SANTA ANA : Eu Asks Students to Help Register Voters

California Secretary of State March Fong Eu visited Greenville Fundamental School on Monday and urged 150 fourth-graders to join her in an effort to register voters in time for the June 5 primary elections.

“You’re too young to vote, but you can help me by asking your parents and other adult relatives if they’re registered to vote,” Eu said to the group.

She then asked the students to memorize the toll-free telephone number that people can call to get a voter registration form sent to them. The number, 1-800-345-VOTE, proved easy enough to remember for the students, many of whom returned to their classrooms whispering the number.

“I think it’s important to get them thinking about the democratic process early in life,” Eu said after her speech. “You would be amazed how much influence little kids can have on adults.”

Greenville is one of two open-enrollment elementary schools in Santa Ana with a “back-to-basics” philosophy that emphasizes reading, writing and mathematics, as well as parent participation. Principal Susan Johns said the school also promotes patriotism, holding 10 patriotic assemblies a year. She said Eu’s visit was the highlight of the fourth-grader’s study of California.

“We hope our children will really think about what was said for their own futures, and we hope they’ll talk to their parents and older siblings,” Johns said.

Tora Avalos, whose son Omar is a fifth-grader at the school, said she is pleased to see the students getting a civics lesson from an elected official.

“It’s never too soon for them to be made aware of what’s going on,” Avalos said. “It’s important even at their young age. I think having someone like the secretary of state here was a real honor for them.”

Eu’s visit to the school was part of a one-week voter registration campaign that is taking her throughout the state. Besides visiting Greenville, Eu also addressed students at Orange Coast College, Golden West College and Rancho Santiago College on Monday.