Six-year-old Shyanne Garcia may need help writing and spelling her name, but that didn't keep the Prairie Park School first-grader from voting Tuesday.
Shyanne participated in Kids Voting Douglas County with assistance from her father, Tony Garcia.
Hillcrest third-grader Yang Tang Li, second from right, looks at who his classmate Rob Aga voted for on his Kids Voting ballot. The students chose their favorite candidates on Tuesday.
"I voted earlier, but she saw the flag and wanted to vote," Tony Garcia said of his daughter. "She even knew who she wanted to vote for."
Shyanne voted for Democratic challenger Sen. John Kerry, who won the Kids Voting poll with 2,230 votes -- or 50 percent of the votes. President George Bush received 1,963 votes -- or 44 percent of the votes.
In Douglas County, 4,426 ballots were counted. Some ballots were discarded because students voted for more than one candidate in some races.
Kids Voting is coordinated by the Lawrence Journal-World, Douglas County public schools, area businesses and the Roger Hill Volunteer Center. Students in kindergarten through 12th grade were able to vote.
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About 80 Lawrence High School juniors and seniors tallied the votes Tuesday night in the commons area at LHS, 1901 La. All the students were in one of three classes taught by history and government teacher Paul Stuewe.
Parents whose children had voted said they appreciated the program because it allowed their children to be involved.
"I heard about it, and I thought it would be a good experience for my daughter," said Lisa Vanderbilt. Her daughter Sydney Vanderbilt, who is 8, voted at Prairie Park. She said the best part was being able to make her own decisions.
Katelyn Graham, 9, agreed.
"I like this because you have to be 18 to vote, but this lets me vote even if it doesn't really count," Katelyn said.
She made her decision after doing some research. While she wouldn't say which candidate got her vote, she made it pretty clear.
"I don't like President Bush," she said. "He's going to ruin Alaska."
Unofficial election results
Photo Gallery: Election Day 2004
6News video: Dennis Moore wins in a 'landslide'
Barbara Ballard talks about younger voters and their importance in this election.
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