Pre-registration and Why It Matters

Think you have to wait until 18 to start preparing to vote? For thousands of teenagers, the process starts much earlier. New York and 17 other states allow teens to pre-register to vote as young as 16 and 17. This new system of youth registration is an ongoing movement across the country, with New York State (NYS) recently making pre-registration legal in 2020.

Pre-registration doesn’t mean you can vote right away, but it's a great first step towards building responsible voter habits. When you pre-register at 16 or 17, your name is entered in a pending registration system so that on your 18th birthday, you're automatically registered. This makes it extremely easy for first-time voters, eliminating registration as an issue during their first election season.

Pre-registration has been proven to improve voter turnout in states where it's been implemented. According to the Tufts University Center for Civic Learning and Engagement, counties with pre-registration laws had a 9-point higher turnout rate of voters 18-29 than counties that didn’t allow pre-registration.

In fact, a study by the MIT Election Data and Science Lab found that voter turnout rose in these counties because early exposure to voting systems helped build voter habits for high schoolers. These habits can carry over into adulthood, and when paired with civic education, they can help high school students become educated, habitual voters.

Lastly, The Civics Center explains that pre-registration removes a sometimes-overlooked administrative hurdle to voting. One reason people often give for not voting is a lack of time to register. Pre-registration removes that deterrence.

Even though pre-registration has proven benefits, it’s still not as widespread as it should be. According to The Civics Center, NYS still has a significant gap in voter registration among 18-year-olds. Statewide, as of April 2026, only 38% of eligible 18-year-olds are registered to vote. Pre-registration’s new arrival in NYS may have helped raise that number over time, but we can do better.

This is where organizations like Vote of Teens come in. Youth-led voter outreach and civic education not only show our peers that voting is important, but it contributes tangibly to voter registration statistics. Every teen who registers adds another voice to our democracy, bringing us one step closer to a more representative future.

Before pre-registering, you must check your eligibility. To pre-register in New York, you must be a US citizen, a resident of NYS for at least 30 days, and be 16 or 17. If any of these don't apply to you, you're not eligible to pre-register.

If eligible, you will need to provide your name, address, date of birth, and a signature. A DMV number or the last 4 digits of your Social Security will be asked for, but are not required. If you don’t know this information, you can still register by indicating that you do not have it on the form. Then, the first time you vote, you will have to show an accepted form of ID.

Towards the end of the form, it asks if you would like to be registered with a party. In New York State, those parties are Democrat, Republican, Conservative, or Working Families. If you do not wish to register with a party, you can remain independent; the only caveat is that you may not participate in any primary elections under NYS’s closed primary laws.

To register online within the five boroughs, you can visit the NYC Board of Elections website. For those outside the city, visit the NYS Board of Elections website for more information.