With Idealism, and Homework, Kids Help Chicago Elections

On Tuesday, more than 2,000 Chicago students, many of whom are not old enough to vote, nonetheless hit the polls, acting as election judges in the Windy City's important primary election.

They brought their homework -- and idealism -- and in some cases taught an important lesson to older judges who had been doing the job for years.

Mikva Challenge, an organization that works to improve civic engagement among youth, recruited and trained the students. Now, in the program's 10th year, the gig has grown so popular that Mikva kids comprise almost 20 percent of the city's pool of eligible election judges.

That is not to say the job is without its rough spots.

"There was an older judge who did not want our student judge to have her homework out on the table," said Mikva staffer Cristina Perez, 22, who noted that the teens are allowed to do schoolwork. "So we train the students to remind people that they get the same pay, the same training and the same information as every other judge."

Some may grumble at the youthful faces, but officials at the Board of Elections have come to see their value. "It really clicked when touch-screen voting came in," Perez said. "The students made that transition much smoother and that's when people realized having young people in the polling place who are tech savvy is really an asset."

The main point, say Mikva organizers, is to remind youth (not to mention adults) that being too young to vote does not mean kids are too young to participate in the political process.

One student, 18-year-old James Alford, spoke about his experience on Chicago radio:

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