Schools driving students to polls

POMPANO BEACH, Fla. — Youth voters are traditionally some of the hardest to get to the polls, but one of the country’s largest school districts hopes to teach a civics lesson by offering voluntary busing to the polls for first-time voters during school hours.

Broward County School District estimates it has transported several hundred students, who have turned 18 and already registered, to early voting sites to cast their ballots. Broward has more than 70,000 high school students at 32 high schools.

Students may miss some class time and some teachers even offer extra credit for the outing, which can be part of a class such as social studies or just a separate activity.

Many join effort

National education groups including school board and teacher associations say the effort by Broward, the area around Fort Lauderdale, is one of only a handful at school districts nationwide.

The district did the same thing in the 2004 election.

A program in Indiana drew complaints during primary season, when Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott said the trips appeared to be a get-out-the-vote effort by Obama supporters in the Gary precinct organization and among school officials. McDermott backed Obama’s Democratic rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

School officials denied it was a one-sided effort.

In Broward County, Republicans said they support the effort as long as every student who is eligible is included.

County Democratic Chairman Mitch Ceasar said getting youth involved in voting is important regardless of how they vote.