Despite all of the excitement surrounding the current presidential campaign, an estimated one-third of South Carolinians who are eligible to vote are not registered. RISE SC, which stands for Reform, Improve, Support, Public Education, announced Thursday a new voter registration drive aimed specifically at the state's teachers.
Traci Young Cooper, a former state Teacher of the Year, says, "How can we sit by and neglect our civic duty when we stand in front of South Carolina's most impressionable citizens, our students, each and every day and work with them to instill the values of democracy? How can we do that with a straight face if we are not registered to vote ourselves?"
To encourage teachers to register, RISE SC is launching "Goal: 100%". Schools that participate and get 100% of their certified staff registered to vote in the 2008 general election will be eligible to win $1,000 for the school.
To participate, schools name a captain from their staff or PTA to serve as the main contact and on-site coordinator. The captain will provide voter registration forms to unregistered certified staff, collect the forms when they're completed and submit them to their county election commission. Then the captain will submit to RISE SC copies of voter registration forms for newly registered certified staff and voter registration numbers (or similar documentation) for previously registered staff.
Every school that has 100% participation will be entered into a drawing. Ten schools will win $1,000 each. If fewer than ten get 100% registration, the ten schools with the highest percentage of registered voters will win.
The prize money comes from private donations, not tax dollars.
To register your school or for more information, go here.
State superitendent Dr. Jim Rex says this is a non-partisan effort. He also stressed the importance of it. "I won the statewide election for state superintendent of education by a total of 455 votes out of 1.1 million, so every vote really does count. And it's never been more true than this upcoming election," he said.
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