High schoolers train to be election judges in March primary

Emily Durkin remembers discussions at her Arlington Heights high school in 2022 about the Chicago Bears considering moving to her hometown.

So when the John Hersey High School senior learned the Chicago Bears were sponsoring a training for high school students to be election judges at their school’s early voting polls — she signed up.

“It's personal for us,” Durkin, 18, said.

Durkin said the stadium debate illustrates how local decisions — and who makes them — can directly shape a community.

“Those are the people that are representing you and your interests,” she said.

The Cook County Clerk’s Office and Chicago Bears this week launched Defenders of DA’Mocracy, a program to train 150 high school juniors and seniors to serve as election judges during their schools’ early voting day on Feb. 26, before the start of early voting March 3, and ahead of the March 17 primary election.

The clerk’s office announced the program on Wednesday at an event at John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights. No Chicago Bears players attended the training, but Chicago Bears special advisor to the CEO Ted Crews spoke to students and played a video of some players talking about the importance of voting.

Students from 24 participating schools will learn how to check in voters, handle ballots and manage voting equipment.

The program aims to “transform students from passive observers into active participants in the electoral process,” said Frank Herrera, the clerk's office’s deputy of communications. The program not only provides student judges with the opportunity to run their school polls. It intends to give eligible students the opportunity to register and vote.

Illinois has allowed high school students to serve as election judges since the early 2000s. But this program is the first of its kind in Cook County to train students to operate primary early voting sites on their own campuses.

Deputy Clerk of Elections Edmund Michalowski says they’re looking to these student judges to plant seeds of democracy at their schools.

“It's going to be run by the high school students, for the high school students,” he said.

The office hopes to expand the program to other schools, Michalowski said.

Training sessions began Monday at John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights and continued Tuesday at Oak Forest High School. The final training will be held Thursday at the Cook County Elections Operations Center in Cicero.

Nicholas Rosales, an election judge trainer, said it was a “ray of sunshine” training these high school judges.

“You see a room full of children wanting to jump in and start helping,” he said.

Recalling the plight for Black and women's voting rights, election judge trainer Lovie Westbrooks said children today don’t always appreciate the privilege.

“I'm so grateful for this program, because that excites me that we're showing them the importance of voting,” she said.