A historic day in Newark, where 16 and 17 year olds are heading to the polls to vote in school board elections for the first time in state history.

Choosing among a large slate of candidates to fill the seats, Newark City Council last year approved the move to let teens vote in the race following a student led campaign to give young people a say in elections that directly impact them.

Advocates also saw it as a way to address low turnout by expanding the pool of eligible voters.

But did it?

Ted Goldberg reports.

Today's no regular school day in Newark.

After class 16 and 17 year olds will head to the ballot box and cast their vote for school board candidates.

It's the first time in state history that anyone this young can register and vote.

Honestly, it's just a great experience to be able to be able to vote in like basically because it's our school.

So like, you know, you want to vote for your future.

It's exciting because I feel like younger, like teens, we have a chance of freedom now or like we have like our right, in our opinion is here.

To have them involved is actually really excellent.

And I'm down for it.

Destiny Leigh is a substitute teacher at University High School and hopes grown ups take a minute to explain the importance of voting to the 1800 or so minors who register to vote.

Now it's time for the adults to implement more information to those younger generations so that, you know, like why voting so much, especially with our president now, is very impactful for each individual to vote.

Now voting is making a choice to.

I think the most common criticism we hear is that people think that young people aren't ready or that young people are going to sort of sell their vote or aren't exactly informed on what's happening.

But I think the response is pretty simple.

I think when we talk to young people and even if you did exit polling data today, I think young people know exactly who they're voting for and they're able to align their values.

And that's something that's also been shown in scientific research that we can see that so 16 year olds can align their values just as well as.

18 year olds.

They have answers, they have issues, and they're organizing around those issues.

Right.

So and they've already been doing this.

So this vote, this really just gives them that extra, you know, power that that real voting power to continue that activism that they've already been doing.

Voters I spoke to at University High School told me what inspired them to choose their three school board candidates out of an 11 person field.

I just really want to vote for somebody who will lead us into victory and who will voice our opinions.

The way they presented what they were talking about.

And because you kind of could fill it, they will be able to keep that up and like be able to make your once a need to be like a priority.

Rather.

This push has been a few years coming to make minors more civically minded.

So Newark City Council passed an ordinance allowing them to vote in January last year.

Young people have been driving this moment, right, for the last year.

They've been talking to their peers about it, getting registered, getting ready to vote themselves.

So we're excited to see them finally be able to take step into this moment and have a real seat at the table, a real voice in our democracy.

I think the word is historic, right?

I mean, I think when I think about this moment, I think people are going to look back at this decades from now and realize just how powerful it was to allow young people to be a part of this process.

As historic as this school board election is.

Advocates say it could also be just the start of having 16 and 17 year olds vote in other elections going forward.

We're hoping that today serves as an inspiration, a motivating moment for local officials to go back and kind of finish the job.

Right.

Let young people have a seat at the table, a voice in our other other municipal elections.

And we hope New Jersey, you know, is leading the way on the school board side.

And I think Jersey City is going to lead the way when it comes to the voting advocate.

Musab Ali is also running for mayor in Jersey City, where a similar push is underway to pass an ordinance allowing 16 year olds at the ballot.

The school district in Newark is the largest in the state, giving high school students real power during their first trip to the polls in Newark.

I'm Ted Goldberg.

NJ Spotlight News.