ECS | Memorial Students to Vote in Mock Election

Memorial Students to Vote in Mock Election

While the 2012 presidential election isn’t until Nov. 6, students at Memorial High School will already have cast their votes and elected a winner. Joe Waltz’ Government classes at Memorial are taking part in a national mock election Wednesday (Oct. 24) using a state-of-the art online voting system.

The mock election program is sponsored by the Youth Leadership Initiative, a national civic education program based at the University of Virginia Center for Politics. With approximately one million students expected to vote nationwide during the two-week voting period from October 22 to November 1, the YLI Mock Election is the largest secure, student-only online mock election in the nation.

When the Memorial students cast their ballots Wednesday, they will not be going into the voting booth blind. In their government classes, they have been researching the candidates and following their campaigns, discussing the issues being raised in this year’s campaign, and viewing the presidential debates.

The students have also had several discussions on the election process and the importance of casting a vote.

In addition to the presidential election, the Memorial students will have a chance to vote on several referendums on the mock ballot that deal with issues that impact them at school.

According to a national research study conducted by the University of Virginia Center for Politics, the instructional components of the Youth Leadership Initiative can have a positive impact on students, and “students in classes where teachers used the YLI Mock Election and the related lesson plans reported a higher tendency towards future political participation.”

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