There are Emmys, Oscars, Golden Globes, Grammys and other award shows that shine the light on the entertainment industry. There’s an award program for elections, too, and Boulder County last week received its first Clearie award.
The Clearinghouse Awards, or otherwise known as Clearies, “promote the development and use of best practices in election administration,” according to the U.S Election Assistance Commission, or EAC, website.
The EAC established the awards in 2016. They include categories such as innovation in election administration; improving accessibility for voters with disabilities; best practices in recruiting, training, and retaining poll workers; innovation in election cybersecurity and technology, and creative and original “I Voted” sticker design.
In its fifth year and during a difficult and controversial election year, the submission committee saw a record-breaking 137 entries for the 2020 Clearies, according to the website.
“The number of Clearie submissions highlights that even though this was a challenging election year, officials continue to modernize and develop programming that will serve as helpful best practices for the coming years. The job of an election official is never done, and we hope to see even more submissions and exceptional examples in 2021,” EAC Chairman Donald Palmer stated on the website. “The Clearie winners, those who submitted entries, and all election officials should be incredibly proud of the work they did to ensure a successful 2020 election. These best practices are valuable resources as officials continue to administer elections during the pandemic and for years to come.”
The Boulder County Elections Division won a Clearie in the outstanding innovations in elections category for its 2020 high school voter registration program.
Taking advantage of the Colorado Votes Act, which passed in 2019, the Elections Division targeted students in high schools across the county to inform them the act allows 17-year-olds to vote in a primary election if they turn18 by the following the General Election.
Colorado law also requires every high school to appoint a “staff member to help citizens register to vote while on school grounds,” according to the Boulder County submission packet.
Those state mandates and a presidential election year set up the perfect platform for Boulder County Elections to educate students “about the opportunity to participate in primaries in 2020” and about their new rights, Molly Fitzpatrick, Boulder County clerk and recorder, said.
“It was a new venture for us to engage with the high schools in this way,” she said.
Students at Silver Creek High School educate their peers on their rights to vote and when they can register during Student Voter Registration Awareness Week 2020. Courtesy photoThe week included appointing liaisons for high schools and to educate students about voter registration, Fitzpatrick said.
“An added benefit was that designating this high school awareness week created a buzz in the community around what high school students could do to prepare for the election,” she said.
One of the liaisons for SVVSD was Juliette Forbes, a social studies teacher at Silver Creek High School who also is involved in the Silver Creek Leadership Academy.
Forbes created a group of students to help spread information about voter registration. Her group spoke with seven classes, reaching almost 200 students, and “created a really fun schoolwide presence of memes and American flags to grab students' attention to register to vote,” Forbes said.
While Forbes was not able to keep track of the number of students who registered to vote because only a few paper registrations were turned in, she hopes many students registered online.
“I think the outreach program is crucial. I think most students don't know how easy it is to register to vote, and most don't know that they can register early,” Forbes said.
Hundreds of students across the county registered to vote during the awareness week, resulting in one of the highest voter turnouts of registered 17-year-olds in the state. Boulder County saw 61% of voters in this age group vote versus 43% across Colorado, Fitzpatrick said.
“We were thrilled about the results of the program and we want to continue increasing in Boulder County. But even more so, we want to ensure that we boost that statewide and across the county,” Fitzpatrick said.
An example of a poster hung at Silver Creek High School encouraging voter registration during Student Voter Registration Awareness Week 2020. Courtesy photo“I think receiving this Clearie award really brought a lot of attention to this program, which we have seen is an effective tool to engage high school students in voting and voter registration. ... This had a huge impact in Boulder County and we hope that it becomes the best practice for other counties in Colorado and across the country as well,” Fitzpatrick said.
The work did not stop with the 2020 election. On Wednesday, the SVVSD school board approved a resolution proclaiming April 5-9 Voter Registration Awareness Week, noting the important role educators play in encouraging students to be productive and active citizens.
Voter registration info
For more information about registering to vote in Boulder County or updating voter registration, click here.
