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Tuesday, Feb. 18 is the deadline to register to vote in the primary election, which is March 18.
More people are eligible to vote in next month’s primary because of a new law that allows anyone who’s 17 now but will be 18 by the time of the Nov. 4 general election to participate.
Jim Allen, spokesman for the Cook County Board of Elections, told Crain’s Chicago Business that registration forms are available in every one of the city’s more than 150 public and private high schools.
Several groups – including the Mikva Challenge, League of Women Voters, Rock the Vote and the McCormick Foundation – hope to register at least 25,000 teens, more than half of those believed to be eligible.
Now if they’ll only keep voting. All kinds of research shows that it’s us folks who are, um, somewhat over age 17 who dominate at the polls.
Meanwhile, Cook County David Orr reports his office will hold a special “democracy week” registration in schools Feb. 3 to Feb. 7 to sign up the 17-year-olds.
Follow Greg on Twitter at @GregHinz.