Burbank city clerk encourages teens to get involved in the political process

An increasing number of high school teens are looking to participate in local and national politics, and a Burbank official is reminding the city’s youth that it is not too early for them to get involved.

City Clerk Zizette Mullins recently visited Burbank High School and talked with AP Government students about the upcoming elections and state Senate Bill 113, which was passed in 2014 and allows 16-year-old teens to preregister to vote.

During her visit, about 150 students preregistered and more agreed to volunteer at a polling place during the elections next month.

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While teens are not allowed to vote after preregistering while they are 16 or 17 years old, the state will send them their sample ballot and voter information when they turn 18 during the first election in which they can participate, Mullins said.

“When they turn 18, they don’t have to go back and reregister, unless they moved from their house,” she said.

Christina Fahad, Burbank High’s AP Government teacher who Mullins visited that day, said that she has always tried encouraging her students to preregister or register to vote once they become of age, and has nudged them to volunteer at polling places to get more involved in politics.

Fahad, who has been teaching for more than 18 years, said that younger teens are paying more attention to what is happening around them, especially in light of current national events.

“[Earlier in my career] I would talk about government and the kids would care and were bright enough to understand, but there wasn’t much I could do to make them a part of the political process,” she said. “Now with [preregistering to vote], they become a part of the political process and they’re so excited.”

Like how the advent of the 24-hour cable news has kept people up to date since the 1980s, social media has ushered in a new era of information gathering, which Fahad believes contributes to the growing interest on politics among teens.

“In my class, I make them download Politico, and we talk about what’s going on in the news,” she said.

Mullins said that she has also noticed an uptick of teens paying more attention to current issues and wanting to become more involved.

She added that it is important to make them understand early on what the differences are between local, state and federal government.

“I think they want to participate,” she said. “There’s definitely a lot of curiosity on their part, but politics is complicated for them and even for adults.”

The preregistration and registration deadline this year is Oct. 24.

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Anthony Clark Carpio, anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com

Twitter: @acocarpio

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