Elections For Students

Introduction

Since 18 year-olds first won the right to vote in 1972, voter turnout among young Americans, prior to the 2004 election, had been steadily declining. Concerned that this trend would not fix itself with time and that civic engagement would continue to decline as this generation ages, Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent introduced several programs designed to engage Sarasota County students more actively in the electoral process and to increase voter turnout among this group.

The SOE continues to work closely with a number of community partners, including the county school district, Community Youth Development, and the League of Women Voters, to create programs that will increase voter turnout and political and civic engagement among Sarasota's young citizens.

These programs include:

Student Poll Worker Program
Designed to create and maintain a reliable, energetic and experienced pool of precinct workers to meet election day human resource needs and to engage high school students in the electoral process, the student poll worker program has employed hundreds of county students since 2002.

Students are required to complete state-mandated training prior to each election and are paid for working at the polls on election day. They receive community service hours for training.

A student must be in good standing in school and community, be at least 18 years old and registered to vote in the county (or 16 and pre-registered), and speak and read fluent English.

Students interested in serving as poll workers should complete the Student Poll Worker Application and apply at least 30 days prior to the election in person at one of the following supervisor of elections offices: The Terrace Building, 101 S Washington Blvd, Sarasota; the Robert L Anderson Administration Building, 4000 S Tamiami Trail, Venice, or 13640 Tamiami Trail, North Port (Biscayne Plaza). Please bring your signed Social Security card and driver license.

For more information on the student poll worker program, please see Poll Worker Guidelines or contact our voter education coordinator at 861-8610 or poll worker coordinator at 861-8640.

Student Advisory Board
The student advisory board is the interface between the SOE office and the county's high school and college students, providing the SOE with advice and guidance on educating students about the importance of voting and civic engagement. The board meets approximately monthly and is comprised of at least two students from each school who provide logistical support for SOE events, programs and initiatives designed for and by students.

Junior and senior high school students and college students who are interested in joining the student advisory board may submit a completed application to the SOE. For more information, contact the supervisor of elections office at 861-8610.

First Vote
Florida State law requires that the supervisor of elections conduct voter registration on every public high school campus and college campus in the county at least once a year. In 2002, Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent introduced First Vote, a nonpartisan, classroom-based voter registration and education program for high school students.

The program, which was developed by the Close Up Foundation, includes a powerful 14-minute video, which traces the history of suffrage through contemporary and historical footage, and features compelling commentary on the events of September 11 by students of a New York City high school that was located a short distance from the World Trade Center.

Since beginning the program in Sarasota, Ms. Dent has addressed thousands of Sarasota County high school students about the importance of voting and being engaged in the electoral process, and registered them to vote. She has also created a speakers bureau of local elected officials, including commissioners, judges, and constitutional officers, and other community leaders who are available to speak to students about voting and other duties and responsibilities of citizenship.

For more information, or to schedule a First Vote presentation or voter registration drive on your campus, please call 861-8610.

Voter Registration Drives
The supervisor of elections office conducts and/or provides materials and support for on-campus voter registration drives on every county high school campus and college campus at least once a year. For more information about this service, or to organize a voter registration drive at your school, contact the supervisor of elections office at 861-8610.

School Elections
The supervisor of elections can provide staff and equipment to conduct certain school class or club elections, as long as the timing of the school election does not interfere with a scheduled primary, special or general election. Students from kindergarten through high school have taken advantage of this program to vote in school elections for student council, National Honor Society, class officers, and the Sunshine State Young Readers Award, for example. For more information, contact the supervisor of elections office at 861-8610.

Links for Students and Teachers

NOTICE OF DISCLAIMER:
The content of the following links are neither regulated nor controlled by the Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Office. We provide these links as a courtesy and any questions or comments about the content on these links should be directed towards the Webmaster of that web site.