President Obama and Delaware Governor win over local students

If Delaware students could have their way, President Barack Obama and Delaware Governor Jack Markell, would be re-elected into office. The news comes after more than 40,000 students from Delaware’s public school districts and private institutions voted in a mock election this week.

Students representing each district came together on Friday to read the results at the Mock Election Convention at Legislative Hall in Dover. State Election Commissioner, Elaine Manlove who supports the event says the educational program which has been around for at least 15 years continues to grow. 

“Almost 10,000 more students voted this year which is actually surprising, because they had a compressed school week, they only voted this week, and everybody had off Monday and Tuesday and some schools had off on Wednesday as well, so the teachers did a good job of getting those kids to vote,” said Manlove.

While the students are too young to vote on November 6th, the event gives Delaware students the opportunity to experience the voting booth early as part of a hands on lesson that will last a lifetime.

“It’s really to encourage the process of voting, to get them started on a lifelong process of voting, never to not vote,” added Manlove.

Administrators who help students get familiar with Federal and State government spent a lot of time organizing the lessons to pull the mock election together. According to Portia Tyson of Christiana School District, the event keeps students connected to social studies.

“Social Studies is the application of reading and math and certainly a very important part of all of our lives.  I think social studies play an integral role in making sure our students are informed and that they are productive citizens of society,” said Tyson.

Meanwhile, when it came to the mock election results, non of the races were close, especially in the presidential race. President Obama and V.P. Joe Biden had 27,205 votes, while Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan had 11,098. 

In the U.S. Senate race, Incumbent Tom Carper earned 19,629 votes, leaving Republican Kevin Wade with 10,715 votes. When it came to the U.S. Representative in Congress, 19,973 students voted for Incumbent John Carney over Republican Thomas Kovach who had 8,871 votes.  Finally, Governor Jack Markell, Lt. Matt Denn, and Insurance Commissioner, Karen Weldin Stewart came out on top in their races.

The Delaware Mock Election is part of a team effort that includes help from the Department of Education, the state, and a host of many other groups such as the National Student/Parent Mock Election Organization.

 

 

 

Although election day is just days away, some Delaware students got to experience the voting booth early as part of a hands on lesson to last a lifetime. 

 

The Mock Election Convention event transformed a part of Legislative Hall in Dover on Friday. Participants  included two students chosen from each school district.

SOT

Right alongside students were school administrators selected from various districts to help them with the election. the election using lesson plans developed by Delaware teachers and linked to the Delaware Social Studies content standards. The lesson plans inform students about the electoral process and promote the discussion of key issues. Students can also participate in debates, issue forums, press conferences, candidate nights, rallies, and inaugural balls as part of the Mock Election in their school.

The Delaware Mock Election is associated with National Student/Parent Mock Election Organization, whose mission is “to motivate young people to seize the day, to cast votes for candidates who most inspire them while learning to cast real votes in real elections when they reach voting age.”

The Mock Election program involves extensive cooperation between multiple State agencies, as well as other institutions and organizations. The program depends heavily on assistance from the Democracy Project at the University of Delaware, the Department of Education, the Department of Technology and Information, the League of Women Voters, The News Journal, and the Office of the Secretary of State. 

To add to the spirited atmosphere of the convention and the reading of votes by the student representatives, music will be provided by the Smyrna High School Band.

 

In addition, the three winners of the “Casual for the Cause” Essay Contest will read their winning essays. The contest was launched by employees of the Office of the State Election Commissioner to further promote the importance of voter education for students throughout Delaware. This initiative offered each staff member the opportunity to pay a dollar each day he or she wished to wear jeans to work. The money collected went directly into a fund established to provide savings bonds to winners of the student essay contest. All Delaware students in grades 4-12 were eligible for the program, and winners were chosen from three age categories.

 

 Educational project…before they are able to vote it gives them insight. 10:15….house chamber seat….

Voting on wednesday and Thursday.

 federal and statewide …. Everyone on the ballot.