2002 NACRC Best Practices Award
In 2002, the Johnson County Election Office received the Best Practices Award from
National Association of County Recorders, Election Officials and Clerks (NACRC).
Connie Schmidt, Election Commissioner
Johnson County, Kansas, Election Office
The Celebrate the Vote program was developed to promote voter education and student participation in the election process. The Johnson County Election Office initiated the program in 1997. At that time the program included (1) presenting demonstrations and programs to students - kindergarten through Community College; (2) conducting student elections on electronic voting machines; (3) distributing birthday cards and voter registration cards for 18 year olds; (4) coordinating a visual arts poster contest in all county high schools to promote advance voting; and (5) developing a student field assistant program for high school students.
The program was expanded into the community in 1998 when Election Office staff met with school staff and PTA members at three elementary schools to pilot a project that involved students. The idea was to encourage students to create yard signs that say "VOTE" or "VOTE TODAY" for placement in their front yard. The goal was to have a multitude of signs within the school neighborhood. The pilot project was a huge success. Approximately 1,425 elementary students from Apache, Christa McAuliffe, and Pawnee Schools in the Shawnee Mission School District designed "VOTE" yard signs for display at their homes on Election Day, November 3, 1998.
In 1999, the success of this pilot project prompted the Election Office
to spearhead an effort to establish a 501c3 non-profit, non-partisan organization,
comprised of 21 citizen leaders. This group was formed under the auspices
of the Johnson County Election Office, which shares with the Foundation
the goal of reconnecting voters-especially young ones-with the electoral
process and reinvigorating our democracy.
In 2000, one of the first programs supported by the Foundation was the "Celebrate the Vote" program. Once again, this program was designed to encourage students in elementary schools to plan a celebrative activity for Election Day 2000. Students created yard signs that said VOTE or VOTE TODAY for placement in their front yard. The higher grades also had the opportunity to collaborate with nearby eating establishments for placing tent cards on tables. The non-partisan messages included, "Voting is Important", "Your Vote Counts", or "VOTE". The goal was to instill in the students that we all should celebrate the opportunity to vote.
On Election
Day, November 7, 2000, each elementary school student received a sticker "I
Celebrated Election Day" that mimicked the "I Voted" sticker message that
registered voters received at the polls. Each school was encouraged to
plan a celebrative activity to acknowledge that Election Day is a patriotic
event. Examples of some of the activities include patriotic parades, ceremonial
flag raising activity, and mock classroom elections, followed by celebration
parties. Schools and PTA leaders created activities which ranged from lining
the streets surrounding the schools with student-made "VOTE" signs to Styrofoam
cups inserted in chain link fence spelling out the words "VOTE TODAY" to
the student's designing "Thank You for Voting" signs that were posted in
voting locations throughout the County. These activities were coordinated
by a Foundation Board member who served as Committee Chairperson, and were
supported within each school by local PTA Presidents.
A total of 13,471 students from 42 schools participated in this program. The success of the program, however, cannot be measured solely by number of participants. This program brought together Election Office staff, corporate leaders, business owners, PTA presidents, school teachers, and parents in a united effort to "Celebrate the Vote."
The Johnson County Election Office received many letters from school principals and PTA presidents acknowledging the success of the program.
"Thanks to the Celebration of Patriotism Foundation for helping to provide a 'teachable moment' for our children....The earlier we educate our children about their right to vote, the brighter the future of our society." (Candy Lafferty, PTA President, Dorothy Moody School)
"Our sixth grade students made table tents and delivered those to area restaurants to put on tables at their establishments on voting day. They also made yard signs....It was a very successful activity for the students, our school, and the Shawnee community." (Marcy Henderson, Broken Arrow Elementary School)
There were many compliments from students, staff, and parents about the school buildings being surrounded with "VOTE" signs. An added benefit was that many of these school buildings were also polling places; so many voters mentioned that they saw the signs.
All costs associated with this program were funded by donations and grant monies awarded to the Celebration of Patriotism Foundation. Operating with no paid staff, a total of 75 volunteers coordinated the project, with a program budget of $2,000. The dollar value of volunteer time is estimated to be $16,275.
This community-wide effort to educate and celebrate the privilege of voting is both innovative and unique and is worthy of an "Act of Caring" award. The "Celebrate the Vote" program reaches the most important segment of our population -future voters - they hold our future, the future of our country, in their hands. It is significant that this program was developed by county staff in 1997, and has grown to a community-wide effort to reach future voters.
Participants in student and mock elections and classroom demonstrations grew from 1,460 in 1997; to 3,206 in 1998; to 5,810 in 1999; to 9,974 in 2000; to 11,358 in 2001. The expanded partnership with the Foundation reached an additional 13,471 students in the Elections 2000 program. This joint effort resulted in a collective awareness to promote the importance of voting, to engage in voter education and to organize Election Day celebrations.
The partnership between the Election Office and the Foundation was successful in recruiting volunteers, teachers, and parents and forged important community and corporate partnerships in its efforts to educate citizens - particularly young ones - on the importance of voting and participating in the democratic process. This concept of creation of a non-profit foundation to supplement an Election Office's voter outreach activities is one that can be easily replicated throughout the country.
Last Updated: March 10, 2010 11:31 AM
