Why Get Involved?
Students Urged to Design Game – "Casting Your First Vote"

Press Release:

Students urged to design a game, "Casting Your First Vote"

September 8, 2008 – A game contest, inviting students of all ages to develop their own game, "Casting Your First Vote" designed to simulate registering and casting a first vote, has been announced by the National Student/Parent Mock Election.

The National Student/Parent Mock Election, the nations oldest, largest and most successful voter-education project is organizing the contest. "The Road to the Capitol," the Mock Election's first civic education game, can be seen at www.nationalmockelection.org/game. In "The Road to the Capitol," the player role-plays a candidate running for Congress. In the new game, "Casting Your First Vote," the player will role-play a first time voter navigating the election system from registration to going to the poll to vote to casting an absentee ballot or taking advantage of early voting opportunities.

The winner, whether one student or a group of students working together, will be mentored by Memory Seymour, director of education for Secretary of State Jay Dardenne of Louisiana. Ms. Seymour will help the winner take the winning concept from the drawing board to the Web, where it will be seen on the National Student/Parent Mock Election's Web site at: www.nationalmockelection.org.

USA Today will be a contributor to "Casting Your First Vote," providing a classroom subscription (30 copies daily) of USA Today to be used as a classroom resource for 32 weeks during the school year for the school and teacher of the contest winner.

USA Today will also announce the game with a link for participation on its education Web site and announce the winning student(s) with a link to National Student/Parent Mock Election Web site.

Drawing boards outlining a concept for the game should be e-mailed to the National Student/Parent Mock Election at nspme@aol.com by January 15, 2009 or mailed to P.O. Box 36653, Tucson, AZ 85740 postmarked no later than January 15, 2009.

All grade levels are invited to participate, as are home-schoolers, Scout troops and any other group concerned about preserving and protecting our democracy. Individuals or groups may submit entries. The game must explore the importance of voting in all elections, not just every four years for president.

The National Student/Parent Mock Election hopes teachers will see the great potential of using gaming as a tool to introduce a new generation to the full meaning of "government of the people, by the people, and for the people."