Not old enough to vote, but old enough to help: How teens are helping to avert an election crisis

[TexasTowelie]

WASHINGTON — Like thousands of other teenagers, Abhinand Keshamouni's introduction to working the polls came from watching "The Daily Show."

Host Trevor Noah ends each episode with a pitch for Power the Polls, a national recruitment network working to ensure there are enough poll workers on Election Day. The message resonated with Keshamouni, a 17-year-old senior from Canton, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit.

He signed up first for the Michigan state primary in August. And he will be back at a polling site Nov. 3, when he will take off a day from his high school that's conducting classes online. Keshamouni will be among more 1 million poll workers braving a pandemic to ensure people can vote – and he got four of his buddies to do the same.

"I thought it was a really good way to help our democracy, especially because I can't vote right now," Keshamouni said, adding that he also got a little pressure from his parents, Indian immigrants who will be voting in their first presidential election. "My entire family can vote except for me, so they were like, 'Go work the polls!' "

Read more: https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/09/24/election-2020-teens-step-up-poll-workers-during-pandemic/3480630001/

[Thekaspervote]

1. I understand Rachael maddow covered the story last night as well

[Sherman A1]

2. K&R

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

3. That is wonderful.

I understand a very large number of younger people will be working the polls this year. Not only does that relieve vulnerable older people from possible infection, but more to the point it gets the younger generation far more involved. As they should be. As they need to be.

One polling place I've used in recent years is a k-8 school. They have kids there helping out, assisted by adults. I just love it, because those kids get a first hand look at voting. For most of us -- and I am certainly speaking for myself here -- voting is a mysterious, almost hidden thing in our youth. I will say that I did not vote the first time I was old enough, in no small part because I was confused and befuddled by the entire process of registering and then voting. Fortunately, I got over that and have voted ever since. Always in Presidential elections, and as time went by always in primaries, off year elections, and various local elections.

An additional comment about kids. Several years ago, when I was first living here, I had a temp job at a local middle school in the office. If I recall correctly, it was a three day job, answering phones and the like. During the day, various kids in the school would have an hour at a time doing office work. It was wonderful, and I was charmed by them. For one thing, this is Santa Fe, NM, and all of the kids that showed up were fully bi-lingual and if there were two or more of them, they chatted to each other in Spanish. It gave me a chance to try to improve my own understanding of Spanish. Which honestly, I wasn't very good at. But that was my problem, not theirs.

I really like young people. One of the bad things about getting older, and I'm now 72, is how we lose touch with them.

[TexasTowelie]

5. I was fortunate in the fact that I associated with some of the students at my college alma mater

until I was 35 years old. After I moved from the Austin area I still had young friends for another 10 years. I don't have much interaction with young people these days and I miss both the serious discussions and the fun times that I spend with our youth. I did make it to my college Homecoming last year and it was great discussing politics in the Commons with some interesting students. I am also fortunate that most of the students are kind to the alums asking us what it was like when we were students and grateful for the financial contributions we made so that the university has state-of-the-art facilities that were constructed over the last three decades.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

7. I had the lovely experience of taking college classes

at a community college for nearly fifteen years straight, from about 1992 to 2005. I was born in 1948, so you can do the math. I loved it that I was constantly interacting with 19 year olds. And to this day I get angry when older people trash the younger generation. They don't deserve it.

I'm a Boomer, and I remember very clearly when we were scorned as lazy and ignorant, not able to hold a candle to our elders. I guess that crap is always dumped on the upcoming generation. Yeah, most of us take a bit of time to grow up and do what we're supposed to, but after a while we grow up, grow into our adult roles. What we shouldn't be doing is dumping on the younger generation.

Like you, I have almost no interaction with younger people these days, especially in the last seven or eight months. The things I used to do that would put me in contact with them just aren't happening these days. Someday, someday . . . .

[tiredtoo]

4. Thanks for sharing this

Should be shared by all. Just posted on facebook.

[TexasTowelie]

6. You're welcome

and thanks for sharing the article on Facebook.