Unalaska City School District high schoolers got to see the democratic process firsthand during a field trip on Election Day, Nov. 5. About a dozen students got a tour of the island’s only polling place at City Hall from Estkarlen Magdaong, the city clerk.
“We’re here, ready to help you vote because the election matters — not just for you and I, but for our children’s children as well,” Magdaong said.
Students watched voters go through a series of steps to cast their ballots and, if old enough, voted themselves.
Faauiga Atonio is a senior. She said she wasn’t expecting the process to feel so serious.
“There’s specific booths for every specific thing that you have to fill out, like paperwork,” she said. “It makes me feel so tense, but it’s very exciting at the same time.”
Even though she’s not old enough to cast a ballot of her own yet, Atonio said she’s excited to vote one day.
“It’s important to me because we’re voting for someone who’s doing their best for Unalaska, or Alaska or America,” she said.
Andrea Torres, who also isn’t old enough to cast a ballot yet, was curious about how people decide who to vote for.
“I would like to learn more about each party and how people make their decisions — how often they think about their decision on voting, since it’s such a huge process and big decision to make,” Torres said.
For those especially interested in elections, Magdaong pointed to an opportunity for people as young as 16 to work the polls and get paid through the Alaska Youth Vote Ambassador Program.
“They just need to register online and let the division know that they would like to work during the election time, and then they can do some training and participate [in] and witness the actual process firsthand,” she said.
Amanda McColley is with the Alaska Division of Elections. She said the ambassador program — nicknamed “Youth at the Booth” — gets young people excited about the voting process and brings in a fresh wave of poll workers as older ones age out.
“It’s really important to get the younger generation excited about voting and hoping that they can take over once they become 18 years of age,” McColley told KUCB. “It gets other people excited when they see the younger generation participating.”
In some rural and predominantly Alaska Native areas, polling sites have been closed on election days due to a lack of workers. McColley said youth poll workers can help fill staffing shortages at sites across Alaska. Youth poll workers are paid the same amount as regular poll workers: $20 an hour.
