Politics & Government
Kids Voting Shakopee Helps Children Participate in Election Day
In the 2008 Presidential election, there were a total of 2,500 Kids Voting ballots cast at poll locations within the Shakopee School District.
Kids love having an opportunity to vote, said Lorri Helkamp, co-chair of Kids Voting Shakopee.
Paulette Rislund is also co-chair of the nonprofit organization, which started in Shakopee in 2004. Kids Voting Shakopee is an affiliate of the national organization called Kids Voting USA, which aims to prepare children to be future informed voters.
By the time the children turn 18, they will know such things as how to find information about candidates, how to look up their polling location, and voting procedures, Helkamp explained. Kids Voting Shakopee ends up affecting adults as well.
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“Some parents have said that they wouldn’t have voted if their kids hadn’t requested to go vote,” Helkamp said.
Kids Voting Shakopee sets up polls at the same poll locations where adults vote. In Shakopee that means twelve locations. Other Scott County locations consist of those areas that are part of the Shakopee School District: Prior Lake, Savage, and the townships of Jackson, Louisville and Sand Creek.
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Local businesses that adopt a precinct and volunteers staff the polls. There are more than 150 volunteers who contribute to the organization, according to information on the website. Other sources of community support come from schools and business sponsors.
Teachers at Shakopee Public Schools and the Shakopee Area Catholic School use the Kids Voting USA curriculum for children in the third through ninth grades, Rislund explained.
Kids Voting Shakopee also develops a voter’s guide for local races to help kids decide for whom they will vote. Adults use the guides too, Helkamp said.
“We’ve heard comments that parents loved the voter’s guide,” she said.
In 2010, there were 1,900 ballots cast at Kids Voting Shakopee polls in Scott County. During the Presidential election of 2008, children submitted 2,520 ballots; Helkamp expects similar numbers for the 2012 elections.
Kids Voting Shakopee polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Shakopee, Jackson Township and Louisville Township. For more information on poll locations, including for Savage and Prior Lake, visit the Kids Voting Shakopee website.
