Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Greyson visited Hancock County Middle
School on Monday, April 21st, talking to the eighth grade class about the
importance of elections and voting. Greyson then praised the kids for
expressing such a strong interest in elections.

This interest derives from the unit on elections recently completed by the
Social Studies classes taught by Josh Roberts. The students studied
Jacksonian Democracy, and even held a Principal for a Day contest.

Roberts asked each of his classes to pick someone who exhibited strong
leadership characteristics. With the students picked, Roberts told them of
the Principal for a Day contest, then asked each class to run election
campaigns for the candidates.

After the Principal for a Day contest, one of Roberts' classes wanted to
stay involved in the election process, so the class decided to hold a voter
registration drive at Bills' on the Hill a few weeks ago. It went quite well
as the students managed to register several people.

Greyson offered compliments to the students on their effort. He also told
them even though the law did not allow them to vote, ways existed for them
to stay active in the process.

"Ask your parents, ask your grandparents if they are registered to vote,"
Greyson said. "If not, ask them to register."

Greyson urged the kids to examine each candidate, find out the candidate's
issues, then decide which one to back. He then urged them to talk to their
friends and neighbors about the candidates.

He said many ways existed to find out about a candidate. Greyson said the
internet provided a quick, easy medium for the students to use. He said many
candidates take advantage of this medium, launching websites and profiles on
popular sites such as Myspace, Youtube and others.

"There are a lot of candidates, a lot of issues," Greyson said.

He said other ways existed to stay involved in the election process.

"You can write letters to your local newspaper," Greyson said. "There are
lots of things you can do to help out."

Greyson then decided to hold a mock election. He asked the students if they
supported John McCain, the Republican nominee. Several students raised their
hands. He asked the same about Hillary Clinton, and again a few hands went
up.

He then asked the students if they supported Barak Obama. Most of the
students raised their hands. He garnered more support among the eighth
graders than Clinton and McCain did combined!

Greyson then opened the floor to questions from the students. They asked
several thoughtful questions of Greyson. One student wanted to know if the
large states held too much power in the political system.

Grayson answered the question indirectly, saying the Framers of the
Constitution dealt with this same issue. In an effort to prevent one state
from gaining too much power in the political process, the Framers developed
a bicameral legislative body composed of the House of Representatives and
the Senate.

Greyson told the students a state's population determines its number of
representatives in the house, while each state receives two senators,
therefore small states possess the same amount of power in the senate as a
large state, giving them power to influence pending legislation.

Another student wanted to know if it was unfair that kids could not vote in
elections. Greyson told her no, but said life in general was not fair. He
said states wanted to ensure a person possessed enough life experience to
cast an informed decision, that is why an age restriction exists to vote.

Greyson answered each question posed to him by the students, praising them
for their insight and thoughtfulness.