When I saw the students at Ross Beatty High School hand off their ballots to be placed inside the voting machine during their student council elections Wednesday morning, one thought ran through my head.

Why wasn’t my school this cool?

In all seriousness, I am thoroughly impressed with the job that Monica Kennedy and Erin Westrate did with this year’s student elections, running it just like a state election. More importantly, it looked like the students were impressed, judging by the enthusiasm I seen on the faces of the voters and volunteers in the high school’s library that morning. Heck, one student even asked if I would take a picture of him with his “I Voted” sticker.

It’s a wonderful way to get students excited their civic responsibilities, which sadly still too many of us take for granted. While high school elections may not be the most important thing ever, for many kids, it’s their first real chance to experience the empowering feeling delivered by the democratic vote.

More importantly though, by having the students go through the voting process, it familiarizes them with system when it comes time for them to join the electorate. Many first-time voters can be intimidated by the various rules involved with the voting process, such as remembering to register by deadline or trying to find out which precinct they need to report too.

I know from experience. While I had turned 18 only a month before the 2004 presidential election, I didn’t try to register to vote, in part due to my own confusion on what I needed to. I think if my high school held their elections like this, I would have been mentally equipped to handle that responsibility then.

I want to thank Ms. Kennedy for inviting the Daily News out to the election. Let’s hope that this program continues to expand to other schools, as it will make our civic future a lot rosier.

Ted Yoakum is the community editor for the Dowagiac Daily News. Email him at ted.yoakum@leaderpub.com. Call him at (269) 588-1040.