Making A Difference

When I was in 7th grade last year, we had a special project. We were getting people to register to vote. I learned that it was so easy to register. I did not understand why more people did not register. It is a very important part of being an American. We learned in social studies that some countries do not allow people to vote. We learned that in US history at some times people have not been allowed to vote. Now everyone who is 18 can vote.

Our class decided to make a change in our community. So we made a plan to get people registered. We started with our own families. The school set up a voter registration day. It was part of the school’s open house. So many people would be there. We made sure our parents were there and registered. We asked people why they had not registered before. Most people said they did not care much about it.

My brother was 18. He was going to high school. I asked him if he was registered. The answer was no. I told him how important it was and that he could come to the Open House. He said he would do better than that. I did not know what he meant.

My brother surprised me. He called the registrar’s office. He was calling to find out where he could register. But he learned more. He found out he could be a volunteer registrar. He would have to go to a training session. Then he would be able to help others get registered. So he went downtown. He registered as a voter. Then he took the training.

My brother talked with his high school social studies teacher. He said he wanted to help other students get registered. If you are 18, you can register to vote, but many 18-year-olds don’t register. It could be that they don’t know they can register.

The teacher set up a voter registration table in the lunchroom. My brother sat there every day for a week. When students came in, if they were 18, they could go to register at his table. At the end of the week, 108 students had registered. My brother had done all that himself.