Former First Lady Barbara Bush is taking an interest in the Center for Governmental Studies' Youth Leadership Initiative and will speak Wednesday about the importance of young people becoming involved in the political process.
Although Bush now is giving speeches around the country in support of the presidential campaign of her son, Texas Gov. George W. Bush (R), Initiative Director Ken Stroupe said her speech will be non-partisan.
Center Program Director Alex Theodoridis said Bush was eager to participate in the event.
"I think it is a tribute to the success and promise of the Youth Leadership Initiative that someone as universally respected as Barbara Bush would want to learn more about the program and involve herself in it," Theodoridis said.
Larry J. Sabato, Center director and government and foreign affairs professor, also said this event is a positive step for the YLI.
"This indicates that the program is rapidly transforming itself into a national project, not just a state-based one," Sabato said.
The event will be open to the public, Stroupe said, but students in Sabato's GFAP 101 class, Introduction to American Politics, and some local middle- and high-school students will have reserved seats.
The Center also is gearing up for its next major event -- the largest online mock Republican presidential primary election ever. The Center is targeting various schools around the Commonwealth, for a total pool of over 10,000 mock voters, he said.
The mock elections will be held Feb. 29 -- the day before the official Virginia Republican primary elections -- via secure encrypted Internet ballots.
"The results will appear on the actual day of voting. If you can come out as a winner in that statewide mock primary, it's obviously very favorable for the candidate," Stroupe said.
The electronic ballot will contain an official authorization statement from the state Board of Elections, since the ballot mirrors the official ballot.
It would have been difficult in years past to coordinate such a large event and tally the results efficiently.
"The Internet has made it possible for a program like the Youth Leadership Initiative to conduct a more accessible election," Stroupe said.
In addition, the Center will conduct mock caucuses in conjunction with the Virginia Democratic caucuses in April.
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