Students in Chilton County will have the opportunity to be part of a poll worker internship.

The internship was created by the Secretary of State’s Office.

“We’ve never had an opportunity like this before,” Chilton County Probate Judge Jason Calhoun said.

Any students 16 years of age and older will be eligible to take part in the program.

“Hopefully, this will encourage them to vote their entire life,” Calhoun said.

The program will begin for the March presidential primary election and will be used for elections moving forward.

According to Calhoun, roughly 20,000 (nearly half of) Chilton County residents are not registered to vote.

Although the data includes all residents, even those not eligible to vote, Calhoun believes that the number would still be too high even with those residents removed.

“We need to be proactive,” Calhoun said.

The registration deadline is Feb. 17 if completed online and Feb. 24 if filled out in-person at the Chilton County Board of Registrars located in the courthouse.