[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Page 7498]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             STUDENT VOTING

  Mr. MANCHIN. Madam President, I rise today to speak about the 
importance of getting our young people involved in our electoral 
process and to highlight a West Virginia school with a standout record 
for going the extra mile to encourage students to register and 
participate in voting.
  I tell young people all the time: You cannot sit on the sidelines and 
watch life happen. You have to get in the game and start making the 
calls. The same can be said about our democracy. If you want results, 
you have to first become an informed and active voter.
  Voting is one of the greatest rights the free people of a free nation 
possess. Over the course of our Nation's history, many have fought 
tirelessly to gain voting rights. In fact, it was West Virginia's very 
own Senator Jennings Randolph who relentlessly pushed for the 26th 
amendment to our Constitution, ensuring those 18 years of age or older 
had the right to cast a ballot. It took him almost 30 years to get it 
passed. He started during World War II. It did not pass until 1971.
  Each vote matters and the individuals casting those votes matter even 
more. I know that firsthand because I was honored to serve as West 
Virginia's highest elections officer, secretary of state. I served from 
2000 to 2004.
  During my tenure, we established a program called Saving History and 
Reaching Every Student Program, which was known as the SHARES Program 
which promoted democracy in West Virginia schools. We registered 42,000 
high school students. In my State, so many of the students, if they are 
17 years of age but they turn 18 on election day of November 4 or 
before, can vote in the primary while they are 17. They did not know 
that. We started promoting it. We had ambassadors. They were all 
working and trying to get 100 percent of their class eligible to 
participate--to register and then vote. Then we rewarded them with a 
school of excellence. My staff and I traveled the State speaking with 
high school seniors, encouraging them to complete a voter registration 
form and to participate in our elections.
  A decade after that program began, it gives me great pleasure to 
stand on the Senate floor today and recognize a school--one school--
that truly takes it to a whole other level with their students. They 
took it very seriously as far as democracy and their right and their 
responsibility to participate.
  Every year for the past decade, the staff and the members of Fayette 
County's Meadow Bridge High School, with their outstanding principal, 
have registered 100 percent of each senior class. This is truly a 
remarkable accomplishment. I am unaware of any other school in our 
great State or across this Nation that has produced voter registration 
numbers such as those for 10 years in a row. Think of it: Every student 
in the senior class of this school for 10 years registered to 
participate.
  The school takes important steps such as explaining the registration 
form, the election process, and the importance of one's vote--all of 
which go a long way in opening the minds of young adults and showing 
them that it is easy to become involved, cast a vote, and make a 
difference.
  I have said this to so many young students and the students who come 
and work with us every day: The most valuable thing you will ever own 
in your life is your vote. It belongs to you and nobody else. There is 
only one--your vote. Nobody can take that away from you.
  I applaud Meadow Bridge High School's students, faculty, and staff 
for their commitment to our democracy. I challenge other high schools 
to follow Meadow Bridge's example.
  Let us work together to encourage our Nation's young adults, even 
more when it comes to our democracy and national issues. This is not a 
partisan issue, as so many things might be in this body. This is not. 
It is all of us working together to continue to lead this great 
country. It is all of us being Americans and that we should support, 
for the future of our great Nation, this democracy of ours and the 
freedom to vote.
  I am so proud that West Virginia's own Meadow Bridge High School is 
such a good example, not only for the State of West Virginia but for 
young students all over this Nation.
  Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BLUNT. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the 
quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Klobuchar). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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