GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The State Board of Elections reports voters under 25 made up 31 percent of new registrations in January and February. That number climbed to around 40 percent in March and April.

  • Young voters make up a large percentage of new registrations.
  • Motivation could be last election results or even school shootings.
  • Oct. 12 is deadline to register for the November election.

The percentages are also healthy in Guilford County.

"So far this calendar year, we've seen between 9,000 and 10,000 brand new voter registrations, and it looks like somewhere in the neighborhood of a quarter of those are what people would call 'young voters,'” said Guilford County’s Elections Director Charlie Collicutt.

Some are thought to be motivated by the outcome of the last election.

Others, like Parkland High shooting survivor David Hogg, are motivated by school shootings.

"What people need to do, if they want to do anything, just make sure you're registered to vote and vote,” said Hogg when he appeared in Raleigh in April.

Elections officials said they expect these numbers to increase after the summer months and as we get closer to the election itself.

"We will see a more influx of these younger voters registering because the colleges come back,” said Collicutt.  “Just the attention to the election and the money that's going to be spent on ads that will just kickstart people into gear to start registering to vote."

The last day to register for the November election is Oct. 12.    

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