A Plan for Involving Your Teenager in the Civic Ritual of Voting

By KEN BRESLER

If politics is a civic religion of Jewish Americans, if a higher percentage of Jewish Americans vote* than do non-Jewish Americans, then Election Day can be seen as a Jewish fall holiday, following the Days of Awe and Sukkot.

As Jewish parents face the dilemma of deciding how to vote, I'd like to propose a solution: Enlist your offspring.

Parents can ask their teenagers, especially those who haven't yet reached voting age, to research the candidates for lower offices. It's a great family-building exercise, and a great esteem-builder for teenagers too. How do I know? Because I used to research the candidates for the lesser offices for my parents. I was a political junkie long before I became a voter. I remember advising my parents how to vote in 1972 for Middlesex County Commissioner in Massachusetts. I was 15 years old. Vote for the reformers, I told my parents, including a Lowell city councilor. The city councilor won the election for county commissioner. Then he became a U.S. Congressman, a U.S. Senator, and a presidential candidate. His name was Paul Tsongas.

My parents used to ask me to make a "palm card" or slate card, a slip of paper big enough to fit in their palms, to remind them in the polling booth who to vote for. You can ask your teenager to do the same.

How to enlist your teenager in researching candidates:

1. Discuss the process with your teenager. Emphasize that he or she will be endorsing a candidate, not using you as a surrogate to vote. But explain that if his or her endorsement is well reasoned, you will probably accept it.
2. Define your parameters in advance. If you're not going to vote for a Republican, or a candidate who wants to restrict abortion rights, say so.
3. Have your teenager determine which offices will be on the ballot in the next primary or general election. He or she can do so by calling your city or town hall and asking for the elections office. After your teenager reports to you, decide which political office or offices you want to delegate to him or her to research. You may already know your choice for governor, but may not know that you'll have a chance to vote for sheriff.
4. Ask your teenager to contact the candidates. Addresses and phone numbers should be available from the state's election office, local directory assistance, or the state or local party headquarters. Some candidates have websites. Your teenager should explain to the candidates that he or she will be recommending who you vote for, and ask for campaign literature and news clippings.
5. Have your teenager check the daily and weekly newspapers and the Internet for information about the candidates. Try Project Vote Smart at www.vote-smart.org or 800/622-SMART or 541/737-7858, which provides information about some candidates for state legislative and higher offices. In some places, the local newspapers and/or the League of Women Voters publish voters' guides about the candidates. In some states, the state elections office publishes a guide to statewide candidates and ballot questions, and mails it to residents before the November election.
6. Your teenager can make a formal presentation to you when he or she is ready to endorse a candidate. Or you can discuss the candidates as the information arrives. This is the fun part: talking with your teenager. What is it that your teenager likes about one candidate over another? What is your teenager looking for in a candidate? Impressive work history and academic credentials? A candidate who is active in community groups, such as Little League and youth soccer? Someone who is active in religious groups? Does your teenager dismiss candidates who are homemakers?

How important are the issues in the race? What are the issues? How important are endorsements in the race? Which endorsements matter? Why do they matter? Should they matter? Is a Jewish candidate preferable to a non-Jewish candidate? Why or why not? Did the candidate's campaign even respond to your teenager's request? If a candidate ignored an interested citizen's request for information, will he or she do the same as an office holder?

This can be a family lesson in critical thinking, civics, and advertising. It will be an eye opener for you, too. It will force you to articulate what you find attractive in a candidate. Among other things, I now examine a candidate's character, energy, and vision. But when I was younger, the sole criterion for me was a candidate's stand on the issues. I didn't care about a candidate's competence or candor.

7. Tell your teenager whether you accept his or her endorsement (unless you're among those citizens who never disclose how they vote). When the election returns come in, your teenager will have a candidate to watch; he or she will be invested in the result. And your teenager will be invested in government, too. Maybe this process will inspire your teenager to register to vote on his or her eighteenth birthday, just as many teens get their drivers' licenses on the day they turn 16 1/2.

In my own case, years before I could register to vote, my political views registered with my parents, and for that, I am grateful to my mother and late father. My political views counted with them years before my vote was counted. Then, last fall, I ran for State Representative in my hometown of Newton, Massachusetts. I'm sure that my parents taking me seriously as an adolescent had something to do with my becoming a candidate as an adult.

Ways to Involve Younger Children in Elections

1. Children as young as three can "participate" in elections too. You can have them take a walk and count lawn signs for different candidates. Many four year olds and some three year olds can recognize candidates' colors and logos. In parking lots, count bumper stickers. At red lights, read bumper stickers on cars in front of you.
2. Hold a mock election. The candidates can be stuffed toys or dolls. The ballot box can be a shoe box. The ballot can be pieces of paper, with different colors assigned to each "candidate." For example, to vote for Teddy Bear, cast a brown ballot; to vote for Bunny Rabbit, cast a white ballot. Or ballots can have pictures of the "candidates." Voters circle the picture of their candidate.
3. Make lawn signs. Use card stock that is laminated or will otherwise hold up in the rain. Use paint that won't run. The "message" can be real words, just letters, pretend letters, or swirls of color. Attach the placard to strapping or a 1" x 1" piece of lumber from the hardware store. Cut a point in the end and hammer it into the ground.
4. Visit the polls. Take your children with you to vote. My daughter first went to the polls with me when she was four months old.
5. Arrange for your child's day care center or school to visit the polls. Call the local elections office in advance. The middle of the day is usually a good time to visit, because the number of voters slows down.

*In presidential elections, 87% of registered Jews vote, as opposed to 50% of registered non-Jews. In non-presidential elections, the figure is 20% lower for both Jews and non-Jews.