The Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Office kicked off its biannual High School Voter Registration Program with a visit to Durant High School in Plant City last month. Supervisor of Elections Buddy Johnson and his staff provided presentations to seniors during their economics class about the importance of Civic Engagement. More than 170 students responded to an invitation to either pre-register or register to vote after the presentations were completed. In the upcoming months, the Supervisor of Elections staff will continue to visit each of the Hillsborough County Public High Schools to speak with students about the importance of voting and provide the opportunity for interested students to register to vote. "I always enjoy interacting with the students as we discuss the rights and responsibilities they enjoy as citizens of our great nation. For the past three years, our office has been honored to carry out the Schools Program, which is on the front lines of promoting democracy in the minds and hearts of tomorrow's leaders," said Johnson. The reason Johnson targeted the county's high school students were because the 18-24 year old demographic has the lowest voter turnout of any age group. Since the inception of the program in March of 2006, the Supervisor of Elections office has elicited over 10,000 voter registrations and pre-registrations directly from Hillsborough County high school students. According to Claire Mawhinney, Assistant Principal for Curriculum, "The program benefits our senior economic students because it is real world information during an election year when they are preparing to graduate. The information about elections and the importance of voting has meaning to them since they are about to enter the world of college and work."The High School Senior Voter Registration/Education Program is a partnership between the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Office and the School District of Hillsborough County. Members of the Supervisor of Elections staff visit every public high school in Hillsborough County, educating high school seniors on the voting process as well as giving them the opportunity to register to vote."It is now up to everyone: parents, teachers, mentors, and friends to encourage the future leaders of our community to cast a ballot and make their voices heard," indicated Johnson. For more information, contact Jennifer Marks at 965-1621.
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