Increasing the Civic Literacy and Engagement of Kentucky's Citizens

While campaigning to become Kentucky's next Secretary of State, Trey Grayson stressed the need to engage young Kentuckians more fully in the electoral process.  Particularly, he noted the alarming decline of civic engagement among all Kentucky citizens.  As part of his campaign platform, Secretary Grayson promised to examine this decline and work to reverse these trends in order to achieve a better informed and engaged Kentucky electorate.

The Civic Literacy Initiative of Kentucky is a multi-year effort to enhance civic engagement and civic literacy within the Commonwealth of Kentucky.  Secretary Grayson serves as a member of the Kentucky delegation to the Congressional Conference on Civic Education.

The mission of the Southern Coalition is to collaborate and share resources and ideas among coalition states (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia) related to civic education.  The Coalition seeks to accomplish this mission by helping government, community, and education leaders incorporate civic knowledge, skills and attitudes into policies, programs, and pedagogy that support effective civic education and engagement from early childhood through adulthood.

 For the past 18 years, the Office of the Secretary of State has held a statewide slogan and essay contest on an elections related topic for Kentucky high school students.  These contests are part of the Secretary's efforts to increase the civic awareness of Kentucky's youth.

There has been an exciting change to our annual mock election program.  In previous years, the Office of the Secretary of State participated in the National Student/Parent Mock Election. This year, Secretary Grayson partnered with the University of Virginia’s Youth Leadership Institute to add outstanding curricula to our educational programming that already provides Kentucky students the opportunity to cast their ballots shortly before Election Day. 

The Commonwealth Ambassador Award is presented to youth who demonstrate exceptional character and citizenship through their contribution to the community, state, or nation.

Click here for more information on Secretary Grayson's new initiative designed to increase voter participation by honoring the service of America’s military men and women.

The Office of the Secretary of State has partnered with Kentucky Campus Compact to create the Kentucky Student Voter Video Contest.  Students currently enrolled in a postsecondary institution are eligible to enter the competition and win a $1,500 cash prize.  The purpose of the project is to educate the citizens of the Commonwealth on the importance of voting by challenging college students to develop creative voter education video advertisements that emphasize the significance of voting in state and national elections.