Cegavske helps CHS students rock the vote

Carson High seniors received the opportunity to learn about voting by the Nevada Secretary of State Thursday afternoon.

Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske spoke to Carson High seniors about the importance of voting as well as provided some insight into what they do in the government for the state of Nevada. Cegavske was joined by some of her staff, Deputy Secretary of State for Elections Wayne Thorley, Executive Assistant Jennifer Russell and Chief Deputy Secretary of State Scott Anderson.

“This is government in action,” said Carson High Social Studies teacher Angila Golik.

They spoke with students about how the Secretary of State’s Office helps with tasks such as commercial reporting, the elections and campaign financing, and investors registration.

Cegavske said she started her political career in order to bring about education reform and help allocate more money into classrooms. Cegavske was the president of the PTA when they tried to go to the local, state and federal level to find out about how to bring about this change and when they got no helpful answers, she decided to take matters into her own hands.

“My husband told me to stop complaining and do something about it,” Cegavske said.

Since then, she has held offices with the Legislation, Election Committee and is a small business owner, which she said is the perfect combination for her current role as Secretary of State.

“I love my job and I am blessed to be elected by the great people of Nevada,” Cegavske said.

The most important thing her staff is committed to at the moment is the November elections, Cegavske said.

Thorley spoke with the students, to explain the different aspects of voting; such as who can vote, how to register and where to register.

He also explained what the students would see on the ballots, including some of the different bills that will be voted on in November including background checks for firearms, the legalization of marijuana and eliminating the sales taxes on certain medical equipment.

“We just encourage all of you who are not registered and 18, please go register to vote,” Thorley said.

There are more than 18,000 voters who are 18-year-old registered to vote, but for those under the age limit, the Secretary of State’s office is providing a mock election for students to utilize on election day. School administrators can sign up classrooms so students have the option of “voting” in the election and see where their peers also fall in line with issues and candidates.

“This way you can see how your peers, not just in school but in the state, voted,” Thorley said.

At the end of the presentation, students had the opportunity to ask questions on some of the issues they were curious about, and touched on subjects such as voter fraud, the special session for the Raiders stadium and gathered more insight into Cegavske’s role as the Secretary of State.

Cegavske also presented Golik with a proclamation from the Secretary of State’s office, thanking her for all of her hard work.

“We wanted to thank you for bringing us here and thank you for your efforts for your students,” Cegavske said.

Golik said she just wanted to help increase the number of young voters and help them be prepared for when the election comes.

“Only one in four of you will actually go vote, and I want to raise that,” Golik told the students. “My goal today was to bring you first hand knowledge to be able to see and hear (Cegavske).”