(Frankfort, KY) Tens of thousands of students across the state will have the opportunity to have their voices heard in the upcoming general election by participating in the Office of the Secretary of State’s 2007 Kentucky Student Mock Election, a partner election of the Youth Leadership Institute’s mock election. Middle School and High School students across the Commonwealth will have the chance to vote on Student Mock Election Day on November 1, 2007, which represents the conclusion of Civics Month in Kentucky.
“It is essential that students become acclimated to the democratic process, and there is no better way than for them to participate in the process themselves,” stated Secretary Grayson. “We hope that this will begin a lifelong commitment to voting among these young people.”
In 2006, nearly 30,000 high school students from across the Commonwealth cast their ballots in the mock election. This year, the Kentucky ballot will enable students to vote on the candidates for the state’s Constitutional offices, including Governor. Students will be able to view a variety of final election statistics at the conclusion of the election.
In addition to the mock election, the partnership with YLI allows teachers, who choose to participate in the mock election, access to YLI’s on-line bank of lesson plans which are aimed at increasing civic literacy. The lesson plans provided on this site are already aligned with Kentucky’s academic standards, saving teachers precious development time.
This project is an exceptional tool for confronting, and in many cases, reversing the disturbing voting trends in the 18-24 year old demographic. Engaging students with the core principles of democracy fosters an important behavior that many will carry far beyond the classroom. The project is part of a statewide effort to teach students about civic responsibility and the power of voting via the Civic Literacy Initiative of Kentucky (CLIK). The CLIK is a non-partisan, multi-year effort to enhance long-term civic engagement and civic literacy within the Commonwealth.
“By involving students in the democratic process, we hope to energize young people to remind their family and friends about the importance of voting on November 6th,” said Secretary Grayson.
Teachers still have time to register students to participate but face a deadline of October 28, 2007 to do so. To register or to find out more information, please visit www.sos.ky.gov/mockelection.
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