Elections office staff works with Sarasota County School District to schedule events
On Monday, Sept. 9, Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Ron Turner announced the start of a three-week tour of local high schools to offer voter registration to students.
“Now that the calendar has turned to September, I think many of us are beginning to focus on the Nov. 5 General Election,” Turner said in a news release. “Likewise, students who may be voting for the first time or near voting age are beginning to pay attention,” he added. “We want to go to where those students are to make sure they are registered to vote and answer any election-related questions they may have,” Turner said in the release.
Each September, the elections office staff works with the Sarasota County School District “to schedule student voter registration events at local high schools,” the release notes. “September is an ideal month for the voter registration events because there are often elections in November that help emphasize the importance of voting and being civically engaged,” the report explains. “For the schools, September is usually when social studies and government classes begin covering the voting process.”
The student events will focus on registering individuals who are 18 or older, while encouraging students ages 16 and 17 to pre-register to vote, the release points out. “In Florida, 16- and 17-year-olds can pre-register to vote,” Turner noted in the release. “By doing so, they will be ready to go when they turn 18, and perhaps best of all, they can participate in the election process as a student poll worker.”
The student voter registration tour kicked off Tuesday with visits to Booker High School and the Sarasota Military Academy, the release adds. It will conclude with a stop at Pine View School on Wednesday, Sept. 25.
For more information, contact the elections office at 941-861-8619.