A new joint program sponsored by the City of Charlottesville Office of Voter Registration and the University Center for Politics aims to involve young people in the electoral process by recruiting University students as election officers, according to a press release from the City of Charlottesville.
Evan Smith, deputy registrar for the city who introduced the project, said the idea came from a similar program in place among high schools in Orange County.
"We're hoping to get the U.Va. community more involved in local politics and increasing civic awareness among that age group of population," Smith said.
He noted, however, that because of Virginia election code, only those registered to vote in the Commonwealth can work at the polls.
Smith stated that the Office of Voter Registration aims to have students trained in time for the May 2 school board and City Council elections. Students will attend two training sessions to prepare and will be paid for their time, he added.
"Legally, they won't be any different from any regular election officials in Charlottesville," Smith said.
Smith noted that the average age of an election worker in Charlottesville is 55 years, while nationally it has been estimated at 77.
Holly Hatcher, assistant coordinator of programs at the Center for Politics, said the Center has already worked with the City on a student-led voter registration coalition. This program will use the same resources to reach out across Grounds, she said.
"It's a way to open the door to civic engagement," Hatcher said.
Politics Prof. Larry J. Sabato, director of the Center for Politics, described the state of political involvement among young people.
"We see a change," he said. "It started to become manifest in 2004 among the young. There is clearly an uptick in interest among the young in politics. These things are cyclical."
Sabato said the problem is that the majority of election workers are older.
"I've had election workers all over the country come up to me and say, 'Can you please get some young people involved in this?'" Sabato said. "Our mission is to educate and involve people in politics-- especially young people. This program accomplishes that."
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