Don't be surprised to hear your child say, "I am voting, are you?"
Kids Voting Hawaii is giving every student, Kindergarten through 12th grade in public and private schools, the opportunity to cast a General Election ballot on-line, now through November 4th. When students go to http://www.kidsvotinghawaii.org and enter their personal password and their family's precinct and district numbers, they get virtually the same ballot their parents will see, when they go to the polls.
Hawaii has traditionally had one of the lowest adult voter turnouts in the nation, while Kids Voting Hawaii has had among the highest number of students voting throughout the entire 25-state Kids Voting USA network. In the 2006 Kids Voting Hawaii General election, 97,500 students cast ballots on-line. Already this year, more than 180,000 Hawaii students in public and private schools have registered to vote, and we expect a record turnout, when they log on to cast their ballots through November 4th.
Our young people are not only the leaders of the future... they are decision makers of the present. This hands-on experience in the democratic process gives students a voice, inspires them to engage in dialogue with peers and parents, develops their civic responsibility, and gets them into the habit of voting as adults! Now more than ever, the civic education of our students is essential. Kids Voting Hawaii comes with a nationally acclaimed, age specific curriculum, which has been used in many classrooms throughout Hawaii. Students are learning how to explore the issues and hold elected officials accountable.
The Kids Voting Hawaii ballot includes grade appropriate student issues that were proposed by the Hawaii State Student Council, taken from the 2007 Secondary Schools Conference resolutions, and adapted from the adult ballot issues. Students will have a say on everything from conditions on campus, the environment, and transportation, to whether their Student Representative on the Board of Education should have a vote. The results of the statewide Kids Voting Hawaii General Election will be announced immediately after the adult polls close November 4th, and before the first adult printout. Our youth will lead the way on election night!
Ours is a non-profit, non-partisan, grassroots volunteer effort. It is a true school-community partnership. The Gannett Foundation supplied our Kids Voting USA Affiliate fee, First Hawaiian Bank and Commercial Data Systems contributed travel expenses for our teams to train teachers at School Complexes statewide. Rotary Clubs throughout Hawaii have offered volunteer and financial support since Kids Voting Hawaii began over a decade ago. As Chief Justice Ronald Moon told the Rotary Club of Honolulu, "Finding ways to persuade our citizenry... young and old alike...to exercise this important right of citizenship is significant and critical to the preservation of our democracy."
The remarkably secure technology of Commercial Data Systems, the dedication of school teachers and administrators statewide, the educational mentorship from Alpha Delta Kappa, and the commitment of Kids Voting Hawaii volunteers and supporters, combine to make this portal to the future a reality today. As Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, "We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future." And one way to do that is to give our youth a voice.
Linda Coble
Chair, Kids Voting Hawaii, on behalf of the Kids Voting Hawaii Team
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