To teach students more about the election process, representatives Kathy Dent and Ron Turner from the Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections came to campus Tuesday Oct. 4 and spoke to seventh grade civics students.
Dent is the current head of the Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections, but she is retiring at the end of Jan. 2017. Through four consecutive and successful campaigns, Dent has held this position since first being sworn into office Nov. 7, 2000. Turner is currently chief of staff for the Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections office. He is second in command to Dent but will be replacing her as the Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections.
Throughout the day Dent and Turner discussed the political process, the meaning of citizenship, the importance of voting, the Constitution and the quirks of the electoral college. The contents of their presentation tied in to the material the seventh grade civics teachers have been covering in class. Students are currently learning about the Constitution within their civics classes.
Dent and Turner delved further into the presidential election process than provided in the class’ curriculum. According to the students, the most surprising discovery was learning about the specifics of the electoral college. “I was surprised to learn that it is possible to become president with fewer individual votes than another candidate,” seventh-grader Manav Viramgama said.
“I found the presentation to be very insightful. It fit in nicely with the things we talk about in our civics class,” seventh-grader Rebecca Hoffman said.