Enlisting young people to vote is a pet project of Duval County Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland.
Recently he announced the winners of a contest he runs each year to recognize schools whose students show an interest in voting.
Holland held the contest for 10 years when he first served as supervisor and restored it last year when he returned to the position.
His office received 3,218 student voter registration applications during the 2025-2026 Countywide Student Voter Registration Competition.
Since the start of the year, elections office personnel visited 28 schools that had responded to an invitation to pre-register and register students to vote.
Florida allows students to pre-register to vote if they are at least 16 years old and meet all other eligibility requirements. The pre-registration becomes an active registration when the applicant reaches 18.
“It gets them engaged.” Holland told Eye on Jacksonville. “It’s one step into adulthood.”
Schools with the highest percentage of applicants from the school population are presented with the Freedom Award Trophy. The winners are:
Duval County Public Schools:
Large School – First Coast High School
Medium School – Terry Parker High School
Small School – Bridge to Success Academy
Private Schools:
Large School – Bishop Kenny High School
Medium School – The Bolles School
Small School – Pace Center for Girls Jacksonville
College/University: Edward Waters University
