Early voting began on Oct. 24 and, already, some Dallas ISD students haven taken to the polls as a first-time voter.
Students from Lincoln High School and Communications/Humanities Magnet received a standing ovation from poll workers as they cast their ballots at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center.
In September and October, a number of women groups from the Lincoln community registered students who would be eligible to vote in time for the November election.
Sheila Walker, community liaison at Lincoln, carried out an idea she has long hoped for.
“I not only wanted to make sure they were registered, but I have always had a vision to take students to poll on the school bus,” said Walker.
In all, nearly 30 students were bussed to the community center that sits in the heart of Dallas’ Fair Park. Dallas ISD Trustee Bernadette Nutall and Principal Johnna Weaver were among the few who accompanied Lincoln’s first-time voters, and cast their ballots too.
At Carter High School, nearly 20 students in a social studies class closed out their school week by heading to an early polling site. This time, students walked to their polling place at Friendship West Baptist Church.
Fred Davis, principal at Carter knew other factors play into voting and did not want that to be a deterrent for his eligible students to vote.
“We knew transportation would be an issue and that some students would not be able to go to a polling site, so we’re glad this is available to us this year where we can just walk across the street,” Davis said. “It cuts out some of those issues of transportation, that gives people a reason not to vote.”
