Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes is encouraging Kentucky middle- and high-school students to enter her office’s 27th annual Essay and Slogan Contest. In addition to prizes for individual winners, for the first time, the school with the highest participation rate will receive a new desktop computer.
The contest addresses election-related issues in order to expand civic awareness of students who will soon be eligible to vote.
“The Essay and Slogan contest is a fantastic chance for students to get engaged in our democratic process at an early age,” said Grimes. “As Kentucky’s chief advocate for civic engagement, I urge all eligible students to participate.”
Students in grades six to eight may enter the voter slogan portion of the contest by submitting an attention-grabbing word or phrase that expresses the importance of participating in elections. The winning slogans will be chosen by the public through an online poll that will open on the Secretary of State’s website shortly following the submission deadline. The overall first-, second- and third-place winners will receive cash awards of $1,000, $600 and $400, respectively.
Students in grades nine to 12 may take part in the essay portion of the contest, which this year focuses on the media’s responsibility to educate the electorate about issues and candidates. The University of Kentucky Scripps Howard First Amendment Center, one of the contest’s sponsors, will judge the essay entries. The winner in each high school grade level will receive a $1,000 prize.
Prompts, rules and entry forms for the Essay and Slogan Contest are available on the Secretary of State’s website at http://www.sos.ky.gov/contests. All guidelines must be met for any entry to be considered by contest judges. Entries must be electronically submitted by 5 p.m. (EST) on January 15, 2016, or postmarked by that date.
