We asked some students from Fern School and Lanikai Elementary to tell us why it is important for people to vote. Here's what they said: Days until the General Election: 49
Why vote?
Isle keiki have the answer
"Voting is when I select a responsible person. The person must be a good person and a leader."
-- Jasmine Ellazar, first grade, Fern"Voting is when I choose to pick the governor and he better be a good leader and respect others. The person must listen, talk, write and read."
-- Adam Francisco, first grade, Fern"Voting is when I choose the best candidate. Being responsible and listening, talking, writing, reading and being a good person is important.
"I choose the best leaders because they need to be respectful to others."
-- Christopher Sadoyama, first grade, Fern
"Voting is when I choose the best person, who must be very smart and be very nice to me every day."
-- Stephanie Paeste, first grade, Fern"Voting to me means an opinion. Voting can be a fun opinion. Sometimes you can vote for yourself. Other times we vote for who is the right person to be president, governor, vice president and more.
"Voting is who you are proud of. It means you are proud to be proud of government. It is about bravery. It is about caring for one another. Voting can make everybody be whatever they want to be."
-- Airy Mae Laurente, fifth grade, Fern"Voting is choosing a person who you think will do a good job in making Hawaii a better place. Voting also is electing a person who has a heart and is kind and respectful to others.
"I think it is a privilege for us to vote because if we didn't vote, a candidate would be picked without our consent."
-- Jacqueline Robello, fifth grade, Fern"Voting is when you write down who you want the best of the others. If I were voting, I would want to know a lot about them first, and if I got all my information, I would vote on who I want.
"Right now, I am doing a little research on them. I will try to find it in newspapers, magazines and on television."
-- Candice Acob, fifth grade, Fern"Voting means picking someone you think is going to do their responsibility, and go to meetings on time.
"Voting for someone is a thinking job because you'll have to try to pick that person who you think is going to be a good role model for their island or state. Voting is something for people to do to pick someone who respects the people on his or her island."
-- N.B. Alafonso, fifth grade, Fern"If I didn't get to vote it wouldn't be fair because someone I don't like might win by one vote. If it was even, then we would have to have a tie-breaker. I want a chance to vote."
-- Cara Van De Verg, fourth grade, Lanikai
A party is not just a reason to dress up or chow down on birthday cake. A political party is a group of people that share the same beliefs about what governments should do for the people. What is a party?
On this page, five political parties tell what they believe in and why they think young people should vote for them. Who would you vote for?
Talk to your teacher about political parties. Maybe your class can create its own party by agreeing on the things you believe in, such as kindness to animals, rewards for good children, etc. Try this!
Write down your beliefs and come up with a symbol for your party. Send it to: Kids Voting, Star-Bulletin, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, HI 96802. The deadline is Sept. 22. We may choose your party to appear on this page Sept. 29.
Children should vote Democratic because Democrats will educate Hawaii's children so that they can help solve the problems of our state and the world. The Democratic Party
Democrats will also make sure that every person in our state is treated equally and fairly.
Democrats will balance the need for jobs for our people with the need to protect our precious environment.
The Green Party was formed in 1992 by grassroots activists frustrated by our rule by Democratic and Republican politicians. We see self-interest, profit-seeking and political favors destroying our fragile environment and social culture. Green stands for: The Green Party
Ecological wisdom -- respecting nature.
The Libertarian Party
The Libertarian Party stands for personal safety, personal liberty and economic freedom. Labor laws should be rewritten allowing children to work for money in safe environments at a younger age. Curfew laws should be repealed. Trouble makers should be arrested while well-behaved children should have the freedom they deserve.
Natural Law is the intelligence of nature that is hidden deep within everything and governs the whole universe without a problem. Natural Law can be found everywhere -- from the atom to the planets moving around the sun. The Natural Law Party
We use laws of nature to do everything. Bringing this knowledge of Natural Law into government will make it efficient and nourishing to everyone, just like the Government of Nature.
Specific programs that better utilize natural law would be preventive health care; organic, sustainable agriculture; non-polluting energy sources; and crime prevention and rehabilitation.
The 1998 Republican Party of Hawaii is dedicated to providing a foundation for real changes in government -- changes that promote freedom, dignity and the value of individual achievement for which our great country stands. The Republican Party
Republicans know the future of Hawaii rests with our children. We believe every child deserves a high-quality education that will prepare him or her for a happy and successful life in the 21st century.
We want to provide our state with fresh, new leadership and a "can-do" spirit so our children will not have to grow up and leave Hawaii, but be able to stay here and raise their own families.
