This election year, it’s more important than ever to teach students about civics—and what better way to teach civic engagement than with a real-world, hands-on approach?

That’s where Democracy Powered by You(th) comes in. DoSomething, a nonprofit that empowers today’s youth to effect social change, has partnered with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), National Honor Society (NHS), National Junior Honor Society (NJHS), and National Student Council (NatStuCo) to launch the first-ever Democracy Powered by You(th) voter registration competition.

Participating schools have until Election Day (November 3) to get eligible voters in their communities registered with the help of a customized voter registration page provided by DoSomething. Students and schools can win scholarships, grants, and other prizes for engaging their communities with the most effective, creative, and innovative voter registration drives.

The following prizes will be awarded in six categories:

• Trophy and NASSP-branded gold seal:
  • Most Voter Registrations—The top three schools in the Northeast, Southwest, West, Southeast, and Midwest—along with the top three schools nationally—will receive a trophy and gold seal.
• $10,000 school grant:
  • Best Community Involvement—The school that does the best job mobilizing their community based on the rubric here will win a school grant.
• $1,000 scholarship:
  • Most Creative—This category is judged on uniqueness of the campaign approach, effectiveness in registering voters, and skills demonstrated (e.g., artistic) to garner interest.
  • Best TikTok—Students can add a twist on a TikTok trend or create their own in which they inform their community about voter registration, finding polling places, and other important components of the voting process.
  • Most Text Messages Sent—Facebook Messenger and other social media direct messages also count toward this category; there is no limit to the number of messages sent.
  • Most Social Shares—Students can use their voices on social media to encourage their peers, friends, and family to make their voices heard at the polls.

Encourage your students to make a difference and sign up for the Democracy Powered by You(th) contest today!