Kids Voting 2004 is underway

Fourth-graders Abbie VanNoy and Daniel Hoff had featured parts in the school-wide Kids Voting 2004 assembly at Wyland Elementary in Overland.

Kids Voting 2004 is a nationwide program that helps kids understand the election process. The program ends in November when kids cast their votes just like adults.

Abbie VanNoy

In the case of Wyland kids, they'll actually vote at the same polling places as their parents. And their votes will be tabulated in a special Kids Voting 2004 summary.

That way, they can compare how they voted compared to kids across Missouri.

(Young Saint Louis.com covered the Kids Voting program in both 2000 and 2002. This is the first article in 2004. YSL.com will have another story in November and then cover the election results in the December edition. Watch for it.)

Wyland Elementary is in the Ritenour School District in St. Louis Co. The district was the first to sign up for Kids Voting when it started in 1996. This year, 14 St. Louis area districts are involved along with others throughout Missouri.

Daniel Huff

To kick off the 2004 program, Wyland held an all-school assembly late in September.

That's where 10-year-old Abbie and 10-year-old Daniel came in. Their 4^th grade class put on a play at the assembly. It was titled, "Susan B. Anthony's Vote for Future."

The play told of troubles Ms. Anthony had while trying to get voting rights for women.

Abbie played the part of Ms. Anthony while Daniel played the part of big, bad Judge Hunt. In the trial, the judge fined Ms. Anthony $100, which she promised never to pay.

The school assembly started with a group of Boy Scouts bringing the American flag forward. The kids then recited the Pledge of Allegiance and sang "The Grand Old Flag."

Erica White

The principal gave the kids an example of how voting works. She used the example of 10 kids who had the chance to vote what to have for lunch in the cafeteria. She said three of the kids voted for zucchini squash, two voted for ice cream and the other five didn't vote.

Under election rules, the majority voting gets to decide. Therefore, the cafeteria served squash although only three of the 10 had voted for it.

One of Abbie's lines in the play also talked about fairness.

She said to the judge, "You trampled on my rights today. You talk about the law and the law gives me a right to a fair trial. But, everyone in this court is a man. How fair is that?"

When the November 2 election comes, Abbie won't be able to vote at the same polling place as her parents. That's because she lives in Pattonville, outside the Ritenour district. She'll vote at a special polling place set up in her school.

Allison Frieze

Kids living in the district go to the neighborhood polling place on election day with their parents. The kids vote in a special booth right next to the adult booths.

Cindy Gibson is an assistant to the district superintendent. She said the district decided to do voting the "traditional" way with kids accompanying their parents. "That way, kids are involved with the parents and the district is involved with the community," she said.

Some other districts have kids vote at their schools.

Daniel Huff admitted he doesn't like to vote because he wants to avoid fights. He said, "If two people fight over how they voted, I don't get involved. I say I didn't vote."

Nine-year-old Erica White also was in the Anthony play. She was the second narrator who told the audience what was going on in the play.

Lorena Medina-Ramos

She said she favors John Kerry in the presidential election. But, she said she doesn't know whom her parents favor. "They'd tell me if I ask them but I haven't yet," she said.

Nine-year-old Allison Frieze and 10-year-old Lorena Medina-Ramos played Susan B. Anthony's sisters in the play.

About her presidential favorite, Allison said, "I hope we get a different president." She added, "My mom favors John Kerry."

For Lorena, she'll get to cast her vote in the Kids Voting 2004 election. But, her parents won't be able to vote because they aren't U.S. citizens as yet.

From now until the election, the kids will study a variety of election issues. Wyland school kids are using a special election series by Scholastic magazine. They also have lessons from the Kids Voting 2004 program.

The College of Education at University of Missouri-St. Louis administers Kids Voting 2004 in Missouri. The school also will tabulate the kids votes from across Missouri.

You can check the Kids Voting 2004 website at www.umsl.edu/services/kidsvoting.