KIDS VOTING MISSOURI
Lynn Voss
Director of Program Operations
Sue Shear Leadership Academy & Citizen Education Clearing House (CECH)
212 Marillac Hall, One University Blvd
St. Louis, MO 63121
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www.kidsvotingmissouri.org
OUR STORY
In 1995, the first Endowed Professor of Citizenship Education at the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL), Dr. Timothy O’Rourke, heard about a terrific national youth voter education called Kids Voting USA. Since its inception, in 1996, Kids Voting Missouri has been administered by the Citizenship Education Clearing House (known as CECH.) at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Missouri students are still completing lessons from the terrific Kids Voting USA Activity Guide, learning about elections and voting, and participating in a student voter registration activity. Sandy Diamond, a long-time civics educator and former Newspapers in Education Coordinator, joined UMSL and Kids Voting Missouri in 1999 to direct the program. After running a successful KV Election in 2018, Sandy decided to retire with a decade of Kids Voting elections held. Over 1.5 million K-12 St. Louis area youth, representing 400 area schools had an opportunity to learn about elections and voting. Likewise, during her twenty plus years of dedicated service, more than 60%, or close to 846,000 students, have actually cast a KVMO ballot. Upon Sandy's retirement, Lynn Voss accepted the responsibility of Kids Voting Missouri and looks forward to continuing the legacy of a strong KVMO program.