Electoral Participation

Hands-on campaign work is at the center of Mikva’s Electoral Participation programs.  They include:

Elections in Action

Elections in Action engages youth in campaign work, voter registration and school-wide mock elections. This past fall Mikva students throughout Chicago and the suburbs campaigned for the Gubernatorial and US Senate races. In winter/spring 2011, the Elections program enjoyed a very eventful election season with aldermanic elections and a particularly exciting mayoral race in Chicago. Currently, the Elections program is engaging students in the Presidential Primary in 2012.

Each election season begins with a campaign kick-off event and a candidate forum where students have the opportunity to meet the candidates and ask questions about the issues facing youth in Chicago and the greater Chicago area. The Elections in Action program transforms students' attitudes toward the political process and supports their understanding of campaign work and electoral politics.

Student Judge Project

Through the Student Judge Project, over 2,500 high school juniors and seniors from over 50 schools learn about the voting process by serving as election judges and helping to run an actual polling place on Election Day.  Student judges also encourage their peers to vote through the New Voter Initiative.  

Mikva Fellows Program

The Mikva Fellows Program gives teens the opportunity to take their civic leadership skills to the next level by interning in the offices of state, local and federal elected officials and creating a Civic Action Project on a challenging current issue.