Your kids are voting. Are you?Don’t be surprised to hear your child say, “I am voting. Are you?” Kids Voting Hawai‘i is giving every student, kindergarten through 12th grade in public and private schools, the opportunity to cast a General Election ballot online, now through Tuesday, Nov. 4. When students go to 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.
Our young people are not only the leaders of the future, they are the 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! Exercising this important right of citizenship is critical to the preservation of our democracy.
The Kids Voting Hawai‘i ballot includes grade-appropriate student issues that were proposed by the Hawai‘i 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 Hawai‘i General Election will be announced immediately after the adult polls close Nov. 4, and before the first adult printout. Our youth will lead the way on election night!
The 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 Hawai‘i 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.