Secretary of State visits Jackson, expresses importance of voting
JACKSON, Tenn. — The Tennessee Secretary of State, Tre Hargett, visited local high schools and the Old Hickory Rotary Club to talk about the importance of getting out to vote.
Hargett visited Middleton and Crockett County High School and Trinity Christian Academy this morning to award students with the Dudley Award.
He says that speaking to this group is important.
“Its important to have all voters but if you look at the voters registration participation numbers the worse voters turnout is ages 18 to 29. So we really want to help these students learn how to flex their civic muscle. Get them registered to vote. Help them to understand what it takes to register to vote,” ,” said Tre Hargett, Tennessee Secretary of State.
The Dudley Award is in honor of Anne Dallas Dudley who was a woman’s suffrage and voting activist.
To receive the Dudley award, schools must meet a certain registered voter threshold.
For a gold award, 100% of students age 18 or older must be registered to vote.
Vicki Deberry, Director of Guidance at Trinity Christian Academy, shares that she assists students to register to vote.
“Getting them registered to vote is one of the main key factors that we touch in this meeting. And so we see it through fruition. We register them to vote, I make sure to know when their birthday is, we mark the sheet and we turn it directly into the election committee,” said Deberry.
During his visit he also spoke with Old Hickory Rotary Club members.
“Sometimes it takes small rooms like this to grow into something bigger. I’ve spoken to a room at least 100 people, and just to a handful of people. And we’re not gonna stop talking about that until election day rolls around. We want to make sure people can trust their election in Tennessee,” said Hargett.
He says that he enjoys visiting West Tennessee at any time to have these conversations.
“We think it’s very critical to get out and talk about the importance of voting. Talk about how we’re doing the voting integrity, it’s a big election year for us. So every opportunity we get to get in front of a group of community leaders like this we want to do that,” said Hargett.
One thing he has noticed is that voting should take place during each election.
“We’re always one election away from losing the great things we are building here in the Madison County West Tennessee area as well as our state. So, people need to be engaged,” said Hargett.
Faculty at TCA mentioned that students are eager to learn about all of the upcoming election seasons.
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