150,000 Ontario students ready to cast ballots in municipal elections

 Even though they are under the voting age, nearly 150,000 elementary and high school students from throughout Ontario will have an opportunity to consider the future of their community and vote for candidates running in their municipal and school board elections.

The Student Vote program is an experiential learning program that enables teachers to bring democracy alive in the classroom, and empowers students to practice the habits of active and engaged citizenship.

Registered schools receive a variety of non-partisan educational materials to teach about government and the election process, and encourage research into the issues and candidates. Ballots, ballot boxes and voting screens are also provided for the coordination of the vote.

In the culminating activity, students take on the roles of election officials and coordinate polling stations for their peers. Participating students cast ballots for the candidates running for mayor/reeve, councillor and school board trustee.

Nearly 2,000 schools have registered to participate in the Student Vote program for the 2022 municipal and school board elections, representing 245 Ontario municipalities. Nearly 150,000 students are expected to cast ballots in the lead up to and on October 24.

This is the fourth Student Vote program to be held in conjunction with the municipal and school board elections in Ontario.

The Student Vote election results will be tabulated and released at the close of polls on Monday, October 24 (8:00 p.m. ET).

Student Vote is a program of CIVIX, a non-partisan registered Canadian charity dedicated to strengthening democracy through civic education. CIVIX programming focuses on elections, government budgets, elected representatives, digital media literacy and constructive discourse.

The project for the 2022 Ontario municipal and school board elections is supported by the Ontario Ministry of Education, Government of Canada, Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association, Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, Your Canada Your Constitution and several private foundations.

Image by Wokandapix from Pixabay