by Zach Miller
Quick Summary
In Blue Earth County, the library and the elections department are working together to educate future voters (and their parents) about elections and voting.
In neighborhoods across Minnesota, libraries are counted upon as the best locations for a polling place or party caucus. But they also do plenty to support voting and elections well before it's "go time." Blue Earth County Library is an excellent example, where Library Director Kelly McBride is teaming up with Blue Earth County Election Director Michael Stalberger to find creative ways to educate kids, teens, and their parents about elections and voting.
They began in 2022 with an art station in the youth space where children could design their own non-partisan "I Voted" stickers. Voting information was also posted at the check-out desk and nearby the art station, for the artists' parents. The county elections department used the submissions to create a display that was featured at the library and at polling places, delighting passersby and hopefully encouraging a lifetime of regular voting by the proud young artists.
McBride and Stalberger will repeat the "I Voted" sticker program this year, and plan to add activities for teenagers as well. As of 2023, Minnesotans as young as 16 are eligible to pre-register to vote. That way, when they do reach 18, they are more likely to follow through and vote. McBride and Stalberger's ideas include hosting a voting information table before and after events for teenagers, and graphics the teens can customize and transform into buttons using the library's button maker. "Our youth staff will put together something witty that the kids will love," says McBride. And of course, teens will be able to make a button whether they are interested in the voting information or not. "We aren’t bribing anyone to listen to our spiel or pre-register. We all know they’d smell a rat and run anyway if that were the case, anyway," she adds.
They're also exploring the idea of a simulated election, using real voting equipment. Uncertainty about what to do at a polling place can be intimidating, even for experienced voters, and acquainting teens with the equipment will make them more likely to participate in their democracy when they are old enough. The library's simulated election will be nice and approachable, too. They might vote on what the last program of the summer should be, or choose a new addition for the teen space. They can wait until they're 18 to choose the leader of the free world.
