Registration and Voting: Government Class Edition Two teachers help seniors register to vote during class Story by Elle Polychronis // Design by Jeneta Nwosu // Photos by Nick Drexler
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tudents are always required to take a one-semester government course to graduate, but current seniors are getting to experience the class in a unique way this year with the upcoming election. Social studies teachers Chad Coffey and William Caraway both teach these courses.The class helps educate students about the current government, how it works and how we contribute to it. They both teach their students about current events and the process of voting and voter registration. “I think the biggest way that we have changed what we’re doing is that we are doing a weekly recap of the political events,” Coffey said. “Mondays, for the most part, we’re looking back at what happened the previous week. We’re referencing the upcoming election almost every day in class.” The 2020 election is uniquely significant because of the outbreak of coronavirus changing the political landscape months before the election. However, election years have always been special for the class. “Election years are great for the U.S. government classes because we have a unit dedicated to campaigns and political parties every year,” Caraway said. “We’ve basically got general elections every four years and mid-terms every two years,
so there’s always something going on.” Caraway said the class was analyzing both presidential campaigns, including discussion on the presidential debates. Both teachers encouraged their students to register to vote, even if
they weren’t 18 because students could vote in smaller elections throughout the year. The Government teachers will keep the registration cards until two months before the student turns 18 before mailing in the cards for them. Registration for voting was publicly announced on the school announcements for weeks in September. Monday, Oct. 5 was the last day to register to vote for the election. “As we get closer to the actual election date, we’ll unpack what you’ll need to bring, what to expect and go through the process,” Caraway said. “We’ll show them a sample ballot, get them prepared, make sure that they tell the polling location and identify where it is.” Additionally, the class discusses current issues. “We are talking about how the election won’t be announced until a few weeks later after all the voting is done because of the mail-in ballots,” Senior Lexi Perry said. “I think that I will do mail-in ballots because that’s just a lot easier, but I know both of my parents always go in person.” The government teachers show students what an election means from an analysis standpoint and real-word examples, so students see the impact their vote can have. “If you start voting at your first election, you are more likely to then be a lifelong voter,” Coffey said. “We are just really trying to stress to the students that they can make a difference, and saying to vote in every election you are eligible for.” FEATURES
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