Thursday, October 18, 2012

Students choose Obama in Scholastic mock election

(CNN) The votes are in – among kids – and Barack Obama has "won" a second term as president.
Every four years, Scholastic Classroom Magazines conducts its presidential mock election for students.  The Scholastic Student Vote launched its first contest in the presidential election of 1940.  The students have been wrong only twice:  In 1948, they picked Thomas E. Dewey over Harry S Truman, and in 1960, they “elected” Richard M. Nixon over John F. Kennedy.
The results of this year’s election: Barack Obama – 51%, Mitt Romney – 45%.  “Other” candidates (who gathered 4%) included write-ins like John McCain, Paul Ryan, Ron Paul and Hillary Clinton.
And, of course, write-ins included some votes for “my mom” and “my dad.”

Students around the U.S. voted using paper ballots in Scholastic Magazine as well as online. The vote is not a scientific poll, but it is intended to be a classroom exercise in civics.
“The students have made their voices heard once again, and it proved to be a tight race,” said Elliott Rebhun, editor and publisher, Scholastic’s Social Studies Classroom Magazines. “The Scholastic Student Vote shows us that students are engaged and excited about the election, and has provided classroom teachers with a tool to bring current events to life and teach students about our country’s democratic process.”
Nearly 250,000 students nationwide from elementary grades through high school participated in this year’s mock election, which began on August 15 and ended on October 10.
You can see the results of Scholastic Student Vote 2012 here.

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