Americans head to the polls Tuesday. Here in Idaho big turnout is expected. Many Idahoans have already voted including 1,700 high school students. They took part in the state's student mock election.
This year Idaho high school students elected Republican Mitt Romney for president, reelected Raul Labrador and Mike Simpson to congress and said yes to amending Idaho's constitution to ensure the right to hunt and trap. However the students voted no on Propositions 1, 2 and 3 rejecting the Students Come First laws by wide margins. Idaho’s Secretary of State sponsors the mock election every two years along with the state’s Department of Education. Jim Mairs with the Secretary of State’s office says this is a great way to teach about the importance of voting.
“Because their parents are talking about things at home, and they’re reading things in the paper, and seeing ads on TV, it gives teachers an opportunity to talk about civics in the present tense,” Mairs says.
Mairs says teachers that sign up take the mock election seriously. Many assign extensive reading on the candidates and issues. Students at 36 high schools across Idaho voted last week at their schools in the state’s fourth mock election. Since these are high school seniors some of these students will cast real ballots Tuesday.