Kids Corner
News for Kids
Seminole County elections office one of eight national recipients of U.S. Election Assistance Commission grant
4/28/2010
The United States Election Assistance Commission has selected the Seminole County Supervisor of Elections Office as one of eight nationwide grant recipients to support student mock elections and pollworker recruitment.
Seminole County Elections was one of only two county-sized groups to receive the grant, and the only awardee from the southeastern United States.
The Seminole County program being funded is for the county to develop and implement a program and to partner with local magnet high school Crooms Academy of Information Technology in Sanford for increased voter turnout and student participation. Elements of the program include grade-appropriate election curriculum as part of their classroom learning, pre-election debates with local candidates, a mock election, and the hiring of students to work the polls in the November 2, 2010 general election. The grant award is $15,441.
Supervisor of Elections Michael Ertel said, "Since this school is located in one of our lowest voter turnout areas of the county, our efforts will serve multiple purposes for our community. We will be able to have an immediate impact on the students, who will be engaged in the democratic process, and we'll use the children's participation as a magnet for their parents, relatives, friends and neighbors to get interested in elections."
According to the E.A.C. news release on the grants, "The competition was open to state and local election offices and regional and national nonprofit organizations (including faith-based, community-based, and tribal organizations). Winners were selected through an independent review process that examined each applicant's level of experience and their management and conceptual approaches for meeting program goals."
A link to the E.A.C. news release with list of national awardees is here: http://www.eac.gov/News/eac-announces-winners-of-grants-to-support-student-mock-elections/base_view
Seminole County voter outreach breaking new ground
4/21/2010
The Seminole County Supervisor of Elections office has been reaching new heights for voter outreach in the last few weeks, and the schedule gets busier this weekend for Supervisor of Elections Mike Ertel, Voter Outreach Manager Helen Ehrgott and the rest of the county's election team.
In the past two-plus weeks, the office has held registration drives at The Seminole County Easter Egg Hunt (12 registrations), Sanford's Alive After Five (ten registrations), the main campus of Seminole State College (22 registrations), The Oviedo campus of Seminole State College (15 registrations), The Taste of Oviedo (63 registrations), The Orlando Hispanic Chamber Business and Consumer Expo (two registrations), Lake Howell High School, (seven registrations), and Crooms Academy (42 registrations).
Also this month, the voter outreach team has conducted 15 elections in Seminole County schools and last night attended the Dakotas HOA meeting to conduct their election of officers.
In another first for the county, voter registration forms and voter guides are now available in the lobby at all United States Post Offices in the county.
This weekend, the team will have their registration tent at four community events registering voters and informing the citizenry about the upcoming elections. On Saturday at 10 a.m. they'll be at the Spring Fling/Taste of Tuskawilla at Tuskawilla United Methodist Church in Casselberry; from 11-7, they'll be at the Lake Mary Family Fun Day at lake Mary City Hall; and from 3-9, they'll be at the City of Casselberry Rock 'n' Classic Car Show next to city hall. On Sunday from 3-8, they'll be in Altamonte Springs' Cranes Roost Park with a registration booth at the Israel Independence Day celebration hosted by the Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando.
If you would like the Seminole County Elections office to host a registration table at your event, or conduct an election for your civic group or HOA, please call Helen Ehrgott, Voter Outreach Manager at 407.708.7707 or Ehrgott@VoteSeminole.org.
Upcoming Voter Outreach Events
3/5/2010
Elections Office Welcomes New Voter Outreach Manager
2/4/2010
The Seminole County Elections office has named Helen Ehrgott as the new Voter Outreach Manager. In this role, Ehrgott is responsible for facilitating voter registration and community education events. She implements tactics which will increase the number of registered voters in Seminole County and is in charge of outreach and education programs to organizations throughout the community.Girl wins lesson on elections (courtesy, Seminole Chronicle)
6/14/2007
SEMINOLE COUNTY - On Monday, Eileen Cowdery registered to vote in Sanford after she won a local 4-H fundraising auction that allowed her to shadow Mike Ertel, Seminole County's supervisor of elections, for a day.
