Great Bend High School students in Michelle Moore’s government class were visited Thursday by Barton County election officials and members of the League of Women Voters.
Barton County Clerk/Election Officer Bev Schmeidler and Deputy County Clerk Chris Saenz brought two electronic voting machines to the classroom and invited students to try them. Their ballots were not for political issues, however. The students could vote on some of their favorite things.
This was also Homecoming week at GBHS and the theme for Thursday’s Spirit Day was “holidays.” Each class had a holiday, which for seniors was The Fourth of July. Several of the seniors in government class were wearing patriotic combinations of red, white and blue as they voted.
Janice Walker, president of the League of Women Voters of Great Bend & Barton County, was there with Erin Ferguson, the group’s media representative, to talk about the history of voting rights and to register qualified individuals to vote. Walker estimated there would be 100 more registered voters by the end of the school day.
To vote in the upcoming election, an individual must be at least 18 years of age, a resident of the state and a citizen of the United States, and not have a felony conviction. Students who are 17 years old now can still register if they will be 18 by election day on Nov. 5.
The voter registration form asks the person filling it out to declare a party or check the “Not Affiliated” box. In Kansas, the choices are Democratic, Republican, Libertarian, No Labels Kansas, and United Kansas. The form can be found online on the Kansas Secretary of State’s website at www.sos.ks.gov.
“When you go to vote in Kansas you will need some sort of photo ID,” Ferguson said. A driver’s license, passport or college ID will work.
An individual doesn’t have to be 18 years old to serve as a poll worker, she added. With parental permission, a poll worker can be as young as 16.
Ferguson explained that the League of Women Voters is non-partisan.
“We do not support candidates; we support issues,” she said.
She urged the students to be educated voters and to participate in all elections. Social media may be a source of misinformation, she cautioned, recommending voters seek out multiple, credible sources of information. The League of Women Voters has created the website Vote411.org that allows individuals to type in their address and see what’s on their ballot, check their voter registration, find their polling place and more.
The Kansas Secretary of State’s VoterView website also always individuals to view the ballots.
