National Student/Parent Mock Election at SJS

The students and staff at St. John School recently participated in a National Student/Parent Mock Election. Students from kindergarten through college were invited to take part. The poles were open from October 20th - October 30th.

This program was free of charge, and was designed to teach young people and their parents the importance of voting.

To view our schools results of the 2008 National Mock Election, click here.

To prepare the students for this Mock Election, four students from seventh grade represented Barack Obama, Joe Bidden, John McCain, and Sarah Palin. The candidates then put on “debates” for the other students in the school. Both the vice presidential, as well as presidential candidates, had an opportunity to explain what they stood for, what they would get rid of, and why they should be voted for. Hot topics during the debate included: the cost of gas, alternative fuels, homeland security, the war in Iraq, abortion, and the economy. After the last debate, the students had a week to make their final decisions prior to voting.

All students at St. John School had a chance to cast their vote. Preschool through first grade students were introduced to voting by choosing between a cat or dog. A stuffed animal cat and dog were displayed and the students dropped a chip into the bucket that best represented what they liked.

The second through eighth grade students voted online for the actual candidates running for President and the House of Representatives. The winner in our election was John McCain with 51.92% of the vote. Barak Obama received 39.61% of the vote. Republicans won the House of Representatives with John Gard at 56.52% and Steve Kagen at 41.06% of the vote.

Students were also asked to rate issues in the news ( i.e. cost of healthcare, the economy, the educational system ) on a scale from absolutely critical to not important or not sure. Another question that was posed through the Mock Election was: The government is limited to how much money it can raise through taxes, in your opinion, which issue would government spending help the most? Of all the options, students chose the economy by 36.95%.

And the final question asked was: If miracles could happen, which of the following presidents would you want to lead the nation? “Honest Abe” (Abraham Lincoln) got 39.51% of the votes over past presidents namely John F. Kennedy and George Washington.