Standing in front of a group that wasn’t old enough to vote, state Rep. Paul Davis, D-Lawrence, still spoke words typically heard in a rapidly heating campaign season.

He bashed Atty. Gen. Phill Kline. He praised Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. And he stressed to the high-schoolers the importance of voting – though it may be two years from now rather than this November – because students still are affected by state politics.

“Most of what we’re talking about are decisions that impact you,” Davis said.

At Sunday’s Promote the Vote rally, organized by the Young Democrats clubs at Lawrence and Free State high schools, Davis’ message was viewed as essential.

“It’s all about trying to get involved, to understand the politics,” said Katie Ozorkiewicz, a Free State junior and member of the Young Democrats club there.

Davis and others touched on topics typically of interest to young people, including school funding both now and when they go to college.

Ozorkiewicz said the speech touched home.

“You hear a lot about how we’re not getting funded,” she said. That, to her, was a concern.

And organizers hope it’s fodder for getting young soon-to-be voters like Ozorkiewicz to the polls.

Sam Anderson, Lawrence High School senior, fills out an advanced registration form during Promote the Vote at the Community Building, 115 W. 11th St. State lawmakers including Rep. Paul Davis and Sen. Marci Francisco spoke at the event, which was organized by students in Young Democrats clubs at Lawrence and Free State high schools. T-shirts, free food and live music also were featured at Sunday's event.

The event, moved inside to the Community Building because of the weather, stressed the importance of not only getting involved but establishing a knowledge of local politics and a solid voting habit.

Historically, it hasn’t been easy to rally youngsters to ballot boxes. People age 18-25 are among the most difficult to get to vote, experts say.

But Kansas Sen. Marci Francisco, D-Lawrence, said youth rallies like Sunday’s helped young people to understand pieces of the political process that schools don’t always explore.

Instead of focusing on national politics and races, she said, these rallies show young people the nuances of local politics, which often help spur interest in voting.

“This is the time they’re learning about government in civics classes,” Francisco said. “But this is also about learning in the community.”

Rally organizer and LHS Young Democrats co-president Kate Mather said she thought all the speakers did their best to be as nonpartisan as possible, considering all were members of the state Democratic Party.

The state party helped schedule speakers for the event, Mather said.

“They talked about getting people out to vote, which is what we care about,” she said.

And even if the majority of the crowd at the community center couldn’t yet fill out a ballot, state officials asked the students to talk with people as often as they could about voting.

“Please be engaged with what’s going on at the Capitol,” Davis said.

And with 15 people registered to vote in just two hours Sunday, Mather said she thought students certainly were engaged.

“We had a pretty good crowd,” she said. “They learned about the issues.”