PROVIDENCE, RI -- Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis will announce Wednesday how thousands of students from across Rhode Island voted in a mock referendum on issues ranging from making 9/11 a national holiday to allowing text messaging in school.
Last week, students went to polling places set up in their schools and used real ballots and voting machines to decide the answers to eight referendum questions selected by a group of their peers. This Wednesday at 1 p.m., some of them will gather at the State House to release the official results.
The Secretary of State’s office won a $37,300 federal grant to fund the civic education initiative. The 14 high schools that participated are Barrington, Chariho, Cranston West, East Greenwich, Exeter-West Greenwich, North Providence, Scituate, Toll Gate and Warwick Vets, West Warwick and Shea, ALP, Jacqueline M. Walsh and Tolman in Pawtucket.
The Secretary of State’s office worked with Shea’s Government and Public Administration Academy, the state Board of Elections, Roger Williams University and the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to develop the "Voters in the Classroom" initiative.
The Secretary of State’s office prepares the ballots for all federal, state and municipal elections held in Rhode Island. In addition, the office maintains the statewide voter registration list and distributes handbooks that explain how to run for office, how to register to vote and how to vote.
Secretary of State Mollis is committed to making it easier to vote, helping business grow and making government more open and accessible. For more information about elections and voting, visit sos.ri.gov.
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