Chris Schulz Published

Secretary Of State Recognizes Student Voter Registration Efforts

Five people stand in a line facing the camera for a photograph. The man on the left wears glasses and a light blue tie over a white button down shirt and a dark suit. To his right a young woman wears her blond hair down and a black apron dress over a white turtleneck while holding a certificate. To her right a young man wearing glasses and a black tie over a light blue button down shirt and a black suit also holds a certificate. To his right another young woman wears her blond hair down over a white dress, and she also holds a certificate towards camera. A woman stands at the right end of the line wearing a dark blue blazer over a white blouse and khaki pants.
Secretary of State Kris Warner, left, poses with the recipients of the Jennings Randolph Award at Meadow Bridge High Schoo in Fayette County Jan. 23, 2025.
Courtesy of the Secretary of State’s office
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Two high school seniors were recognized by Secretary of State Kris Warner Thursday for their efforts in registering their classmates to vote. 

Emily Carothers and Kierston Rozell of Meadow Bridge High School in Fayette County were named “Honorary Secretaries of State” Thursday as part of the Jennings Randolph Award for Civic Engagement.

“They get the opportunity to come to Charleston during the legislative session and spend a half a day doing everything that I’m doing as Secretary of State,” Warner said. 

The award is given to any public or private high school in West Virginia that registers at least 85% of their eligible seniors to vote. 

The late U.S. Senator Jennings Randolph represented West Virginia for more than 50 years and is best known as the “Father of the 26th Amendment” which reduced the voting age from 21 to 18 years old in 1971.

“At the time, you could go off to war and take a bullet at the age of 18 for your country, but you couldn’t decide who was sending you off to war,” Warner said. “If you’re old enough for bullets, you’re old enough for the ballot. That award still goes on 31 years later, started in 1994 and we’re still recognizing those students that register more than 85% of their senior class that are eligible voters by the next election,” Warner said.

Warner, who is currently visiting all 55 counties and meeting with county clerks, said studies have shown that those who vote early vote for life.

“Having young people involved is where we need to be,” he said. “Whether they’re encouraging other young people, or, as we just heard in the Roane County Courthouse, that they needed the young people to lift the heavy ballot boxes, because the 80 year old poll workers were not able to do that.” 

Warner highlighted civics teacher Cory Woodrum, principal Stacy White and Fayette County Clerk Michelle Holly for their role in recognizing Carothers and Rozell for their work. He encouraged any other school that has met the registration threshold to nominate students for recognition. 

“For the last eight years in West Virginia, we’ve registered 112,000 high school seniors,” Warner said. “That means that one in every 10 voters in West Virginia over the last eight years has been registered as a high school senior. We’re proud of that, and we’re looking to increase the number of those participating in elections by continuing to recognize schools just like Meadow Bridge.”