Floyd students mirror state in mock election returns

Photo: Drake Ballard, a Pre-K student at Garden Lakes Elementary, casts his ballot in the mock election.

 

Media release: Young citizens of the community got a lesson in patience and civics as many experienced the voting process in schools during the presidential election.  As with many adults, there was some standing in line that also went along with the experience of casting a ballot for the children participating in the school mock elections held in Floyd County schools.  Students also can relate to the adults in Georgia today as their voting preference was not in line with national results. Governor Mitt Romney was the big winner in the schools, as he was across the community and the state.  Romney garnered 64 percent of the student vote while President Barack Obama received 34 percent.  The remaining percentage of the vote was for third-party or write-in candidates. 

Many of our schools participated as a part of  a national effort to educate children about the voting process.  Nationally, President Barack Obama received 61 percent of the student vote and Governor Mitt Romney finished with 35 percent of the vote in the student mock election. The national vote was sponsored by the Youth Leadership Initiative.  The Youth Leadership Initiative at the University of Virginia Center for Politics is dedicated to increasing civic engagement by providing teachers with the best civics education materials and programs. Research shows that quality civics education programs are essential to creating lifelong citizenship and empowers students to take responsibility for our democracy.

Students were involved in much more than just casting a ballot during the election process in the past few weeks.  Students campaigned, played the role of a candidate in mock debates, designed signs to encourage adults to vote and replicated the voting process during the mock election.  At Armuchee Middle School, the election was conducted by the Armuchee Middle School Indian Council, the student government association of the school. Dakota Thurston, an eighth grade student at Armuchee Middle and vice chief of the Indian Council, said, "This has been a very informative process that allows students at Armuchee Middle to express our voice."

School mock precincts reporting vote totals:

Armuchee Middle: Romney 80% - Obama 20%

Cave Spring Elementary: Romney 70% - Obama 30%

Coosa High:  Romney 56% - Obama 32%  

Floyd County Education Center: Romney 56% - Obama 35%  

Garden Lakes Elementary: Romney 54% - Obama 46%

Glenwood Primary:  Romney 61% - Obama 39%

Johnson Elementary:  Romney 72% - Obama 28%

McHenry Primary:  Romney  45% - Obama 55%  

Midway Primary:  Romney 57% - Obama 43%  

Model Elementary:  Romney 67% - Obama 27%  

Model High:  Romney 75% - Obama 25%

Pepperell Primary:  Romney 64% - Obama 36% 

Pepperell Elementary: Romney 67%  - Obama 33%

Pepperell Middle: Romney 70% - Obama 30%

Pepperell High: Romney 62% - Obama 38%  (one class reporting)