If I were one of the Kids Voting, I'd probably cast my ballot for Mark Decker.
I might not know what he stands for, or what his views on parks or schools or taxes are. It wouldn't matter to me whether he appealed to my parents or my neighbors. I wouldn't care if he's got a list of civic achievements a mile long, or even what office he's running for.
What matters is that he's handing out these baseball trading cards with his picture on them, holding a bat like the big leaguers, no less. Awesome. Cool. Far out.
It's the most memorable piece of campaign material being distributed in these elections. Certainly for the schoolboy crowd.
Whether the cards will score with registered voters remains to be seen. But the Republican contender for Harford County Council has certainly made an impact on the younger set. And this year, Harford youngsters will be voting with their parents (in a separate polling area) as part of a pilot project called Kids Voting that could extend to all Maryland schools within a few years.
The kids have been listening to campaign rhetoric, asking questions of candidates at forums, reading about the issues and discussing political races in their school classes.
From all reports, the children seem to be actually interested in politics. Contrast that with the majority of U.S. voters who don't bother to show up at the polls on Election Day.
That is the primary reason for this national program: to get children used to the electoral process and the campaign issues and to encourage the civic obligation to vote. Sort of like the car seat/seat belt laws that aim to instill the habit of buckling-up as young as possible.
Kids Voting started in Arizona six years ago and is now in 19 states. Harford is the first county in Maryland, chosen in part because of its school-business partnerships.
That's important because this year's effort has a budget of $100,000, involving some big corporate sponsors; BGE utility heads the drive, but 14 other companies and organizations are ** pitching in.
Kids Voting in Harford has sponsored a get-out-the-vote postecontest and a lunchtime blitz of local businesses to encourage adults to register and vote.
At a rally before the county courthouse last month, children wrote their wishes for a better future on slips of paper that were hung from two dogwoods that were planted there as an expression of their collective hopes.
That momentum hasn't stalled, either. Schools have held candidates' nights for speeches and questions, to involve parents and children in the process. Some held daytime programs to focus candidate attention on the students' concerns. Kids Voting co-sponsored a debate between the two candidates for county executive at the courthouse, lending a more nonpartisan cachet.
Public and private schools are participating, in all grades, to inculcate the values of suffrage in kindergartners and teen-agers alike.
"This is a celebration of democracy. . . . Voting is one way to make wishes for the country come true," said Nancy Jo Steetle, )) state director of the program.
That's certainly an optimistic expression of faith in the system. At the least, it has increased voter turnout in other states by about 5 percent, supporters claim. That may not happen in Harford this month, since a record 85 percent of the county's registered voters turned out in 1992.
But if more children can gain and maintain an interest in elections and politics throughout their lives, if Kids Voting can bTC
prove more than a passing educational fad, then it will have demonstrated its worth.
At the same time, there are some warnings about the program that need be marked.
We don't expect to see kids openly campaigning, in violation of the law, as they walk with their parents into the county's 54 polling places. We don't expect lazy adults to let their children make voting choices for them. We expect the voting done by students will be carefully segregated from the general polling area.
We don't expect that feel-good, simplistic, "promise them the moon" campaigns aimed at influencing the youngsters will replace serious debate of the issues. (OK, so that happens already. But I'm speaking theoretically here.)
We should remember that it is the registered adult voters, deemed by the Constitution and election laws to be competent electors, who will make these important decisions about our future today. School programs can build civic spirit and knowledge in our children, but their votes don't count this week.
We also don't want to see this program eventually become another Motor Voter scheme, where voter registration is an automatic part of school attendance. The program should educate and encourage these younger citizens to take the personal initiative to register and the responsibility to vote when they are eligible.
While baseball cards and stickers, funny hats and balloons, may help to stimulate younger children's interest in candidates (and to reinforce name recognition with their elders), these are not the essence of an election. Voting isn't entertainment, it's a serious obligation. That may be one fault with the program, trying to involve too large an age span: Children already know about voting for classroom and school offices.
Students must learn to make informed choices about candidates and public issues, not an easy task, in order to keep these Kids Voting when they are adults.
Mike Burns is The Baltimore Sun's editorial writer in Harford County.