At Turtle Lake Elementary School in Shoreview, pint-sized voters stepped up to miniature booths this afternoon and checked off their choices for U.S. president, Minnesota Supreme Court justices and all of the other races on the state’s official ballots.

It was a project of the Minnesota chapter of Kids Voting USA, a national effort to secure the future of democracy by teaching kids to be educated and engaged voters.

Actually, the kids’ voting booths in a hallway just outside the official polling station were providing a civics lesson on two levels. Juniors and seniors from Irondale and Moundsview senior high schools were learning too as they walked younger kids through the voting process and the ballot choices.

Sarah Vetsch, a senior at Moundsview, said she volunteered in her government class for the duty because it was a good cause for the country’s future. And also, her teacher offered extra credit!

One thing that surprised Vetsch and the other student volunteers was how engaged younger kids are in this year’s presidential election. Many needed help filling in their ballots, but even the youngest knew how they wanted to vote.