Secretary Tre Hargett Presents Anne Dallas Dudley Gold Award to Middleton High School
On Monday, April 15, 2024, Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett presented Middleton High School (MHS) with the prestigious Anne Dallas Dudley Gold Level Award. For the third year in a row, MHS earned the designation by registering 100 percent of its eligible students to vote.
“Achieving 100 percent voter registration is a testament to the dedication to civic engagement by the senior class at Middleton High School,” said Secretary of State Tre Hargett. “Earning an Anne Dallas Dudley Gold Level Award speaks volumes to the commitment of the faculty, staff, and the Hardeman County Election Commission in stressing the importance of civic engagement and an unwavering commitment to increasing voter registration within this school community.”
The Secretary of State’s office launched the Anne Dallas Dudley Award program for the 2023-2024 school year to promote voter registration among Tennessee high school students. High schools that registered 100 percent of eligible students earned the Anne Dallas Dudley Gold Level Award. High schools, like Bolivar Central High School, that registered at least 85 percent of eligible students earned the Anne Dallas Dudley Silver Level Award.
“We are incredibly proud of the young leaders at Middleton High School for this incredible civic achievement,” said Hardeman County Administrator of Elections Amber Moore. “These students are the future leaders of our community and Tennessee. We are grateful for their remarkable desire to get engaged, register to vote, and encourage others to follow their lead so more young people become lifelong voters.”
All Tennessee public, charter/private school, and home school associations can participate in the Anne Dallas Dudley Award program. This year, 32 Tennessee high schools in 24 counties earned the Anne Dallas Dudley Gold Level Award, and 19 high schools representing 16 counties earned the Anne Dallas Dudley Silver Level Award.
Secretary Hargett shared why he thinks it is important for young people, as well as all citizens, to not only register to vote, but to also exercise their right and vote.
“We think it is important all people register and go and vote. It is the most fundamental way we participate in our form of government and the decisions that are being made at the local, state, and federal level are made by the people we elect. And so it is important you be an educated consumer with your vote and get engaged,” said Secretary Hargett who also added for those people who may think their vote does not matter. “I can’t promise your vote will be a deciding vote in who will be the next president of the United States. What I can tell you is we’ve had judge races end in ties, school board races end in ties, state legislative races decided by less than five votes, one congressional race in the last decade decided by less than one vote per precinct. I can promise you that when you don’t go and vote, what you do is turn over the keys of power of government to those who do. I just happen to think we are all better off as a society when we engage in the process and make our voice heard.”
The award is named in honor of renowned Tennessee suffragist Anne Dallas Dudley, who helped lead the successful effort to ratify the 19th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. On August 18, 1920, Tennessee became the 36th and final state needed to give women the right to vote.
The Anne Dallas Dudley Award is part of the Secretary of State’s civics engagement initiative to increase voter registration in Tennessee and prepare students to be actively engaged citizens. For more information about the Anne Dallas Dudley Award and other Tennessee Department of State civic engagement efforts, visit sos.tn.gov/civics.
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