Gordon Ward, Democratic Data Management Technician explains the ballot to a Participation in Government Class.

POTSDAM -- Potsdam High School senior class members recently heard a presentation by personnel from the St. Lawrence County Board of Elections.

The presentation was part of an annual voter registration drive that has been conducted at the high school for many years. It provided the students with an understanding of how to utilize the new scannable voting machines.

The presenters were able to discuss their role in elections, especially absentee vote counting, with the students as well as field questions and explain the process of absentee balloting.

The students were instructed on how to file for absentee ballots and military absentee ballots. Additionally 76 students were registered to vote.

Representing the Board of Elections were Seth Belt, Deputy Democratic Commissioner, Gordon Ward, Democratic Data Management Technician, Nicole Maxner - Republican Deputy Commissioner and Kevin Maxwell, Republican Data Management Technician.

The students were given a mock vote on ice cream flavor, search engine, and season of the year to get a feel for how the system operates.

All students were encouraged to vote in elections due to the recent number of close elections.

This election's close nature and also the process of counting absentee ballots in that high stakes pressure filled environment was explained to the students. The presenters also provided some facts about the low voter turnout among their age group (18-21) in the last election. There were 9,408 people between the ages of 18 and 21. Out of that group there were 1,975 registered voters. Only 239 or 2.5 percent of those eligible voted in the last election.