Iowa schools win Carrie Chapman Catt Award for registering students to vote

CEDAR RAPIDS — Isaac Newton Christian Academy in Cedar Rapids is one of 19 schools awarded the Carrie Chapman Catt Award this year for registering at least 90 percent of their eligible students to vote. This is the fourth year the private school has earned the award.

Across the state, more than 2,600 eligible high school students registered to vote this year in conjunction with the award initiative. Isaac Newton was the only school in Cedar Rapids to earn the Carrie Chapman Catt Award this year.

Regina High School in Iowa City registered at least 50 percent of eligible students and received a personalized certificate from the Iowa Secretary of State.

The award was create by Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate in 2019 to encourage voter registration in Iowa high schools. The award is named after Carrie Chapman Catt, a famous Iowa native who was instrumental in securing passage of the 19th Amendment, granting women access to the ballot box more than 100 years ago.

“It’s great to see so many young people stepping up and taking the first step in the voting process by getting registered,” Pate said in a news release. “Thank you to the teachers and administrators at schools by engaging the students in civics. I tell young people all the time, the best way to make your voice heard is by voting, and to do that, you need to get registered.”

Each of the 19 schools recognized for registering 90% or more of eligible students will be presented the Carrie Chapman Catt Award trophy. Additionally, nine Iowa schools registered more than 70 percent of eligible students, and 10 registered more than 50 percent.

Inspire2Vote, a nonprofit that supports nonpartisan efforts to promote voter registration among high school students, collaborated with Secretary Pate’s office to assist schools with their voter registration efforts.

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