Rights and responsibilities: Area students learn about voting during mock elections

Mock elections were held Tuesday in several area schools, including Cape Girardeau Central Junior High in Cape Girardeau and East Elementary in Jackson.

At the beginning of Nichole Buehrle's eighth-grade advisory period Tuesday, students were instructed to get on their classroom laptops and open a Google Form displaying the two main party candidates, Donald Trump (Republican) and Hillary Clinton (Democrat), and an option to write in an alternative, such as third-party candidates Gary Johnson (Libertarian) or Jill Stein (Green Party).

In the weeks leading up to the election, Buehrle said she worked to educate her students about the candidates and the election process.

"We realize that it's very important for the kids to know what their roles are and their responsibilities are as citizens, and that is actually part of our school motto, is to make them responsible students, so that is something we are promoting," Buehrle said. "And then we also teach American history, so it's good for them to see how it's working and in action."

In all social-studies classes at the junior high, teachers discussed with students the requirements to be a legal voter, the requirements for presidential eligibility and the voting process.

Jalyn Barber looks up the election forecast during a mock election Tuesday at Cape Girardeau Central Junior High School.ANDREW J. WHITAKER

"In four short years, most of these kids will be voting for the next president, so we wanted them to know what the process was," Buerhle said.

Student Council members Lorelai Clubb and Evie Frazier, both 13-year-old eighth-graders, helped organize the mock election with the council's advisers, librarian Libby Wilson and math teacher Emily Goode.

Clubb said the mock election process has been educational for her and her fellow students.

"It was really cool learning about not just the two major parties, but learning about the Green Party and the Libertarian Party. It was cool to see all of their views and not just the main ones that we usually always talk about," she said.

Frazier agreed, saying giving kids the opportunity to vote helps provide them with a sense of responsibility and involvement.

Kyla Brandy casts her ballot during a mock election Tuesday at East Elementary in Jackson.ANDREW J. WHITAKER

"It makes kids feel involved and not just excluded from the election," Frazier said. "We're like, 'Oh, well my parents get to vote, so I think I should try.' And it's not like it's a big thing, but it's big for us."

"Even though we're not 18, our opinion still matters because eventually we will be 18, and eventually our opinions will matter as far as the big election goes," Clubb added. "So I feel like it's a good way to express our opinions now."

All the students at the junior high had the opportunity to vote during their advisory period, and the results were announced a little before 11 a.m.

Coming in first was Trump at 52.5 percent and Clinton in second at 47.5 percent.

Among the most notable write-ins were a number for Johnson, Stein and Democratic Senator for Vermont Bernie Sanders, along with more outlandish options such as students writing in their own names or that of Harambe, a Western lowland gorilla that was killed in May after a 3-year-old boy fell into his enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo.

Voting finished early for the junior high, whereas students at East Elementary in Jackson voted throughout the day.

With the main polling station set up in the school's cafeteria, different classes and age groups voted between classes or during lunch.

With students ranging from preschool up through fifth grade, the elementary school demanded a more straightforward approach to voting, with paper ballots displaying candidates Trump, Clinton and Johnson, along with the candidates' photos for those children who can't read yet.

"I think it's important for students even at a super young age to understand about our government and the rights and responsibilities they have as a citizen," said Dr. Jessica Maxwell, principal at East Elementary.

Maxwell said many teachers throughout the school taught their students about the election process in the weeks preceding the vote.

Students learn about federal government in third grade, state government in fourth and local government in fifth.

"So those three grade levels especially have been trying to learn standards that go along with the president and the qualifications and things they have to have, as well as the governor and so on and so forth," Maxwell said.

With an announcement at the end of the day, the East Elementary students decided on Trump as their president of choice, fielding 364 ballots out of 577, or 63 percent.

Clinton came in second with 27 percent of the vote and 154 votes, and Johnson in third with 59 votes, making up the remaining 10 percent of the vote.

"I think that our country, even our local district or community, I think is working really hard to make sure students are registered to vote, and they're learning about that," Maxwell said. "So I think doing something at this young age can only help them advocate for their beliefs and hopefully go out and help serve in some capacity, whether it's just by voting or maybe being a politician themselves in the future."

Government is taught as part of the curriculum every year at East, but Maxwell said election years provide more hands-on experience for students.

"It is so nice to be able to have something that's hands-on for them to really see. ... This is such a real-world experience for them to have the opportunity to participate in," she said. "So I think it's got a deeper meaning than just teaching those normal standards that we usually teach; it has a lot more value, I think, on election years."

lyoung@semissourian.com

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