One of the programs we discuss with students is "stop loss", a program which then-President Bush implemented to keep active and reserve soldiers serving longer in order to prevent the need for higher enlistment or a draft. It has been a program with profound consequences on our troops, their families and their communities both active and reserve. It is great news that it is finally ending, though with new conflicts, our already overburdened military may one day have to revert to mandatory servic… Continue

March 23, 1775 is a date you very likely haven't heard of yet it is instrumental in our democracy's birth. On this day in 1775 that Patrick Henry stood up in the second Virginia Convention with the daring proposition that the colony of Virgina take up arms against the king and fight for independence. As any student of Vote 18 knows, this was an act of high treason. People convicted of treason could be sent back to England and hanged. Because of this the idea of independence was seldom spoke of i… Continue

"In the 21st century, it's going to be important for every citizen to be an active, informed voter, but also to do some kind of citizen service."
- President Bill Clinton Feb 15th, 2009

Our new era of responsibility must include informed, active voters, but also citizens who remain engaged and active within their community. Those are the values that our Vote 18 program instills both in concept and practice. First by teaching students the value, power and relevance of their vote, but then by int… Continue

The US is the only country in history built on an idea. That being the case it helps to have an 'owners manual."

That task just got a little easier for iPhone users, and MacWorld helps navigate the various civics apps hitting the market:

http://www.macworld.com/article/137523/2008/12/civicsapps_iphone.html

Here's a great piece in the NY Times on the underlying psychology of voting.

An interesting snippet:
“There’s a longstanding literature looking at why any rational person would vote, when the chances of actually influencing an election are about the same as getting hit by lightning,” said John Londregan, a professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton. “In most theoretical models, it’s hard to get a predi… Continue