by Meena Ganesan
With Election Day just around the corner, one thing on almost everyone's mind their ability or inability to vote. And although the voting gage requirement is 18, young people throughout the state have thought about the election. Their reason: the pole elected will not only determine their present, but also their future. Youth Vote allows young people to be a part of the political scene – voicing their opinions in deciding who will represent them.
At a Youth Vote planning meeting, I talked to Michaela Hernandez, a senior at East High School. She gave me the gist of what Youth Vote was really about.
“Youth Vote is a program that is designed to get kids excited about voting right now when they're young, so that when they turn 18 they go out there and they register to vote. And not only do they register to vote, but they make intelligent voting decisions and they know the issues and they know the candidates, so they're really informed voters.”
Jere Toms, a member of the League of Women Voter is the adult supervisor of Youth Vote 2006.
“It's promoting their right to vote and the fact that the youth are important and sometimes adults can learn from the youth and they need to pay attention to them.”
Youth Vote 2006 is not limited to Election Day; there are a variety of events in store.
On November 2, in the West High School Auditorium, social studies classes from across the district will attend a student run Gubernatorial Debate, consisting of a student moderator and student written questions.
On November 6, at the Kaladi Brothers downtown, a rally for Youth Vote 2006 is scheduled. There will be free coffee, snacks, and representatives from each of the political parties.
And finally, on November 7, Election Day, at each school in the Anchorage School District, a mock election will take place. Youth Vote representative will announce the results of the mock election later that night at Election Central.
These events are coordinated by youth from each of the Anchorage high schools – students who find some spark in the political process and want to share it, like Michaela Hernandez.
“It gets kids excited basically about going out there, getting involved in our country, getting involved in democracy and voting.”
Youth Vote 2006
