My son was excited to cast his first ballot, although he was less enthusiastic than expected. In retrospect, older generations are to blame for providing a subpar “citizen journey” experience. From a young age, our children receive conflicting signals about the meaning of participating in our democratic republic. On Election Day, our children — rising first time voters — are not in school learning about civics. Instead, they are given a holiday to shop and hang out with friends.

Once they become old enough to exercise their right to vote, their idealism is further dimmed upon realizing that most voters are ill-prepared on Election Day. My son was shocked to find little-to-no readily available information about so many candidates on the ballot, particularly state judges and “down-ballot” candidates. How can we ask our children to cherish the right to vote when they cannot find basic information about the candidates asking for their........

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