The ability to vote and elect leaders is a central part of a democratic society, and it’s a necessary step in making sure your voice is heard.

Dr. Donna Papadimitriou taught economics at Caney Creek H.S. for 12 years prior to going into administration. She views voting as a responsibility that all citizens have and said teachers should encourage their students to register themselves to vote when they are of legal age.

“I think our youth is definitely our future; they are valuable and have a lot of input on the changes in our society,” Papadimitriou said. “There’s power in numbers. We have a lot of youth who can make a big change by participating in the process of voting for their leaders.”

Although the youth makes up the majority of the U.S. population, they also have the lowest voter turnout. Papadimitriou said many young people may just not be educated on the process to get registered and vote.

“I think some [young people] probably don’t believe they can make a difference,” Papadimitriou said. “There are some who may not take the initiative to actually go to a station to vote.”

While teaching on-level and AP economics at Caney Creek, Papadimitriou and the government teacher decided to try and get their students excited about voting. The teachers got together and explained registering, eligibility and voting to their students and passed out registration cards to students who were old enough. They then put the cards in the mail after the students filled them out. On election day, Papadimitriou drove a bus full of students and staff members to and from the courthouse every period to vote.

“I think it was a great experience and definitely created a memory for those kids that they’ll keep with them for a long time,” Papadimitriou said.