Vermont Votes for Kids: A project of the Vermont Secretary of State

Curriculum for Grades 9 - 12, Teacher Materials for Lesson 9:
Voter Registration

"Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do."
(John Wooden)

ACTIVITY: ONE

This lesson is in two parts. It will:

1. Provide students with evidence of how political decisions affect them, as well as the need for, and benefits of their involvement in the political process.
2. Involve students in a dialogue with their parents, other students and community members.
3. Ask students to become involved in the present by acting as a catalyst for a voter registration drive.

Distribute a copy of the Student Lesson VOTER REGISTRATION - I CAN REGISTER STUDENTS TOO! to each student. Note that "Activity One" requires a structured discussion at home, a written paper centering on specific questions, and a sharing of this paper with the class. You will need to plan how long students will have for the discussion and writing assignment and the method for the sharing in class that follows the assignment.

Give each student a copy of the "Issue List" below on a separate sheet of paper by the "copy and paste" method. They will need this handout for "Activity One and Two" below.

Issue List:

• Affordable health insurance, especially for single people
• Auto insurance rates, especially for those younger than 25
• Discrimination in housing and employment policies
• College tuition rates
• Sales and gas tax rates
• Laws affecting workplace safety, overtime pay and mandatory overtime policies
• Public funding (bonds) to pay for new schools
• The use of lottery proceeds, existing property taxes, and budget reserves to reduce public school class sizes
• Mandatory seatbelt and helmet laws
• Raising taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products for expanded health care services for low-income persons
• Election of those who govern our local schools
• Taxes to pay for our local schools
• Taxes to support the 911 emergency system
• Laws relating to personal freedoms and privacy; e.g., Internet regulations and access, personal identity sharing and access to music and movies
• Regulations on auto emissions (mandatory testing), personal watercraft (jet skis) and noise levels of car and home stereo systems
• Mandatory recycling laws and the level of fines for littering

Go to http://vermont-elections.org/elections1/2001voterapp.doc, and you will download an Application for Addition to the Checklist. Print numerous copies of this form for each team or contact your Town Clerk for a supply of the Applications.

Form students into campaign teams. Each student or team should choose one campaign method to promote voter registration. Each of the various methods will require a different number of team members but keep team sizes small enough to maximize involvement by each team member. Not every team can use the same method.

Decide whether you will assign this as an out-of-class project or if you will allow some time to prepare in class. Each student or team should prepare a written report of two or three pages that includes:

1. The plan the team chose*;
   
2. The steps taken to implement it*;
   
3. How well the team worked together;
   
4. How members felt about the process and results;
   
5. The perceived impact of the project; and
   
6. What lessons members learned in doing it.

*You may want to require a pre-report for items "a" and "b," which outlines what plan was chosen and the steps the team is going to take for implementation. This will give you an opportunity to give early guidance and feedback.

You will need to establish a grading policy for the project and the report. You will also need to decide if the reports or parts of them are to be shared in class.

Vermont Secretary of State http://www.vermontvotesforkids.com