Chicago students cast their first ballots; "A lot of kids realize how important their vote is"
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A special group of voters headed to Chicago polls for the first time.
Students from Chicago Bulls College Prep cast their first ballots. It was the first time many Noble School students did their noble civic duty and cast their votes.
Saying it loud and wearing it proud, some of the students at Chicago Bulls College Prep voted for the first time, like Victoria Morales and Malachi Barden.
"It's very important to me, especially as a young woman. I feel very proud to be here," Morales said.
"It's important for me to cast my vote because I want to see someone in the office that will help his people and not just because he's the president. Just to do the right thing," Barden said.
Since this was their first time voting, the school wanted to ensure they researched the candidates enough.
So, the students were dropped off at Harold Washington Library and split into groups to learn about each party.
Katie Curtin is the Director of Academic Support and Family Engagement.
"We're using two different versions of online quizzes that kind of help kids figure that out. QResearch Center has a great political technology quiz. And we're also using ISideWith.com where it asks them a series of questions about their values, their positions on different issues," Curtin said.
It's the first time students have marched to the polls since the pandemic, but the school has been registering students to vote for the past seven years.
"We got just about 200 of our students registered to vote this year. Of that, 80% of our seniors are now registered to vote. We got 79 of them with us here today," Curtin said.
Curtin added some of them will serve as election judges in the upcoming election. Senior Terrence Johnson was an election judge last year.
"It was unique. I got to earn money, too. I met the alderman. I met the mayor. So it was pretty cool," Johnson said.
The students are hoping their votes will change their peers' minds.
"Personally I don't think a lot of kids realize how important their vote is," Morales said.
And they'd like to see a change in education.
"More schools. I feel like more funding to schools," Johnson said.
