27 October 2006
U.S. Teens Assist at Polling Places, Learn About Democracy
Election Day programs encourage civic involvement, volunteerism
Washington -- In several counties across the United States, local election boards are offering programs that enable middle-school and secondary-school students to assist at polling places on Election Day, giving teenagers an opportunity to observe the democratic process in action.
If young people are encouraged to get involved in their communities by assisting at neighborhood polling places, there is a good chance they will grow up to be committed voters, Gilberto Zelaya, an educator in Montgomery County, Maryland, who coordinates a model Election Day training program for students in middle and secondary schools, told the Washington File.
Most American students attend middle school in grades six through eight and secondary school in grades nine through 12. Most students in the United States are 18 years old when they graduate from secondary school.
Although Election Day is not an official U.S. holiday, students in many school districts do not attend classes on this day, which is on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November (November 7 in 2006), because school buildings are used as polling places during primary and general elections.
Zalaya said Montgomery County launched the school district’s Election Day community service program in 2004. The program is designed to educate young people about the nature and scope of civic duty, including community involvement, volunteering and voting regularly in local and national elections.
Although the voting age in the United States is 18, children can accompany their parents or guardians to polling places. “We asked ourselves how these kids could be incorporated in the voting process,” Zelaya said.
Montgomery County began by training 250 students in the largest 50 precincts to assist at polling places during the 2004 presidential election, Zelaya said. The students' involvement was well received by voters and by election judges (who administer and supervise election procedures), so the program was expanded. This year, more than 1,000 students are enrolled and will serve at all precincts in the county on Election Day.
TEENS HAVE MANDATORY TRAINING, CLEAR RESPONSIBILITIES
To participate, students attend mandatory training sessions, along with a parent or guardian. In the training sessions, students learn polling procedures, how to address adults and how to assist voters who might need special help, like offering seats to people who have difficulty standing in line, or watching voters’ pets.
Students also maintain oversight of Voter Access Card boxes, which collect cards used for electronic voting machines in Maryland, and instruct voters about where to place their voting cards in the boxes. They dispense voting-related literature and pick up trash, point out restrooms and polling-room exits and help voters in wheelchairs. Students are required to be sensitive and polite with all voters, including those with special needs, and, if possible, provide information in a second language or in American Sign Language.
On the other hand, the students are prohibited from expressing political opinions or giving political advice, and they must not use cell phones while on duty. They are asked to refrain from wearing denim pants or sneakers.
The teenage Election Day volunteers serve four-hour shifts. Adult election judges are given a roster of trained student volunteers, and students are placed in precincts determined by their home addresses. Usually parents or guardians should not have to drive more than three miles to drop the youngsters off at their designated precincts, Zelaya said.
By assisting at polling places on Election Day, students not only learn a valuable lesson in civic responsibility; they also earn credits toward high school graduation, Zelaya said. Students who attend public schools in Montgomery County must accumulate at least 60 student service learning (SSL) hours to graduate from secondary school and may begin performing community service in middle school. Many students exceed the required level, Zelaya said, developing a lifelong habit of volunteering as a result.
Although only U.S. citizens may vote, student Election Day volunteers do not need to be U.S. citizens to take part in the program. Exchange students visiting the United States also are accepted, as long as their host-family guardians agree to attend training sessions with them. Foreign exchange students frequently report that the experience gives them a new understanding of the U.S. democratic system, Zelaya said. Special-needs students are eligible, too, if they can fulfill certain roles at polling places.
ADULT CHAPERONES ALSO BENEFIT FROM ELECTION DAY TRAINING
The required training sessions that students must attend with a parent or guardian are often just as educational for the adults as for the teenagers, Zelaya said. “It's Civics 101 for the parents,” especially when they learn about certain aspects of U.S. history that they might not be familiar with, or might have forgotten, he said.
Also, adults who accompany their teenagers to training sessions often are educated about commonly misunderstood voting procedures[ja1] , said Zelaya, who noted that a goal of the program is to raise lifelong voters. The United States does not penalize citizens who do not vote, and reminding eligible adults of these logistics keeps them up to date regarding their own voting situation and those of their neighbors, tending to improve voter turnout for all elections, Zelaya asserted.
Student feedback about the program has been overwhelmingly positive, Zelaya said. The program’s success in Montgomery County has inspired other regions in the United States to adopt similar strategies. Counties in Colorado and Missouri already have implemented their own Election Day programs for students, and Zelaya said he has provided information to election officials in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and Las Vegas, Nevada, who are interested in replicating the Montgomery County program in their school communities as well.
More information about these programs is available on Web sites of the Montgomery County Board of Elections, the Adams County, Colorado, Election Office and the Office of the Missouri Secretary of State.
For more information on U.S. voting, see 2006 Midterm Elections.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
