Teens register to vote, participate in mock election at schools

St. Charles Parish’s 17-and-over teens got the opportunity to register to vote at the Voter’s Outreach Drive held Sept. 11, at Destrehan High School and Sept. 17 at Hahnville High School. The teens participated in a mock election. Students got the opportunity to use computerized voting machines that voters will use at the Oct. 20 election. The unanimous winner of the mock elections from both schools was Bill Clinton, for president. However at Hahnville High School he tied the vote with Abraham Lincoln.

A total of 67 teens registered and the goal of of the parish registrar was 50 students.

“We’d hope to get at least 50 students signed up, but we got a total of 67, that’s good, next time around we hope to get more young people registered,” Brian Champagne, registrar of voters, said. “We tried to coordinate the voting drive in conjunction with homecoming so that the students would be voting for an activity actually going on at the school, but that didn’t work out this year, so we plan to try to coordinate something like that next time around.”

John Pourcian, director of voter outreach, plans to visit every high school in the state of Louisiana to encourage young people between the ages of 17 and 20 to register to vote.

“I came to St. Charles Parish to encourage residents to register to vote,” Pourcian said. “Our job is to get potential voters.”

Pourcian said although he encourages everyone to vote, his focus is on the younger population.

“The state’s legislature has mandated that we visit every parish in the state promoting voter participation,” he said. “That includes high schools, but we don’t stop there. We visit places like malls where large groups of teens gather.

“The computerized machines are good to get kids interested in voting, because they’re easy to use and operate,” he said.

Champagne said the first few years after registration teens seem eager to vote.

“As teens get older and get more exposure to politics and politicians in the media there’s a slump,” he said. “Then eventually, once the younger generation gets married and understands how important voting is for recreation, taxes, and things that govern the parish and the country, they start voting again.”

Champagne plans on hosting voter’s registration drives periodically throughout the year.

For more information on the upcoming elections or to find out if you meet the qualifications for early registration for the Oct. 20, primary in St. Charles Parish, contact the Voter’s Registration Office at 985-783-5120.