By Mary Frost
Brooklyn Daily Eagle

PARK SLOPE -- Voter turnout was 100 percent.

By the time the students at P.S. 39 in Park Slope cast their ballots last Friday, not only could they tell you where Barack Obama and John McCain stood on the economy, the wars and education -- but they knew the surprising reason why we vote on Tuesdays in the first place.

P.S. 39’s fourth- and fifth-graders capped off their current events studies Friday with an in-depth look at the issues moderated by Barnett Zitron, managing director of “Why Tuesday?� a non-partisan, nonprofit organization aimed at increasing voter turnout and participation in elections.

The organization chose the name Why Tuesday? because it wanted voters to ponder why we stick with antiquated and inconvenient Tuesday voting when other days – like on weekends or on a national voting holiday – are far more convenient.

“America is the first country where we were free to vote, but not everybody takes advantage of this right,� Principal Anita de Paz told the students as she introduced Mr. Zitron. “Choose a few issues that pertain to the world, your country, your school,� Zitron said. The savvy 9- and 10-year-olds quickly targeted the economy and unemployment, global warming, the wars, education and school enrichment time as issues that concerned them.

Then the students told Zitron where the candidates stood on each of these issues. John McCain would have been disappointed to hear that the students seemed to be impervious to his famous robocalls.

“Obama would lower taxes except for really rich people because they don’t need tax breaks,� said one young boy. “Obama would try to sign a peace treaty,� said another. A teacher, however, added that John McCain was in favor of merit pay for teachers.

As the discussion continued, Zitron typed the students’ comments into a projected presentation so the candidates’ viewpoints could be compared. “Are we done yet? Then it’s time to vote.�

“Remember, your ballot is confidential,� said Donna Baker, administrative assistant at P.S. 39. “Don’t put your name on it, and don’t ask your neighbor.�

“What goes on in the voting booth stays in the voting booth,� volunteered one boy. The students filled out their ballots and dropped them into the ballot boxes, colorfully decorated with red, white and blue by the P.S. 39 PTA.

While the votes were tabulated, Zitron urged the students to talk about the election with their parents. “See what they’ve got to do on Election Day and see what you can do to help them. Maybe you can go with them to the polls.�

“This election is a big deal in our students’ households,� said Principal de Paz. She praised PS 39’s PENCIL partner, Steven Levy, of Steven Levy Investigations, a forensic accounting company, for connecting the school with Why Tuesday?

PENCIL is well known for Principal for a Day, which kicks off a year of partnerships between business leaders and principals to inspire innovation and transform public schools.

“He’s very fully committed to P.S. 39 – he’s like a godfather to our school,� she said. “PENCIL always tried to make partnerships long lasting – this is a great example of a success.�

Finally, the results were in. A great cheer ripped through the auditorium as the tally was read. It was Obama by a landslide, with 93 for Obama, 5 for McCain, and 2 undecided.

“Congratulations, P.S. 39, for participating in the election,� Zitron told the students as they picked up their jackets and filed out.

“Ninety-three votes in this class,� one student said. “Imagine if the whole world voted like us – that’d be 93 thousand million!�

Why We Vote on Tuesdays

In 1845, before Florida, California, and Texas were states or slavery had been abolished, Congress needed to pick a time for Americans to vote. We were an agrarian society and traveled by horse and buggy.

Farmers needed a day to get to the county seat, a day to vote, and a day to get back, without interfering with the three days of worship. So that left Tuesday and Wednesday, but Wednesday was market day.

So, Tuesday it was. In 1875 Congress extended the Tuesday date for national House elections and in 1914 for federal Senate elections. (See www.whytuesday.org for more)

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