Youth Vote 2002

This year's race for governor is one of the most intriguing in years, and not just for voters over 18. This year, that race and many like it are particularly intriguing to an unusual demographic -- voters under 18.

While voters over 18 will decide the race, voters under 18 will get an up close and personal look at the world of politics on Election Day next Tuesday.

The Spirit of the Youth Foundation is hosting Youth Vote 2002 in the Valley during the political season for the first time. For weeks, students in all grades -- from elementary to high school -- have been learning about the political process and the candidates.

On Tuesday, those students will cast their first votes of their lifetimes.

"I did it in Anchorage for the 2000 election. Since then, I moved out here and wanted to get it going in the Valley schools," said Cher Easley, who is coordinating the event for the Spirit of the Youth Foundation. "The fun thing is that we get the results when school lets out, and we can report those results live on the 5 o'clock news."

The Youth Vote 2002 isn't just a bunch of kids punching a ballot with little knowledge or thought. It is a very detailed group of lesson plans that teachers discuss with their students for weeks.

The vote itself isn't even the final step in the program -- there are student reporters at Election Central on the night their votes, and the actual votes that count, are tallied. The student reporters even report live on the news.

"The kids really get into it because this is the first time someone has asked them for their opinion as an individual," said Sherrod teacher Elizabeth Crowley. "Most will say 'I'm a Democrat' or 'I'm a Republican,' but not really know why, and through this program, we're trying to get them to understand the differences. There is no right or wrong answer for the students, but they have to be able to defend their positions on the candidates and the issues using things they've learned."

Because of the large number of races and the bond propositions, which the students will also vote on, there are a number of lessons teachers can focus on, said teacher Kim Johnston of Colony Middle School.

"There are so many candidates representing so many different political beliefs that the students really get to see a wide array of opinions," Johnston said. "And it goes beyond just the election. The other day, I had a student ask me how his dad is going to vote because he is going to be on the slope on Tuesday, and that led to a whole other lesson about absentee voting and that part of the political process."

Due to the obvious political nature of the program, the response from parents has been tremendous, Crowley said.

I've had some very politically oriented phone calls with some parents. Of all the things I've taught, this gets the most reaction from them," Crowley said. "And that's a good thing. Students should be talking about things like this with their parents. It gets them involved."

A lot of the students will mirror their parents' political beliefs, and the job the teachers have is challenging them to think on their own.

"I'd say that right now, about 99 percent of the students would vote for what their parents are voting for, because that's what they've seen or heard the most," Johnston said. "That's OK, too, because it means the parents are talking to their kids about it. I'm proud of the parents for the role they've taken."

At Sherrod, that pattern holds true, Crowley said.

"I can tell what the votes are already going to be based on the political backgrounds of the parents," Crowley said. "But getting the kids to see why their parents vote a particular way or think a particular way is the exciting part."

Students around the Valley will be participating. Every middle and high school except for Palmer High School are participating using regular punch ballots, and many elementary schools are participating using picture ballots, with the candidates' "mug shots" on them.

"In 2000, the results were strikingly similar to the actual adult voting," Easley said.

As Crowley points out, candidates should take notice to the voice young voters are putting forth, and not just because it is an indication of what their parents are thinking.

"At the elementary level, the students will be voting for real in only two elections. At the high school level, students will be voting for real in the next election," Crowley said. "And if they are involved with the political process now, they will really be involved when their votes can make a difference between winning and losing an election."

In addition to the governor's race, students will also get to vote in the U.S. House and Senate races. Students will vote on three bond propositions and three ballot measures, just as adults will, as well as one final youth advisory question.

"We added one that is central to kids and issues in schools," Easley said.

That youth advisory question asks students if selling soda pop in school should be allowed or not.