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UA business school joins Mock Election

UA's McClelland Hall houses the power to sway a new generation to vote and care.

The National Student/Parent Mock Election Project offices joined forces with the University of Arizona's Eller School of Public Administration and Policy in January to push more American children to participate in the electoral process along with their parents.

Not only is it a national voter education project, but the Mock Election program is consistent with the mission of the college, said Alice Jones, the project's national director.

"The university saw this as a tremendous opportunity for public service," she said.

Rhonda Trautman, former assistant director of the UA public administration and policy department, oversaw Arizona's mock election as an undergraduate and graduate student service project two years ago.

The current state coordinator - Trishia Campie, a UA criminology graduate student - directed the election with Trautman last year.

"The Arizona chapter is responsible for bringing the national program into the state of Arizona," Campie stated in an e-mail interview. "This means having kids vote in the mock election and forming partnerships between kids, parents, teachers and community leaders - with a heavy emphasis on law enforcement and civics."

Jones said the project teaches young people to keep democracy alive by doing more than turning out at the ballot box.

"It's not just about voting, but how you as a citizen relate to your government - that's the underlying issue," she said

Mock election voting is done five days before the actual presidential and state elections. The national project has several programs in the works, including a Web site, a national youth executive board and a history and current events quiz show on Channel 1 - a cable channel used in schools around the country.

Marie Williams, Mock Election's program coordinator, said the youth board hopes to join the APEX Summer Academic Enrichment Program at the UA to train the K-12 students for two weeks in conflict resolution, cultural awareness and minority history.

A team from the UA public administration and policy, family consumer and resources, political science and law departments will teach the students, she said.

Jones said there are more young people volunteering than ever before, but voter turnout is still low.

"There are some broken connections that need to be made," she said. "The problem is many young people feel disillusioned about government."

According to Jones, the under-18 "new millennium generation" is the largest ever, and is important because their votes will determine the future of the United States.

"It makes the baby boomer generation look like a blip on the screen," she said. "They're going to decide our destiny."