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GREENSBORO - Think kids these days are apathetic and lazy?

Think about this: By the time the voting period ends Tuesday, more kids will have voted in Guilford County than adults did in dozens of the state's other counties.

That's thanks to the Kids Voting program, which lets those too young to cast an official vote show up and make their voices heard anyway.

Four years ago, more than 20,000 kids from kindergarten through 12th grade cast their ballots in Guilford County.

This year, organizers are expecting even more.

"I would love to see us get to 30,000," said Pat Vreeland, the group's executive director in Guilford County.

The program aims for maximum authenticity, with a ballot that includes not just national and statewide races, but local races and even bond referenda. The young voters will use a paper ballot, not electronic machines, but in other respects, the experience is nearly identical.

Locally, the project is active in Guilford and Randolph counties.

The effort also included early voting this year, in contrast to 2004, when adults could vote early but kids couldn't, leading to a dip in kid turnout.

The effort isn't simple to pull off, requiring a small army of volunteers. Virtually all of the county's 165 precincts are staffed with Kids Voting workers.

Ultimately, all the work is aimed at raising interest and turnout in future elections.

Vreeland cites a study on turnout among voters between 18 and 25 that found many didn't vote because they were unfamiliar with the process.

"A lot of young people don't know what to do," she said.

That's something the project aims to remedy.

But the effort also works both ways, encouraging voting not just among future adults, but current parents.

"If children get excited about going to the polls, there's a good chance that the parents will vote," Vreeland said.

Contact Jason Hardin at 373-7021 or jason. hardin@news-record.com