(Page 2 of 19) - Kids Voting USA: The Relationship of Civic Engagement Programs for Youths and Socioeconomic Status in Arizona authored by Jordan, Katharine.

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Voting USA: The Relationship of Civic Engagement Programs for Youths

and Socioeconomic Status in the Arizona

Introduction

Scholars, politicians and educators have been concerned with the civic

engagement of America’s youth and its implications for the future of American
politics. Evidence has shown that both the general public and children in general
love the idea of democracy but are weary of its practices. This is also mirrored in
the decreasing civic capital and political participation rates in the United States
(Putnam, 1995). As such, there has been a significant growth in the number of
attempts in educating the public on political matters, and a particular increase in
the number of programs aimed at the political education of young children.
Grassroots organizations, the various levels of government and even
multinational corporations, have taken part in increasing the awareness of social
issues and the importance of political participation. However, the accessibility of
such messages should be questioned because of what scholars know about
American political participation habits. Patterns of participation in the United
States fall into many schisms, including ethnic and socioeconomic divisions. As
such this paper will explore the question: How do the schisms of culture and
socioeconomic status impact the civic education opportunities available for
America’s youth?

To examine this question, this paper analyzes the impact of these

variables on the access and participation to the fast-growing grassroots civic
education program known as Kids Voting USA (KVUSA) in the state of Arizona.
As a highly publicized and highly praised program, scholars have speculated that
this program is reversing long held trends in both civic knowledge, engagement
of children and the trends within the general voting population. This program is
currently available in 40 states and continues to grow with every election.
Therefore, by choosing this subject, it is possible to test whether the enhanced
benefits of political participation offered by KVUSA are evenly spreading its
influence to all types of communities.

History of Kids Voting USA

Three Arizona businessmen, on a fishing trip to Costa Rica, were

pleasantly and unexpectedly surprised to discover that they had arrived just after
the national elections in Costa Rica. Striking up a conversation with their cab
driver, the three became fascinated with the country’s proactive civic involvement
and the responsibility the citizens assumed for passing on the ideals and virtues
of democracy to their children. They learned that Costa Rica, one of the most
stable democracies in the Americas, has a tremendously high voter turnout rate
(80%-90%) and has a practice that actively encourages voters to include their
children in the voting activity by bringing them to the polls on election day