Frank Hughes School Receives Secretary of State’s Anne Dallas Dudley Voter Registration Award

Frank Hughes School Receives Secretary of State’s Anne Dallas Dudley Voter Registration Award
Photo: Courtesy of Jaylee Warren, Frank Hughes School

Nashville, Tenn. – Frank Hughes School received the Secretary of State’s Anne Dallas Dudley Gold Level Award by registering 100% of the eligible students who are 18 or older to vote.

“Congratulations to the Frank Hughes School for earning our Anne Dallas Dudley Gold Level Award,” said Secretary of State Tre Hargett. “I applaud the commitment to increasing voter registration shown by the Wayne County Election Commission and these students, faculty and staff.”

High schools that register 100% of the eligible students earn the Anne Dallas Dudley Gold Level Award and those that register at least 85% of the eligible students earn the Anne Dallas Dudley Silver Level Award.

“I would like to offer my congratulations to Frank Hughes School for achieving this award,” said Wayne County Administrator of Elections Lillie Ruth Brewer. “I am very proud of the students’ interest in exercising their right to vote in future elections.”

Frank Hughes School and 12 other Tennessee high schools in 13 counties earned the Anne Dallas Dudley Gold Level Award.  Nine Tennessee high schools in eight counties earned the Anne Dallas Dudley Silver Level Award. All Tennessee public, charter, and private schools and home school associations could participate in the second annual Anne Dallas Dudley Award program.

“Thank you to the Secretary of State’s office for honoring our school with the Anne Dallas Dudley Gold Level Award,” said Frank Hughes School guidance counselor Ashley Morris. “I am proud to see our students understand the importance of registering to vote and that they can be part of making change by voting."

The Secretary of State’s Anne Dallas Dudley Award, launched in 2021, is named after renowned Tennessee suffragist Anne Dallas Dudley. She helped lead the successful effort to get the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ratified nationwide and in her home state. On Aug. 18, 1920, Tennessee became the 36th and final state needed to pass the Amendment giving women the right to vote.

The award is part of the Secretary of State’s civics engagement initiative to increase voter registration in Tennessee and prepare students to be actively engaged citizens. For more information about the Anne Dallas Dudley Award and other Department of State civic engagement efforts, visit https://sos.tn.gov/civics.