LIHUE — Six high school students and a Department of Education Complex Area resource teacher were honored for their efforts that increased the list of registered voters by more than 300 voters.
Indivisible Kauai, a group dedicated to fighting for democracy, joined Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami and Senate President Ron Kouchi in congratulating and recognizing the students from Island School, Kspaa, and Waimea high schools, as well as resource teacher Darlene Muraoka from the Complex Area office.
“These students have shown that civic engagement starts early,” Kawakami said. “They’ve set an example for the whole community.”
Waimea High School, with support from social studies teacher Lisa Davalos-Wade, registered 135 voters through the efforts of Bystin Nagamine, Stanley Kimmel, and Naia Lewis.
Khloe Graves, who is on track to be a middle blocker for the Kapaa High School girls volleyball team, worked with Muraoka to register 106 voters, the most of the student registrars.
Island School, with the support of High School and College Counselor Renate McMullen, saw the team effort of sisters Violet and Ruby Swartz register 77 students during a May 5 drive.
Muraoka said voters can register when they are 16 years old. They cannot vote until they turn 18.
Muraoka, a key organizer for the recent Back to School Bash, where 2,500 backpacks of school supplies were distributed, was assigned to the initiative to select student leaders, arrange training, and ensure campus rules were followed during the voter registration drives.
Indivisible Kauai member Mary Lu Kelley said, “Building on this success, additional student-led registration drives are planned for the Fall 2025 and the Spring 2026. We hope to get participation from the Hawaii Technology Academy and Kauai High School, joining the current roster of Waimea, Kapaa, and Island School.”
The voter registration initiative started in the summer of 2024 when Kauai voter registrar Bevin Parker-Evans and Kelley met with then-DOE Complex Area Superintendent Daniel Hamada to discuss increasing civic engagement in high schools.
The Kauai Indivisible ladies proposed student-led voter registration events supported by training and materials from “The Civics Center,” a national nonprofit dedicated to empowering youth participation in democracy.