting in school board races hoped Newark would be a proof-of-concept.

Gov. Phil Murphy and other supporters hoped 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, low turnout yesterday could stall the measure statewide.

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