CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Campbell High student Cameron Kucic voted yesterday in Kieth Long's social studies class on the first day of Kids Voting Hawaii, which is open to students in grades kindergarten to 12. The nonpartisan effort aims to get youths voting.

Isle program allows students
to take part in elections

Kids Voting Hawaii lets students
across the state vote online

The computer in the corner of their social studies classroom turned into a personal ballot box for Campbell High School students yesterday, the first day for Kids Voting Hawaii, a nonpartisan effort to get youths into the habit of voting.

Giving kids a voice Kids Voting Hawaii is sponsored by Rotary, the state Office of Elections, Commercial Data Systems, INETS, IBM, First Hawaiian Bank, AT&T, Alpha Delta Kappa Women Educators Sorority, the state Department of Education and the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools. For more information, visit www.kidsvotinghawaii.org, or call the Kids Voting Hawaii hot line at 808-592-VOTE from Oahu and 866-778-VOTE from the neighbor islands.

"I think it's pretty neat how we kids can have a say," said sophomore Sheila Panergo, 15. "Before, I used to not really care about the elections. I figured, it's only an election, it doesn't really matter. Once I got into politics, I realized it really did make a difference."

Hawaii students in grades kindergarten through 12 may vote online from now through Nov. 2, on ballots that are virtually identical to those their parents will use in the general election. The results will be announced immediately after the polls close at 6 p.m.

Kids Voting Hawaii -- open to public, private and home-schooled students -- is billed as the nation's "only statewide experience in digital democracy." The nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization has been educating kids about the importance of voting since 1996.

"If you don't vote, then the wrong person will be elected," Campbell sophomore Jasmine Alconcel said after casting her ballot yesterday.

During the last Hawaii election, 56,000 students voted. This year, the project is attracting even more interest because turnout will be used as a measure of school efforts to promote civic responsibility at public schools.

"I want to get rid of this apathy that's going around," said Campbell teacher Kieth Long, who gave his students the chance to vote during social studies class yesterday. "Anything I can do to encourage people to vote, I'm happy to do. I want more people to get involved."

Students can vote in classrooms, computer labs, libraries, at home on their computer or any other spot linked to the Internet. Parents are encouraged to explore the ballot with their children.

Rotary Clubs statewide printed out voter registration cards for each student and delivered them to participating schools. Students enter their token number from the card into the computer, along with their district and precinct numbers, to reach their ballots.

Students who do not cast ballots before Election Day may go to any public high school on Nov. 2, where Rotarians will help students log in and vote by computer.

In class yesterday, Long underscored how precious a right voting is by pointing out to his students that "at one time you had to be a white male, own property and be literate" to vote. Then he handed out copies of a tough test on the U.S. Constitution once given to Alabama voters as a "literacy test."

"The questions are tricky," he warned them. After going through five of the 68 questions orally, some students had already missed four.

To give students a broader picture of the history of voting and its role in democracy, teachers can access a Kids Voting USA curriculum through the Kids Voting Hawaii Web site.

"It's almost a turnkey civics education package, and it's age-specific," said Linda Coble, a spokeswoman for Kids Voting Hawaii.