Thirty-two years ago, West Virginia began recognizing high schools that had registered at least 85% of their eligible students to vote.
And every single year – all 32 of them – Meadow Bridge High School in Fayette County has made the list.
This year, they did it again.
“There’s nobody that comes close, quite frankly, to what Meadow Bridge has been able to do 32 years in a row,” said Secretary of State Kris Warner.
More than a dozen schools across the state will get the Jennings Randolph award this year. It’s named for the U.S. senator from West Virginia who sponsored what ultimately became the 26th amendment to the Constitution eleven times before the voting age was finally lowered to 18 in 1970.
The award goes to schools that register at least 85% of their eligible students. At Meadow Bridge, 100% of the graduating class is registered.
“The graduating class of 1994 was the first group to start this and so it’s a tradition that the students just take a lot of pride in and want to continue every year,” said Principal Stacy White.
Randolph first introduced his amendment in 1942 – feeling that young soldiers fighting in World War II should be able to vote.
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