Thousands of Hoosiers will be casting a ballot next week, but their votes won’t count. It’s a civics lesson for students age five and up. Indiana state law requires kids from 6th to 12th grade be given lessons on the country’s election process. The “Kids Election” takes it further through a joint effort between the Indiana State Bar, the Secretary of State’s office and the Indiana Department of Education. It’s under way in all of the state’s 92 counties and more than 200-thousand students are expected to cast a ballot for president, governor and senator. Spokeswoman Carissa Long says the idea is to create a habit of voting while a child is very young, so they’ll continue throughout their life, and so they can spread the message of the importance of voting to others.
In addition to the mock election next week, students from across the state got to attend a town hall debate between the gubernatorial candidates last month, and presentations by local attorneys are being made in all 92 counties.
Long says the effort is paying off. After the last election, a teacher reported that one of her young students encouraged her mother to become a first-time voter.
Schools that have not signed up to participate can do so up until election day at ‘INkidselection.com.’