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Election Day Participation Program for High School Students
The 2000 General Assembly enacted legislation enabling the local electoral boards, with the cooperation of school authorities, to establish a program for high school students interested in voting, to foster an awareness of the elderly and disabled community, and to assist the officers of election on Election Day.
The Fairfax County Electoral Board invites high school government students to participate in this National Award winning program this November. Students may serve as either Election Officers (if eligible) or Election Pages. The individual schools/teachers will determine what participation credits or volunteer hours the students may be awarded.
Note: Schools are not in session on Election Day in November.
The Student Information packet is posted to this website prior to Labor
Day, usually during the last week of August. Please read the Student
Information Packet prior to completing forms.
Federal I-9 Form for Student Election Officers
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Election Pages
Students who are not eligible to vote or who only wish to participate for a portion of the day may serve as Election Pages. Students must be US/VA Government students, have the approval of their parents (if under 18) and be recommended by his/her government teacher or home school advisor. Election Pages…
- Are required to work from 5:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. or from 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
- Will assist Election Officers with various tasks, including setting up the polling place, directing voters, assisting elderly and disabled voters and distributing information. Pages may not check names, operate voting machines or tally results, but may observe.
- Are required to attend a training class. Classes, lasting approximately 2 hours, are held in mid-October at the Fairfax County Government Center.
- Are required to subscribe to the Election Page Oath administered by the Chief Election Officer.
- Do not represent a political party.
- Do not receive compensation for serving.
Election Officers
Students who will be 18 years old on or before Election Day, and have registered to vote on or before the registration deadline, are eligible to serve as Election Officers. Election Officers…
- Must submit required Federal I-9 Form
- Are required to work the entire day from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. (or possibly later).
- Are legally responsible for the conduct of the election, including checking names and ID’s, operating voting machines and ascertaining results.
- Are required to attend a training class. Classes, lasting approximately 2 hours, are held in mid-October at various locations around the County.
- Are required to subscribe to the Constitutional Oath prior to Election Day. (Notaries are available at the training classes for this purpose.)
- Are required to subscribe to the Election Officer Oath administered by the Chief Election Officer before the polls open on election morning.
- Must choose to represent either the Democratic or Republican Party.
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Are paid $100 for Election Day.
All Participants
- Will serve under the direct supervision of the Chief Election Officer in the precinct.
- Must be strictly impartial at all times, not discussing politics, candidates or issues.
- Must arrive on time and may not leave the polling place during his/her shift.
- Are expected to dress appropriately-no jeans, shorts, sweats, t-shirts, etc.
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Are expected to use appropriate language and behavior at all
times.
- Are expected to work, not visit, with friends and neighbors.
Parents and Teachers
The Electoral Board will not accept application requests directly from students or from parents on behalf of their child for participation in this program. The Electoral Board can only accept student applications submitted through their high school government/social studies chairs/teachers. We encourage students and parents to contact their social studies/government chair/teacher if they are interested in participating in this program.
The Electoral Board will attempt to assign students to polling places near their homes and high schools. No more than two students will be assigned for each shift at each polling place. The Electoral Board will provide the school/teachers with a list of participants and number of hours worked so that they may award classroom credit as appropriate. Students, whether serving as election pages or election officers, must attend the appropriate training class in order to qualify for assignment and credit in this program.
The Electoral Board will attempt to accommodate those parents who wish to serve as election officers in the precincts at which their children have been assigned. However, we cannot guarantee that those assignments are available. Parents who are considering serving as election officers must be registered to vote in Virginia on or before the voter registration deadline for the November General Election, and must attend an election officer training class.
The Electoral Board will also prepare press releases for the local newspapers and media to publicize the student participation.
Note: Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, working toward their Eagle and Gold awards, may also be able to fulfill some of their merit badge requirements by participating in this program.
Downloads
All downloads are in PDF format and you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader program installed on your computer to view and/or print the downloads. If you do not have the Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer, click on the image below to go to the Adobe Systems download site. Download and install the program according to the instructions. Adobe Acrobat Reader is free and is distributed by Adobe Systems.
Click on one of the following links for downloadable brochures:
How a Bill Becomes a Law in Virginia
(Overview of the procedure whereby a bill becomes a law)
The Constitution of the United
States of America (Historical notes on our Constitution)
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Student Participation
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E-mail or call us at 703-324-4735
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