Secretary of State
Deadline Extended to Register Students for Mock Election

(Frankfort, KY) Due to the record-breaking response, the Office of the Secretary of State has extended the deadline for schools to register for the Office of the Secretary of State’s 2008 Kentucky Student Mock Election, a partner election of the National Student/Parent Mock Election.  Elementary, Middle, and High School students across the Commonwealth will have the chance to vote on Student Mock Election Day on October 30, 2008, which represents the conclusion of Civics Month in Kentucky.  The deadline to register has been extended one week until October 27, 2008.

“Because we are seeing such a tremendous response from schools across the state, we wanted to make sure that we gave the remaining schools every opportunity to participate,” said Secretary of State Trey Grayson.  “It is easy to organize a mock election, and the benefits to students are many.  I am hopeful that we will see even more schools participate on Mock Election Day.”

In 2007, nearly 10,000 students from across the Commonwealth cast their ballots in the mock election.  This year, the Kentucky ballot will enable students to vote on the candidates for the President of the United States, United States Senator, and United States Congressman.  Students will be able to view a variety of final election statistics at the conclusion of the election. Already, over 300 schools representing over 90,000 students have registered for the election.

“It is essential that students become acclimated to the democratic process, and there is no better way than for them to participate in the process themselves,” stated Secretary Grayson.  “We hope that this will begin a lifelong commitment to voting among these young people.”

In addition to the mock election, the Office of the Secretary of State has partnered with the Youth Leadership Initiative. YLI allows teachers access to YLI’s on-line bank of lesson plans which are aimed at increasing civic literacy. The lesson plans provided on this site are already aligned with Kentucky’s academic standards, saving teachers precious development time.

This project is an exceptional tool for confronting, and in many cases, reversing the disturbing voting trends in the 18-24 year old demographic.  Engaging students with the core principles of democracy fosters an important behavior that many will carry far beyond the classroom.  The project is part of a statewide effort to teach students about civic responsibility and the power of voting via the Civic Literacy Initiative of Kentucky (CLIK). The CLIK is a non-partisan, multi-year effort to enhance long-term civic engagement and civic literacy within the Commonwealth.

“By involving students in the democratic process, we hope to energize young people to remind their family and friends about the importance of voting on November 4th,” said Secretary Grayson. 

To register or to find out more information and see a list of which schools have registered for the election, please visit www.sos.ky.gov/mockelection.

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