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Around 1,000 students from sixth through 12^th grade are working today as Election Ambassadors at polling places throughout the Montgomery County, Maryland.

Kyra May, 15, was busy assisting voters at the entrance of the polling place at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School.

鈥淚 was interested in elections, in how they worked. I wanted to see what it would be like before I voted,鈥� Kyra said.

Lorenzo Antico, 15, said, 鈥淓very two years this happens, and it鈥檚 a pretty big deal. I鈥檓 curious to see how it looks.鈥�

Lorenzo also said politics does seem confusing, hearing all the advertisements on TV. 鈥淚t also seems kind of stressful for everybody a little bit, but it鈥檚 definitely interesting,鈥� he said.

Election Ambassadors take on a wide range of tasks. They issue 鈥淚 Voted鈥� stickers to the voters, encourage them to sign up to be election judges, discard partisan literature from voting booth, and direct voters to restrooms.

Students need to attend a one-hour, in-person training to work as ambassadors on Election Day. Kyra said she was struck by the strictness of the protocols, such as 鈥渘o logos on T-shirts that indicate any political affiliation.鈥� Raphael Alkon, 15, said he learned that, 鈥渋n order to do this whole thing, you had to pay attention to the tutorials and know everything.鈥�

Nahid Khozeimeh, president of Montgomery County Board of Elections, said she was impressed to see young volunteers at 6 a.m. when she arrived at the high school. 鈥淲e always have shortage of manpower and the student aides have been great help to us. They are so good at handling technologies.鈥�

The Montgomery County Board of Elections has been operating the 鈥淔uture Vote鈥� program since 2004, except for 2020 when it had to cancel the program due to the pandemic. More than 45,000 students have participated in the program so far.

鈥淪tudents leave the program with experience in how elections are set up and a greater understanding of and trust in American democracy,鈥� the says.

The Election Ambassador program is open for all students from sixth through 12^th grade. US citizenship is not required, but the students need to be able to speak, read, and write in English. Students who are 16-years-old or older and able to register to vote can serve as election poll workers under the Future Vote program.

Ambassadors are not paid, but they receive Student Service Learning (SSL) hours for the hours they work, which is a Maryland state graduation requirement.

Patrick Flynn, chief judge at the polling site at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High, said being an Election Ambassador is an incredibly unique way to participate in democracy. 鈥淵ou can volunteer with candidates and other things that are more partisan in nature. But this is you just helping people all day, as long as you’re here, to vote. It is extremely non-partisan.鈥�

鈥淚 was surprised when the young man said, 鈥業 can only work until 9 a.m. because I am under 15.鈥� It鈥檚 great to see them taking actions,鈥� said Natalie Watson, a marketing assistant who came to vote at the high school.

Parents of ambassadors also welcomed the opportunity for their children to have the firsthand experience of democracy.

鈥淭o see the volume of people coming to cast their votes and try to make a difference is important for her,鈥� said Katya Marin, Kyra鈥檚 mother.

Cinzia Furlanetto, Raphael鈥檚 mother, said, 鈥淭his election will be a piece of history. So I think for them it is very important to be here.鈥�