In September a teacher training session in the local schools will take place, followed by precinct captain training in October. In Fairbanks, Kids Voting will march in July's Golden Days Parade. The third annual Kids Voting Golf Tournament is also scheduled that month. Teacher orientation takes place in September and election promotion, in October. More than 21,000 public and private school students, grades K-12, voted statewide through Kids Voting programs in the 1998 November general election.
Voting takes place at the state's polling places.
By allowing children to go to the polls and cast their votes, we hope to establish a lifetime voting habit as well as increase the involvement of parents. Older students will use ballots similar to adult ballots. Although student votes will not affect official election results, they will be counted. We provide teachers with a special Kids Voting curriculum that includes homework assignments involving family discussions about candidates and teaches students how to acquire information and make decisions related to political topics. The Kids Voting philosophy, she states, is that family political discussions and children's requests to be taken to the polls encourage more adults to participate in elections.