History of Project V.O.T.E.
In February
of 1991, our office conducted a survey of all 50 states requesting information on voter registration/education programs. Much to our amazement, at that
time only three states, Virginia, Arizona and the District of Columbia were targeting the youth population.
After consulting with experts in education, it was determined that it would not only be cost effective, but advisable because of the essential element
requirements set forth by the Texas Education Agency (TEA), to develop a curriculum specific to Texas. Later, when TEA replaced the essential elements
with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social Studies (TEKS), the curriculum was adapted to include the TEKS. In August of 1992, our office
initiated Project V.O.T.E. (Voters of Tomorrow through Education).
The program's central theme includes a detailed educational focus on experiencing the electoral process with hands-on exposure through mock elections in the
classroom. Training and instructional materials for inclusion in the existing Texas school curriculum were developed and piloted in ten areas of the state
in September, 1992. The impact of Project V.O.T.E. has been tremendous and the program is now being taught in over 100 school districts across the
state. The impact of Project V.O.T.E. has been tremendous and the program has now reached over one million Texas students.