ROTTERDAM Students get chance to vote for president Mock election at Schalmont helps raise interest in political process BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
Alex Grandstaff won’t need any explanation the next time he steps into a voting both. Though the 16-year-old junior considered himself well-versed on the current presidential race, he had never set foot in a voting booth before. So when his history teacher provided him with a quick rundown of the polling machine outside the Schalmont High School gymnasium, Grandstaff was more than ready for a dry run at the American political process. “It felt pretty good to be able to vote,” he said Wednesday. “It’s really kind of interesting with everything going on.” Grandstaff was among 556 Schalmont students participating in a mock presidential election aimed at raising interest in the political process. The event was among 11 organized at area schools and featuring actual voting booths provided by the Schenectady County Board of Elections. Schalmont does the exercise once every four years with its high school and middle school classes. Students studying U.S. history are initially given assignments to watch the presidential debates, read articles on the races and even interview adults about their political views. Then about two weeks before the election they vote on one of the back-up machines used by the county. The object is to show the students the importance of participation in the election process, explained Anne Austin, an 11th grade history teacher. “We’re trying to emphasize their rights in this democracy and their civic responsibility to participate in our election process,” she said. Brian Quail, the Democratic county elections commissioner, said there is no real way of gauging the impact of the mock votes on registration among students later in life. But he said the exercise gives students a good sense of the excitement and tensions throughout the country on the eve of most elections. “The presidential election is so much a part of our culture, for the kids to have an opportunity to have an outlet for it is very positive,” he said. Likewise, Republican Elections Commissioner Art Brassard said, “The early introduction to voting is really great. Obviously, it encourages an age group that’s more unpredictable with its voting patterns.” In the Schalmont vote, Austin said the students supported Democrat Barack Obama over Republican John McCain by 310 to 154. The results mimic closely the latest Rassmusen poll conducted this month, which has Obama leading McCain by roughly 20 percentage points. But student voters weren’t only interested in the two major parties. Austin said two dozen students — or about 4 percent — pulled the lever for independent candidate Ralph Nader. Voting in the mock election created a buzz among the students throughout the day, as each class filed down to the election booth. For Grandstaff, the buzz was all about Obama, even though his family leans Republican. Grandstaff said he supported Obama because of the candidate’s desire to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq. His brother is on his second tour with the Army in Iraq. “I’m completely with [Obama] on that,” he said. Ninth-grader Alyssa Alex said she also cast her vote for Obama. Even though she won’t be eligible to vote until the next presidential election, the 14-year-old freshman said the exercise has turned her on to following the real vote closer. “I’m really excited for it,” she said.
MARC SCHULTZ/GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER Schalmont High School Senior Raegan Karbowski enters the voting booth to cast a mock ballot at the school on Wednesday morning. Students learned about the electoral process by holding a mock election for the next U.S. president in voting booths provided by the Schenectady County Board of Elections. MARC SCHULTZ/GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER Amanda Lawson, center right, explains how to use the voting booth to fellow students at Schalmont High School on Wednesday morning. Students at the school held a mock presidential election.
I often wonder if when kids participate in a vote like this, if it is of their own mind they choose a candidate or if it is the belief of their parents that has influenced them.
We were supposed to have new machines already but the new electronic ones are very easy to hack into and besides that there's no paper trail to check to see if fraud has occured on the machine. Again another case of rushing into doing something b4 all the bugs are ironed out.
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