Local students assist with election process

Published 8:52 pm Thursday, November 5, 2026

By Peyton Bowman Special to the Star-Journal

When the polls opened on Nov. 3, citizens of Johnson County were met by a group of Warrensburg High School juniors, who, through the school’s Government class, had volunteered to assist on election day. These nine students included Barrett Teaford, Mallory Hall, Marley Moore, Raygan Bates, Rylee Carter, Joey Chew, Curtis Coston, Abbigail Landon, and Chandler Peterson.

The students were spread out across 6 different election sites in the Johnson County area, including three Warrensburg sites: The Grover Park Baptist Church, The First Methodist Church, and the Elks Lodge. Once the students arrived at their respective sites, they received professional training and handed out real ballots to voters at their stations.

To prepare to assist in the election, Government teacher Matthew Basinger had his students perform a mock election in class, with students fake registering to vote, travel to a polling site (the high school library), and voting on a mock ballot. After the class’ votes were tallied, the class discussed the results.

The poll workers need help, they’re primarily staffed by retired people,” Bassinger said. “They need help with the changing technology, and then they’re not always fully staffed, so they are able to give each other breaks if they have some student workers.”

Additionally, students could use this opportunity for National Honor Society volunteer hours while gaining applicable experience as participating members of the democracy.

The election day participation in the district expanded beyond these students, as students from the Gateway Educational Center took a trip to the polls as well.

Gateway instructor, Mr. Kodey Springate helped the students register to vote after social worker, Mrs. Danielle Kousgaard assisted with procuring students with the identification they needed to complete both registering and voting.

“Voting for me was so much less stressful with Mr. Springate explaining the amendments, what was on them, and explaining the different candidates and parties. It all helped me make an educated decision and vote,” student Vannah Lay said.

Fellow Gateway student, Ava Mescher stated that “The people running the polling site told me everything I needed to know and made it easy for my first time voting! Very nice and simple.”