Recognizing a growing trend of low voter turnout, the Kids Voting program was formed in 1988 as a community-based solution to building a strong generation of voters for the future.

On Election Day, voting becomes a family experience as students accompany their parents to the polls and cast a special ballot on the same issues as the adults.  Kids learn first-hand about the impact of their voting as they see the Kids Voting results tabulated and reported by local news media during the election coverage.

Today, there are more than 10,600 Kids Voting programs in schools nationwide.

The program is unique because it combines civic learning in the classroom with an authentic voting experience that reflects the adult process.

In 2004, 1.5 million students nationwide, cast a ballot at the official polls or with a new online voting system.  St. Paul counted more than 16,500 students who vote in the Kids Voting election.  The mayoral race in 2005 saw more than 7,800 students voting online or on paper ballots in the classroom.  In the 2006 midterm election, 16,300 students participated -- more than a 60 percent increase over the 2002 midterm participation.

Nationally, nearly 4 million students have the opportunity to participate in KVUSA classroom activities.  Teachers in 475 school districts are helping students learn core civic skills and values. 

• Kids Voting started in an Arizona community in 1988, became statewide in 1990 and went nationwide in 1992.Kids Voting came to Minnesota in 1994 and to St. Paul in 2000.
• Kids Voting helps students and parents of all cultures and income levels learn more about our democratic process.
• Organizers believe Kids Voting will help close the gender gap in adult voting trends and increase voter turnout among 18 - 24 year olds, the age group least likely to vote.
• Studies of Kids Voting communities suggest that the program increases adult voter turnout an average 6 percent.
• In 2004 approximately 67,000 students voted in Kids Voting across Minnesota.
• In 2004 Minnesota students voted giving George Bush president (40% of the vote) and John Kerry (53% of the vote).
• It will take 450 volunteers to staff the Kids Voting polling places
• Kids Voting needs your support to be successful!

Kids Voting started with a fishing trip. In 1987, three business leaders from Arizona were on vacation in Costa Rica. As the travelers discovered, Costa Rica has the highest voter turnout rate of any western democracy. One reason credited for this turnout is that children there learn about the importance of voting in school, and then on election day they go “vote” with their parents. The travelers brought this concept back to Arizona, and in 1988 they launched the first Kids Voting program in the suburban Phoenix area. Kids Voting has grown at a rapid clip since then:

• 1990: Kids Voting went statewide in Arizona involving 750,000 students
• 1992: Kids Voting expanded to eleven states
• 1994: Twenty states including Minnesota plus the District of Columbia participated; almost half a million students went to the polls and 'voted.' In Minnesota, Kids Voting ran its first pilot project in Duluth. Over 6,000 students participated and 'voted' on election day along with 250 volunteers.
• 1996: Minnesota expanded to 10 communities involving 30,000 students.
• 1998: Minnesota Kids Voting added 2 more communities and 3,000 more students
• 1999 Prior Lake/Savage became the first Twin Cities area community to launch a Kids Voting Minnesota program.
• 2000 Seven new cities and school districts launched programs: ACGC (Atwater-Cosgrove-Grove City), Carlton, Hastings, Hopkins, Moorhead,Pine City, and St. Paul. Over 108,000 students were taught the basics of voting and democracy.
• 2001 Hopkins and Prior Lake ran Kids Voting local elections. In St. Paul, 160 ninth grade students attended a town hall meeting with the 2 candidates for St. Paul mayor. The one hour long event was covered live on local television.
• Nationwide today: 57 affiliates reaching 300 counties...4.3 million students...200,000 teachers in 10,600 schools.
• Kids Voting St. Paul provided curriculum and educational materials to more than 3,000 teachers, involved 450 volunteers, and counted more than 16,000 student votes in 2004.
• In Minnesota, the Kids Voting program served approximately 8,000 teachers, 3,000 volunteers, and 225,000 students. Students voted in schools and in more than 900 precinct polling places.