As the 2024 election season draws closer, newly turned 18-year-olds at Topeka High are going to be voting for the first time.
Phillip Wrigley, a Government teacher at Topeka High, runs mock elections in his US Government class every year. Topics range from favorite desserts to preferred vacation destinations. These “elections” resemble the process students would go through when they vote in real elections.
Wrigley believed US Government classes are “deeply relevant” for high schoolers, especially seniors.
“There’s a lot of things that schools try to prepare students for,” Wrigley said. “ We want people to be able to get jobs and have prosperous lives. You want them to be good members of their families, whatever job people might have, whatever future they might envision. They are going to be ‘little c’ citizens, who have a role in making our town a good place to live, and making just laws, and making decisions.”
Wrigley enjoyed teaching the class to seniors because they are about to reach adulthood, and some will be able to vote in the 2024 presidential election. Wrigley thought voting is of great importance to spread power in the country more equally.
“All people have dignity and worth,” Wrigley said. “I believe that is inherent. I want to live in a society where everyone has that dignity and worth recognized, and the way that you do that is by making sure that power is not in the hands of a few people, but in the hands of all people, and that those people get to work together and problem solve together and create communities together and have a say together.”
For students who have not yet registered to vote, the Voting Club held a registration drive on Oct. 8. According to senior Caroline Toland, a member of the Voting Club, interested students can come to the main desk during both lunches.
However, for students who were unable to vote this year, there are other ways to be civically engaged.
Students who are at least 16 years old, are US citizens, live in the state of Kansas, and have a teacher recommendation, are eligible to serve as election workers.
Student election workers would be responsible for checking in and verifying voters, and assisting voters through the voting process.
Another option for students who want to be civically engaged is to join the Voting Club.
According to Wrigley, the purpose of the Voting Club is to encourage students of all backgrounds to be civically engaged.
Junior Christa Dickman, president of the Voting Club, said that the current goals of the club are to increase student civic engagement in the 2024 election by getting eligible students registered to vote and serve as election workers.
Any students interested in joining the Voting Club can meet with Wrigley in Room 305.
