CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Cleo Mariano, left, Lopaka Matthews and Honey Gementiza of the T-Shirt Theatre group took to the stage yesterday at a Kids Voting rally at Farrington High School.
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Rally calls kids to polls
Kids Voting Hawaii's mock elections for students start Tuesday
STUDENTS in every public and private school in Hawaii will have the opportunity to start casting their ballots in Kids Voting Hawaii's mock elections Tuesday, the same day absentee voting starts for this year's general elections.
And just like the real elections, the students will be able to vote up to election day Nov. 7.
To kick off the online voting, the nonprofit, nonpartisan organization went back to Farrington High School, where Kids Voting started as a pilot program 10 years ago, for a good old-fashioned election rally with real politicians.
Yesterday's noontime rally, attended by students from Dole and Kalakaua middle schools and Farrington, included motivating speeches by Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann and Honolulu City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle.
There was even one from "American Idol" finalist Camile Velasco.
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle met with Farrington students yesterday during a Kids Voting rally at the school. Mayor Mufi Hannemann and political candidates also showed up.
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"The only way you can be heard is if you make yourself heard," Velasco said, even though she admits she is not registered and has never voted.
The Maui native has relocated to Los Angeles but is in town to perform at a Halloween party for high school students Saturday.
The students know their ballots will not count toward selecting the next officeholders, but they consider the mock elections a valuable exercise.
Farrington sophomore Courtney Sua'ava said, "We have a chance to get our voices heard."
"And who (we) think should win," added Mavis Tigilau, a Farrington freshman.
Dole eighth-grader Rosalyn Peralta said, "At least kids can experience voting."
And Kalakaua eighth-grader Shayne Rasay thinks it is good practice.
"If we develop the habit of (voting), we have more chance of actually doing it when it really, really counts," Rasay said.
More than 105,000 schoolchildren in grades K-12 are registered to vote in the mock elections, said Linda Coble, Kids Voting Hawaii chairwoman.
