Kids Voting USA » Ballot Box Bulletin

High School Seniors Participate in Voting Process; 10,000 Since 2005

Rachel Willis — Thu, 09 May 2013 02:49:47 +0000

Since the initial Pilot Program in November of 2005, more than 10,000 high school seniors have helped Central Ohio voters as part of the Youth at the Booth program. In partnership with the Franklin County Board of Elections, Kids Voting of Central Ohio operates the Youth at the Booth program which recruits, trains, and places 17- and 18-year old high school seniors as official poll workers each election.

Jeff Cabot, executive director of Kids Voting of Central Ohio, said, “This is real, hands on experience in democracy. The students constitute a talented workforce for conducting the election and get an important lesson in civics that is highly valued by educators.”

According to Suzanne Helmick, founding Director of Kids Voting, “when we began the program, students had to be 18 years old to work at the polls. But we worked with area legislators and students from Columbus Alternative High School to amend the law.” The state law was changed in 2006 to permit 17-year old high school seniors to serve as official Precinct Election Officials in Ohio.
The students are recruited through the Kids Voting partnership from all Franklin County school districts and trained as Machine Judges to operate the voting machines used in Franklin County. They are paid the same as adult poll workers and work the same long day – 5:30 a.m. to approximately 8:30 p.m.

William Anthony, director of the Franklin County Board of Elections said, “Our experience with the student poll workers has been very positive. They are an essential part of our operation.”

Dana Walch, deputy director of the Franklin County Board of Elections, observed that “Youth at the Booth students are likely to remain involved in the political process, so this program provides a next generation of poll workers and active voters.”
Kids Voting now works with the Delaware County Board of Elections as well.

“This is a significant milestone in our work to grow the next generation of active, informed citizens. Look for the white Youth at the Booth tee shirts at your polling place on Election Day,” Cabot concluded, “and congratulate them on their initiative and performance of a civic duty.”

Kids Voting Mesa County Welcomes New Board Member

Rachel Willis — Thu, 09 May 2013 02:46:34 +0000

Nancy Crowell Ruspil has joined the KV Board. As a Mass Communication Instructor at Colorado Mesa University, Nancy teaches courses in media writing, advertising and promotion, and media impact to college students. She also has a family connection to Kids Voting Mesa County since her father, Bruce Crowell, was one of the program’s founders.

In her letter of application, Nancy states, “I inherited my dad’s passion for this mission. I also share his passion for working with youth, and for encouraging them to be thinking, involved members of the world around them. In the Mass Communication courses that I teach at CMU, one of my ongoing priorities is to emphasize independent thought and research related to all types of media, political messages and societal issues. Our free country gives us choices and voices. When young people pay attention to these privileges, their lives and futures change.”

Nancy brings a wealth of relevant experience and an abundance of great ideas for promoting and sustaining Kids Voting Mesa County.

Grand Junction City Council Candidate Forum a Success!

Rachel Willis — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 16:46:06 +0000

On Thursday, March 7, Kids Voting hosted a Candidate Forum for Grand Junction City Council candidates. Nine of the ten City Council candidates participated in this event, which was open to the public , recorded by Rocky Mountain PBS and broadcast on Channel 12. Students were the key players in managing this candidate forum. They researched ballot issues, prepared questions for the candidates, and served as forum moderators and time keepers. We would like to recognize the following students for the time and effort they devoted to making the forum a success:
* Marshae Willis, Victor Dominquez, DJ Klinger, and Shaquille Wes-ton (Grand Mesa High School and Collbran Job Corps)
* Cyn-Dee Chaney and Deserae McDermott (R5 High School)
* Caleb Kostreva (home schooled)
* Wade Toothaker (Fruita Monument High School), who is also a Student Board Member serving on our Board of Directors.
* Zoë Wright-Ray (Grand Junction High School), also on our Board of Directors

Candidate forums like this one provide an opportunity for students to experience democracy in action. Kids Voting Mesa County was proud to sponsor this event and thanks the City of Grand Junction and Rocky Mt. PBS for their roles in supporting this effort.

KV SD Raises Nearly $13,000 at Liberty Basketball Game Fundraiser

Rachel Willis — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 16:43:27 +0000

The Chiesman Center for Democracy, Inc., held the 16th Annual Kids Voting South Dakota Liberty Basketball Game and Taco Feed. The event took place on Wednesday, March 6, 2013 at Riggs High School in Pierre, South Dakota. The evening began at 5:30 pm with the Taco Feed with Legislators, Tacos for Top Dogs sponsored by Coca Cola and Taco Johns of Pierre. The game tip-off was promptly at 7 pm. The game is a major fundraiser for Kids Voting South Dakota. The members of the House of Representatives faced off with the members of the Senate in a fun yet challenging game of basketball. There was a free throw event for students and every participating student left with a prize! In conjunction with the basketball game and taco feed they conducted both live and silent auction.

The Liberty Basketball Game, is the major fundraiser for Kids Voting South Dakota, raised nearly $13,000. Wes Brown, the communications manager said, “Thanks to the Legislators, this was a record year for us, raising 4,000 more this year than in previous years, we are thankful for all their help.” The funds raised during this event are extremely important to develop and sustain the resources we offer to schools and teachers across the state. This support helps to ensure that our youth continue to learn about the importance of voting and our government, along with opportunities to practice what it means to be an active and responsible citizen.

The major program sponsors include, South Dakota Rural Electric Association and Touchstone Energy Cooperatives, The Chiesman Center for Democracy, Inc., and Curriculum sponsor, East River Electric.

Curriculum Spotlight – March

Rachel Willis — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 16:15:40 +0000

The March theme is Being a Leader (to direct the operations, activity, or performance of). To view the activities associated with the theme, please log into the education portion of the website and then click the tab “Curriculum Spotlight”, which is below the “Curriculum” menu button at the top.

Youth Council Tours Board of Election

Rachel Willis — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 20:57:58 +0000

The Kids Voting Central Youth Council toured the Franklin County Board of Elections (BOE) on February 21, where they were welcomed by Director William Anthony. They were given an overview of the board’s work serving the 800,000 registered voters in the county. Deputy Director Dana Walch then led them on a tour where they observed the system for preparing and mailing the 175,000 – 200,000 mail-in absentee ballots the board processes in a general election. The board’s state-of-the-art equipment was impressive. Both Mr. Anthony and Mr. Walch gave high praise for the 1,500 high school students who served as poll workers each year through our Youth at the Booth program.

New Leader for KV Southeast Pennsylvania

Rachel Willis — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 20:49:49 +0000

Ms. Anna Rabberman has agreed to accept the offer from the board of directors to be the new executive director for Kids Voting Southeast Pennsylvania. Richard Coe is retiring from the position after serving for five years.
“I have equally enjoyed the opportunity to meet so many new friends who are members of the Kids Voting volunteer network. I will continue to stay involved with Kids Voting as a member of the board of directors,” said Coe.
Anna Rabberman is not new to Kids Voting. Prior to her retirement from Council Rock School District last June, Anna coordinated the district Kids Voting program in her role as school district social studies coordinator.

2012 KVUSA Presidential Election Video

Rachel Willis — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 14:49:13 +0000

Check out this video about the KVUSA 2012 KVUSA Presidential Election.

The Importance of Virginia – Celebrating Bill of Rights Day

Rachel Willis — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 20:59:50 +0000

By Doug Anstaett

In the just-completed 2012 presidential election, Virginia played a key role as a “swing state.”

The race between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney was too close to call in several states, so the candidates spent a considerable amount of time jetting back and forth trying to convince voters in those “battleground states” they were the best choice for president.

The race went down to the wire, and Virginia’s electoral delegates eventually were awarded to the incumbent president.

This isn’t the first time Virginia has served a significant role as a “swing state.” In the days leading up to the ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1789, representatives from the “Old Dominion” led a valiant effort to include basic individual rights in the nation’s founding document.

While a listing of those rights we cherish today wouldn’t make it into the original document, Virginia’s delegates placed considerable pressure on their peers to promise they would be addressed by the First U.S. Congress.

Serving as the chief catalyst for the individual rights movement was a man who never got much credit for it. He didn’t become president or vice president and certainly was seldom mentioned in the same breath with the other Founding Fathers.

In fact, you’ve probably never heard his name except for when his university advances in the NCAA basketball tournament.

But George Mason extracted a promise from fellow Virginian James Madison, a future president, to make sure those rights of freedom of speech, press and religion, freedom from search and seizure, the right to a fair trial by a jury of ones peers and the right to bear arms were spelled out.

Mason, a Virginia delegate to the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, already had significantly affected the American Revolution by writing the Virginia Declaration of Rights. Many phrases from that document can be found in slightly altered words in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, including “all power is vested in, and consequently derived from, the people,” “the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety” and his call for “frequent, certain, and regular”elections.

Mason believed government power should be limited and that the rights of citizens should be paramount. But his proposal for a bill of rights fashioned after Virginia’s was defeated. At the first session of the first Congress, Madison, also an elected representative from Virginia, introduced a Bill of Rights that reflected Mason’s ideas.

Besides the rights already mentioned above, those first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution also outlawed excessive bail, fines and cruel and unusual punishment and reserved some powers to the states.

Today, some 221 years later, Americans exercise those rights each and every day. Maybe this year we should say a word of thanks to the state of Virginia and especially to the delegate who wouldn’t take no for an answer on our most cherished rights: George Mason.

Doug Anstaett is executive director of the Kansas Press Association in Topeka.