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Governor's Civic Engagement Award

Governor's Civic Engagement Award



About the Award

The Governor’s Civic Engagement Award is presented by the Pennsylvania Departments of State and Education. The award celebrates the efforts of Pennsylvania high school students to educate, engage and inform their fellow students about how to get involved in the voting process.

Award Distinctions

85% gold seal 

Gold Level School Award

This award is presented to schools where 85% of eligible students are registered to vote.

Student ambassadors and the school will receive a plaque and certificates from the Secretary of State at a regional recognition event.

65% silver seal 

Silver Level School Award

This award is presented to schools where 65% of eligible students are registered to vote.

Student ambassadors and the school will receive a plaque and certificates from the Secretary of State at a regional recognition event.

Blue individual seal 

Student Poll Worker Award

This award is presented to students who participate in a voter registration at their school and serve as a poll worker during the general election.

Individual award recipients will receive special recognition at a regional recognition event


Eligibility

  • To be eligible to register to vote, students must be US Citizens, resident of the district for at least 30 days and 18 years of age (or 17 years of age and will be 18 on or before the next election).
  • To serve as a poll worker, students must be 17 years of age and obtain permission from their principal and parent/guardian to serve as a poll worker.
  • If you are interested in becoming a student poll worker, fill out the Student Poll Worker interest form.
  • After you submit the form, work with your school and your county elections office to complete the application process. 

How do schools earn a Gold or Silver award?

  1. Sign up with the PA Department of State.
    We are asking all schools to complete the online registration form if you know that you will hold a registration drive at your school. This way, we can send you important updates about the awards program, and election in general.
  2. Run Your Voter Registration Drive
    Plan and execute a voter registration drive at your school. Make a plan to count the number of registrations collected and calculate the percent of eligible students registered at your school.
  3. Submit your application for the Governor’s Civic Engagement Award.
    At the conclusion of your voter registration drive, submit your application for the Governor’s Civic Engagement Award using our online form

Are there resources available to help plan a voter registration drive?

PA Department of State Resources

  • You can use this Quick Guide to get started. The guide covers the basics of what you need to run a high school voter registration drive. 
  • The PA Department of State provides pledge cards to help track registrations. You can download and print the pledge cards, or you can request paper cards from the Department of State using a request form
  • If you need paper voter registration applications, request them from the Department of State using a request form
  • Educators may use the Department of State's voter registration curriculum to integrate the Governor's Civic Engagement Award into classroom activities. The curriculum is also available on the PA Department of Education's Standards Aligned System
  • Educators may use the "How to Organize Your Student Voter Registration List" to help stay organized. 

Outside Resources

  • You might consider partnering with a nonpartisan organization to help train students and track registrations.  
  • Three schools have earned the GCEA Gold Award three years in a row. Read about the secrets to their success in this blog post written by educators at those schools. 
  • PA Youth Vote provides voter registration resources for Pennsylvania schools, including several lesson plans, which you can adapt or use as inspiration for youth voter registration efforts at your school. 
  • Contact your County Elections Office or County Commissioners Office for trusted information on additional youth voter registration initiatives.   


How do I calculate the % of eligible students?

The school awards are calculated using the number of students who will be eligible to vote in the spring Pennsylvania primary election.

When calculating the number of eligible students, you may either use the number of students in the senior class as a proxy for the total number of eligible students, or tabulate the number of students who will be eligible to vote on or before the day of the spring primary election.

How can I involve students who may not be eligible to vote?

Students who are not eligible to vote in the  Pennsylvania primary election can still help organize and run voter registration drives and submit their work to the Student Showcase. They can also help educate their peers about the electoral process. The Department of State also offers The Department of State also offers pledge cards that students can complete to say that they pledge to vote once they are eligible.

How do students earn the Student Poll Worker Award?

  1. Contact your county election office.
    Contact information is at www.vote.pa.gov/county. Ask the county election office if they employ high school students as poll workers. If they do, submit the necessary information and application materials to the county.
  2. Work as a poll worker on election day!
    In order to qualify for the award, you must serve as a poll worker on behalf of your county at a polling place in the November 2021 election.
  3. Educators and county officials submit nomination forms.
    Nominations may be submitted by high school educators and county election officials. This year, all nominations must be submitted using our online formPlease note that we request a photo of the student and a signed consent form allowing us to share the student’s name and image publicly. This will allow us to recognize the student in the press and on our website and social media accounts.

Please note that in order for the Department of State to use photo, video or audio of students, we need a signed media consent form from each student (signed by a parent or guardian, unless the student is 18). Download a media consent form.

Recognition Events

We will hold recognition events at the conclusion of the school year to celebrate award winners and highlight Student Showcase submissions. If you have registered your school using the online registration form, we will send you information regarding the dates, times and locations of the recognition events. 

Contact

If you have questions, contact the Pennsylvania Department of State at 717-787-5280 or ra-voterreg@pa.gov.

2021-2022 Winners:

Award
Student NameSchool NameSchool County
Student Poll WorkerKaitlyn L.
Fox Chapel Area High School
Allegheny 
Student Poll Worker
Gabrielle U. 
Fox Chapel Area High SchoolAllegheny 
Student Poll WorkerAnn Y,
Fox Chapel Area High SchoolAllegheny 
Student Poll WorkerGrace F.
Fox Chapel Area High SchoolAllegheny 
Student Poll WorkerIsabella G.
Fox Chapel Area High SchoolAllegheny 
Student Poll WorkerShrivardhan T.
Fox Chapel Area High SchoolAllegheny 
Student Poll WorkerJacob D.
Fox Chapel Area High SchoolAllegheny 
Student Poll WorkerElijah C.
Fox Chapel Area High SchoolAllegheny 
Student Poll WorkerAllison M.
Fox Chapel Area High SchoolAllegheny 
Student Poll WorkerAnna S.
Fox Chapel Area High SchoolAllegheny 
Student Poll WorkerMackenzie B.
Fox Chapel Area High SchoolAllegheny 
Student Poll WorkerSangmin P.
Fox Chapel Area High SchoolAllegheny 
Student Poll WorkerEllen G.
Fox Chapel Area High SchoolAllegheny 
Student Poll Worker
Sydney K.
Fox Chapel Area High SchoolAllegheny 
Student Poll Worker
Nabeela I.
Fox Chapel Area High SchoolAllegheny 
Student Poll Worker
Danielle H.
Fox Chapel Area High SchoolAllegheny 
Student Poll WorkerAnushaka V.
Fox Chapel Area High SchoolAllegheny 
Student Poll WorkerKatherine V.
Fox Chapel Area High School Allegheny 
Student Poll WorkerLaura K. 
Fox Chapel Area High School Allegheny 
Student Poll Worker
Lance W.
Fox Chapel Area High School Allegheny 
Student Poll WorkerAnnabel S.
Fox Chapel Area High School
Allegheny 
Student Poll Worker
Holden S. 
Fox Chapel Area High SchoolAllegheny 
Student Poll WorkerAnna F.
Fox Chapel Area High SchoolAllegheny 
Student Poll Worker
Louise C.
Fox Chapel Area High SchoolAllegheny 
Student Poll WorkerQuentin C.
Fox Chapel Area High SchoolAllegheny 
Student Poll WorkerNathaniel M. 
Fox Chapel Area High SchoolAllegheny 
Student Poll WorkerAnna F.
Harrisburg High School: SciTech CampusDauphin
Student Poll Worker
Louise C.
Harrisburg High School: SciTech CampusDauphin
Student Poll WorkerQuentin C.
Harrisburg High School: SciTech CampusDauphin
Student Poll WorkerNathaniel M. 
Harrisburg High School: SciTech CampusDauphin
Student Poll WorkerMaya D.
Greater Nanticoke Area School DistrictLuzerne
Student Poll WorkerMagalie H.
Greater Nanticoke Area School DistrictLuzerne
​Student Poll Worker
​Savannah O.
Greater Nanticoke Area School DistrictLuzerne
Student Poll WorkerRebekah R.
Greater Nanticoke Area School DistrictLuzerne
Student Poll WorkerPhilip K. 
Greater Nanticoke Area School District
Luzerne
Student Poll WorkerNico C.
Greater Nanticoke Area School DistrictLuzerne
Student Poll WorkerKayla K.
Greater Nanticoke Area School DistrictLuzerne
Student Poll WorkerJonathan K.
Greater Nanticoke Area School District
Luzerne
Student Poll WorkerJason L. 
Greater Nanticoke Area School DistrictLuzerne
Student Poll WorkerAllison K. 
Greater Nanticoke Area School DistrictLuzerne
Student Poll WorkerBenita B.
Central High School
Philadelphia
Student Poll WorkerJaimon W.
Parkway Northwest High School For Peace
and Social Justice
Philadelphia
Student Poll WorkerDaina M. 
Parkway Northwest High School For Peace
and Social Justice
Philadelphia
Student Poll WorkerHannah E.
Trinity High SchoolWashington
Student Poll WorkerKirsta E.
Trinity High SchoolWashington
Student Poll WorkerMarissa D.
Trinity High School
Washington
Student Poll WorkerEmily W.
Trinity High SchoolWashington
Student Poll WorkerMacy C. 
Trinity High SchoolWashington


Level AwardSchool NameCountyRegistered Percent
GoldNorthwest Area Junior/Senior High School
Luzerne
100%
GoldFriends Select School
Philadelphia       
100%
GoldJ.R. Masterman High SchoolPhiladelphia97%
GoldFannett-Metal High SchoolFranklin
93%
GoldWilliam W. Bodine High School for International AffairsPhiladelphia91.14%
GoldBoiling Springs High SchoolCumberland91%
GoldCentral High SchoolPhiladelphia88.38%
GoldConrad Weiser High SchoolBerks88%
GoldBrockway Area High SchoolJefferson88%
GoldUnion Area High SchoolLawrence88%
GoldPenn Treaty SchoolPhiladelphia88%
GoldCarlisle High SchoolCumberland87.3%
Gold
Parkway Northwest High SchoolPhiladelphia87%
Gold
Arts Academy at Benjamin RushPhiladelphia
86.5%
Gold
Harriton Senior High SchoolMontgomery86.4%
Gold
Girard Academic Music ProgramPhiladelphia86%
SilverPurchase Line High SchoolIndiana80%
SilverHaverford High SchoolDelaware78%
SilverFort Leboeuf High SchoolErie
75%
SilverDallas High School
Luzerne
74%
Silver
PA Virtual Charter School
Montgomery70.3%
SilverSaint Marys Area High School
Elk
70%
SilverMurrell Dobbins CTE High SchoolPhiladelphia
68%
SilverSouth Williamsport Area High SchoolLycoming
67%
SilverTrinity High School
Washington67%
SilverFox Chapel Area High SchoolAllegheny66.3%
SilverSouth Fayette High SchoolAllegheny65%
SilverCity Charter High SchoolAllegheny65%
SilverHarrisburg High School: SciTech CampusDauphin65%
SilverMiddletown Area High SchoolDauphin65%
SilverAcademy at PalumboPhiladelphia65%
SilverGreater Nanticoke Area School District
Luzerne County65%



Previous Year Winners:


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