H.4382 requires the Department of Education, Election Commission, and county voter registration boards to make sure all seventeen-year-old high school students complete a voter registration form, to be submitted by the high school. Students may opt out for religious or philosophical reasons. This bill also mandates that all students be given an opportunity to discuss the importance of registering to vote and voting.
While this is undoubtedly well-intentioned, the proper role of schools is to educate, not facilitate government activity and involvement. Even aside from the potential for partisan abuse, the public funding of schools creates a conflict of interest, in turn creating great potential for corruption and abuse.