Sunday, January 13, 2008
Teens eager to cast ballot
Roanoke high school clubs are urging young people to participate in democracy.
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From The Roanoke Times
Sam Dean | The Roanoke Times
Patrick Henry High School Young Democrat Jordan Romeo, 18, takes a form from Shanta Foster, 18, during a registration session held during the lunch hour at PH.
Voting database
Voting at a glance
To be eligible to vote in Virginia a person must:- Be a resident of Virginia
- Be a U.S. citizen
- Be 18 years old (any person who is 17 years old and will be 18 at the next general election may register in advance and also vote in any intervening primary or special elections)
- Not claim the right to vote in any other state
- Not be currently declared mentally incompetent by a court of law
- Not be a convicted felon, or if a felon, must have the right to vote restored
Key voting dates in Virginia
- Presidential primary: Feb. 12 (register by Jan. 14 )
- General Election: Nov. 4 (register by Oct. 6)
Jordan Romeo and Jacqueline Nora sat at the front of Patrick Henry High School's cafeteria on Friday surrounded by small American flags and voter registration forms.
It was the third day that the two teenagers had urged their fellow students to register for the presidential primary on Feb. 12. The registration deadline is Monday, and eligible voters include those who will turn 18 by the next general presidential election Nov. 4.
This year, students at Patrick Henry High School revived two student clubs that had been dormant for years, the Teen Republicans and Young Democrats. Members of both clubs banded together to help their fellow students register.
Organizers at William Fleming High and CITY School, which teaches college-level classes to PH and Fleming students, have also made efforts to register voters, according to Tiffany Woods, Roanoke City Public Schools spokeswoman.
"I'm just really excited that this is the first election I can vote in and that this year has the potential of being a groundbreaking, historic year," said Natalie Blanton, a senior at Patrick Henry and CITY School.
Many presidential candidates have been trying to reach younger voters through new formats including YouTube, MySpace and Facebook.
So far, voters under the age of 30 have come out in strong numbers in both the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, according to the nonpartisan Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement.
Ginger Weckstein, director and government teacher at the CITY School, has been especially motivated to involve students in the political process and believes that students are particularly excited by this election.
Weckstein attributes the enthusiasm to the close race, which lacks a clear leader in either the Democratic or Republican parties, and especially to Democratic candidate Barack Obama.
"Barack Obama is appealing to young people like no one has for a long time," she said.
Weckstein has helped students register by distributing forms in class and then dropping them off at the voter registration location.
She said that all of her students who are eligible to vote did indeed register.
Weckstein enjoys helping students vote and clearly remembers voting for the first time in 1972, after the voting age had just dropped to 18.
"It was a feeling of being treated like an adult and being able to participate in the world around me, being able to put my two bits in," she said. "I get a rush every time I vote, and I'm 56."
Such enthusiasm has also rubbed off on her students.
One student, Jessica Wheeler, said that politics now shape her daily life. A strong supporter of Republican candidate Ron Paul, Wheeler said she talks about politics daily and often argues with her mother and stepfather about Paul's platform.
"I bring it up every chance I get just to remind people that he's there," Wheeler said.
Asked why she became involved, Wheeler said, "The more I learned about history, the more I want to change the future."
