Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: ABSTRACT

This project examines the accessibility to the Kids Voting USA project in Arizona through an analysis of the availability of the program to youths during the November 2002 election. Kids Voting USA is a program that encourages children to become civically engaged by holding a parallel election to the general election. Many scholars have touted the accomplishments and successes of the Kids Voting USA project including its ability to decrease the gender gap, producing better-informed and politically active young people, and eve inspiring parents to vote. This paper furthers this research by examining the impact of the average wealth per capita and the size of recent immigrant subcultures on the participation levels and access to the Kids Voting USA project using OLS and Nonparametric tests. The findings suggest that despite a classroom presence in all counties and wealth classes, greater access to Kids Voting USA voting sites are more prevalent in wealthier counties. Counties with large immigrant subcultures also have fewer students able to or choosing to visit polling locations. These findings suggest that there are costs involved in the participation in the non-curricular segments of the Kids Voting USA project that limit the participation of least wealthy and the children of those who are not U.S. citizens yet. The greater access to the Kids Voting program reinforces the advantages of the wealthy in developing civic skills. However Kids Voting USA is making participation easier through online voting and mail-in voting. The effects of these new forms of participation are also discussed.