MORIARTY URGES YOUTHS TO REGISTER TO VOTE

Missouri Secretary of State Judith K. Moriarty made Cape Central High School one of the stops Friday of a two-week tour around the state promoting voter registration and participation by youths.

The theme of Moriarty's visit, which included a program for several high-school social studies classes, was that youths have a responsibility to register, learn about candidates and issues, and be a part of the democratic process.

She also reviewed the history of voting in the country, from the "stand-up-and-be-counted" town meetings to the current secret ballot. Moriarty also explained how voting has been expanded from just white, male landowners to include women, blacks, and in 1971, the age was dropped from 21 to 18 to vote.

Several examples were cited of where one vote made a difference in an election.

"I am here to talk about your rights as citizens of a free country," said Moriarty, pointing out that people in South Africa waited in lines for two and three days to vote. She explained that people were anxious to exercise their right to vote "because it is a sign that they are free."

"The right to vote is perhaps our greatest privilege in this country," she said. "There are a lot of things I would rather have taken away from me than my right to vote. People have fought and died in wars to save this right for us."

Moriarty explained to students that the registration process is easy and that youths can register when they are 17 and a half, although they must be 18 before they can actually vote.

To illustrate how easy it is to register, while she talked the secretary of state had Central High senior Danielle Roussel complete a registration card. The card was then given to Cape Girardeau County Clerk Rodney Miller, who explained that Roussel's name would be added to the voter registration book and she would soon receive a voter identification card in the mail from his office.

"It is very important to youths that you get out and vote and participate in the system," said Miller. "Believe it or not, we older people want youths to get involved in the process."

Miller said that during his time as county clerk he has attempted to make it easier for youths to get registered by holding drives at schools and by having teachers or administrators available to register students on an ongoing basis.

Also on hand Friday was Stoddard County Clerk Don White, who joined the others in urging youths to get involved.

The statewide campaign to promote registration is part of the Missouri First Vote program, a foundation created to get youths registered.

"My hope is to provide all schools the tools they need to connect our young people with our democracy," said Moriarty. "I can think of no greater contribution that I can make to this state's future than by preparing youths for assuming the responsibility of citizenship."

Greg Kindle, a member of Moriarty's staff who is promoting Missouri First Vote, said the 18-to-24-year-old age group makes up the same size of the population as people over the age of 65. But Kindle said only 6 percent of the people in the younger category vote, while 22 percent of the older group vote.

Kindle said 10 million youths turn 18 in the United States each year.

"When you have a low turnout, it is frightening how few people actually make a decision," said Moriarty. "On a lot of issues a very small group of people are saying what will happen for everyone else."

Rex Real of Sedalia, who raised $50,000 from Missouri companies to pay for Missouri First Vote materials, also spoke to students and urged them to be active.

"You will be making decisions about my future," Real, a grandfather, told the students.

Currently, 315 public and private high schools are participating in Missouri First Vote. Materials are free to participating schools and include a teacher's guide, video, posters, postcard voter registration forms, and supplemental materials.

Nationwide, youth voting has fallen to nearly 13 percent since the 26th Amendment was signed into law. In the 1972 election, 48 percent of America's young voters cast ballots.