Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, November 1, 1993 TAG: 9311020056
SECTION: NATL/INTL PAGE: NF-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: WENDI GIBSON RICHERT NEWSFUN WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
This year, they will run a mock (or pretend) election for their school, Hidden Valley Junior High School in Roanoke County. The school's votes won't count, but students in the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth grades will pretend to vote for the same officers Virginia voters will vote for Tuesday.
This year is a special election year for the commonwealth of Virginia. Voters will elect the three top officers in the state. The offices are governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general. Running for those offices are George Allen and Mary Sue Terry for governor, Don Beyer and Mike Farris for lieutenant governor, and Bill Dolan and Jim Gilmore for attorney general. This election happens every four years, one year after the national presidential election.
Voters also will elect 100 people to the House of Delegates. The House of Delegates is one of two groups of people who make the laws in Virginia. The other group is the Senate. The House of Delegates members are elected every two years. The Senate members are elected every four years.
The governor is the chief executive officer of the state. He or she is to the state what the president is to the country, or what the principal is to your school. The governor has to carry out the laws of the state. He or she signs the laws passed by the House of Delegates and the Senate. (The House of Delegates and the Senate are called the General Assembly when they meet together).
The lieutenant governor is to the state what the vice president is to the country, or what the assistant principal is to your school. This person takes over for the governor if the governor cannot work. The lieutenant governor also is president of the Senate.
People running for governor or lieutenant governor of Virginia have to meet certain qualifications. They must be no less than 30 years old and a U.S. citizen, and they must have lived in Virginia for at least five years before they are elected.
The attorney general of Virginia is responsible for making sure justice is carried out fairly throughout the state. This doesn't mean the attorney general goes to court all the time, says Wheeling. But the attorney general heads up an office of people who do.
To be elected attorney general, a candidate must be no less than 30 years old, a citizen of the United States, and qualified to be a judge.
People elected to the House of Delegates will make the laws for Virginia. To be elected, candidates must be 21 years old, a qualified voter and a resident of the district he or she wants to represent.
Every Virginian who votes will get to vote for the three top officers, but not everybody votes for all 100 House of Delegate members. Instead, the state is divided into 100 districts, and people in each district elect one person to the House of Delegates. This person will represent the people in that district when laws are made.
Before people in our state vote, they must get their names on the state's register of qualified voters.
Students voting in the Hidden Valley mock election will pretend to register before they vote Tuesday. In real life, people fill out a voter registration application before they vote. This proves that they are at least 18 years old and are allowed to vote in the city or town where they live.
Finally, before voting, people must decide which candidates to vote for. Voters usually learn about the candidates through television and newspaper stories and ads, debates, campaign posters, bumper stickers and speeches.
It is with this information that many Virginians will vote Tuesday. While Hidden Valley Junior High students' votes won't count, they will have the same information. And they'll know how important it will be to vote when their turn comes in a few more years.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB