Hundreds of students register to vote around Chicago for National Teen Voters Registration Day

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Hundreds of high school students came out to register and pre-register to vote as part of National Teens Voter Registration Day, a movement that aims to inspire and mobilize teenagers to participate in the democratic process.

"I feel like I'm making a difference in the world, not just for me but for everyone around me," said Izelle Marie Jacobo, first time voter.

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Leo High School in Gresham hosted sessions for students of six different high schools to get registered. Get Out The Vote for Teens helped the schools organize the event on Tuesday.

"This is my way of bringing awareness to the table and allow the teens to know that their voices matter, and they need to be seated at the table," Letina Brady Pettis with Get Out The Vote for Teens said.

Jacobo turns 18 on Friday, and while she said she's ready to make her voice heard, she's paying extra attention to the issues that hit close to home.

"My dad is an immigrant, he's not here with me today, so I feel when I'm voting it just depends on how that could help me but also thousands of other immigrant families," she said.

Jacobo said she was separated from her dad, who's living in Mexico, and hasn't seen them in a year. It's one of the many reasons teachers are urging young voters to pay attention to who's in power.

"They felt a new sense of excitement about the election process so they're going to watch the debate tonight with a new sense of engagement," said Leo High School Principal Dr. Shaka Rawls.

"I've been thinking about voting since 2016 right before Trump got elected," Leo High School Senior Derrion Anderson said. "I'm excited to finally you know, have a say in how the election will go."

Sixteen and 17-year-olds are also eligible to pre-register to vote in Illinois.

"When the next election comes, they don't have to do it," explained Letitia Brady Pettis, founder of National Teen Voter Registration Day. "They're already in the system."

"We can go out, we can go change our own future and put it in our own hands," Leo High School Senior Nicholas Armour said. "That's one thing that I feel like the youth of the past didn't do enough. We let older generations dictate how our country's ran, when in reality, we are the ones who are going to be living in it for 50-60 years so we should be the ones taking charge."

"We see them on 31st St. beach or the downtown takeovers, but we don't listen to them," Leo High School Principal Shaka Rawls said. "This is an opportunity for our young folks to have a voice, and for us to listen to them."

Organizers challenged everyone in the community to encourage young people to vote.

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There have been 34,000 total new registrations since June 1st, according to the Chicago Board of Elections.

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The next Teen Voter Registration Day is set for Sept. 19 at Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences.