Greene County High School senior government students got the opportunity to learn about Iowa’s election process through the “Rock Iowa” program.

Secretary of State Matt Schultz talked with students about the importance of getting young people to vote.  He says only half of the population between the ages of 18-25 vote nationally.  Schultz demonstrated this statistic by doing a mock election in which only half the students were allowed to vote for one of their two classmates.

He talks about showing the students why it’s important for them to vote when they are of legal age to do so.

“And then we ask the kids if we would’ve let the other half of the class to vote, could’ve it changed the outcome of the election and the answer is always yes.  And so it really drives the point home to the kids that voting is important that they feel passionate about an issue, they need to get out and vote and that their vote makes a difference.”

Senior Anna Kozal says she’s registered to vote but isn’t 18 years-old yet to exercise her voting rights for this upcoming election, but she believes she will vote in the next general election.

“Yeah, I want to have a say in what my government does and I’m going to be going to college soon and that’s a big issue, so I really want to have a say in what happens with my education and the funding for it.”

Some of the qualifications to vote include being at least 18 years-old, a US citizen and not be convicted of any felonies.

Rock Iowa is an offshoot of Rock The Vote campaign that is an interactive program with high school students to get them excited and educated about the “do’s and don’ts” of voting.

Any high school in Iowa is allow to have Schultz visit with their students by visiting website by clicking HERE.