Class officer election gives Steubenville students real-world voting experience

STEUBENVILLE, OH (WTRF) – Students at Steubenville High School voted on their class officers but with a key difference. Part of an effort to familiarize the teens with the election process, students cast their ballots using the voting equipment used in Jefferson County's public elections. Votes were cast for president, vice president, secretary and treasurer for each of the school's four classes by freshmen and sophomores in the morning and juniors and seniors in the afternoon. Winners were determined through a tally by county election workers. Lauren Linn, a teacher overseeing the event, said the idea was inspired by a simulated election that Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose conducted at the school earlier this year with assistance from the Jefferson County Board of Elections. To give students in the junior class a sense of how voting is done, LaRose invited them to vote on things such as their favorite pizza or sports team. Bob Gale, director of the Jefferson County Board of Elections, said the simulation went so well, the decision was made to create a similar experience involving the school's real election of class officers. Linn said students were given until the last day of the first week of school to declare their candidacy. She added that since then, they have spread their names and goals through signs, T-shirts and short video messages that were broadcasted through the school's morning television news program. 'The students are really taking pride in this process. They're embracing this and really taking it seriously,' Linn said.