On October 25th, students from Fair Grove High School trained at the Springfield Courthouse and helped run the election through the YEP Program, (Youth Election Participation).
The YEP is a program run by Fair Grove Government teacher Amy Johnson. Johnson explained that the purpose of this program is to spread education about the election, and voting process. “I want students to understand the hard work of people at the polling locations and understand more about the State’s responsibilities with the election and the election process,” stated Johnson.
This program had a day of training, Johnson explained, “We are training at the Springfield Courthouse on October 25th. Here students will be trained on how to help voters and what are acceptable actions in the polling locations. Then students will all be placed in local polling locations to assist in voting throughout the day.”
Any student in a government class at Fair Grove High School can volunteer to be a part of the YEP program. Alyssa Faubion (11) explained, “I like doing anything that gets me more involved in things our school does. I also thought it would be an educating experience, considering it will be something I have never done before. Other than that, I want to help our community vote!”
Students are excited to see how this program can benefit them in the future. Faubion expressed, “I believe this program will benefit me in the future by teaching me more things about voting in general, and it will also give opportunities to work with and help other people with a variety of age ranges.”
Students signed up for the program for a plethora of reasons. Jackson Austin (11) explained that he decided to volunteer because he wanted to experience something he never had before. He hoped that seeing how the election works and knowing how much time and effort goes into the election will benefit him in the future.
This year there will be the most amount of people helping. Johnson explained that while she has worked the program for three to four years, this year she will be taking the most amount of student volunteers. These volunteers will help run the poll stations at the election, for when the time comes.
The students in the YEP program will be in action again on November 4th, to help assist the official 2024 election for the Fair Grove community.
