At a majority of campuses around the district, many students have been, or will be, participating in mock elections.
“I think the kids are excited (about the presidential election), and they’re trying to learn as much about the candidates as they can,” said Kevin Anderson, 13, a student at Travis Middle School. “I just don’t feel like a lot of kids know as much as they should - so they’re trying to get information.”
Anderson, a Democrat, voted for Sen. Barack Obama during Travis’ mock election that took place on Friday, which Obama won easily, beating Sen. John McCain by a total of 408-81 votes.
“I think there are a number of issues going on right now that are a problem,” Anderson said. “The economy is bad, gas prices are high and we have all of this testing like TAKS (the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) going on that should be pulled.”
The students are “all really excited” about the election, said Donnelle Hancock, an U.S. history teacher at Travis.
“For many of them, this will be the first change of a president that they can remember,” she said.
“I think that they all understand how important voting is,” said Ms. Hancock, who said the school has made efforts at having guests in class, and hammering home political process points. “They go online, and they read the news - they seem to know about the issues and the candidates.
“Four years from now a lot of the students at this school will be voting,” she said. “It’s important that they understand the process.”
Students at Travis participated in Project V.O.T.E., a program sponsored by the Texas Secretary of State in which student votes are tallied across the state.
“I’m excited about the election,” said Gabrielle Vargas, 13, a student at Travis, and an Obama supporter. “I think a lot of it comes from home, because my family is pretty excited too.
“I think there are a lot of problems right now, like the economy, and energy and the environment, employment,” Miss Vargas said. “I kind of wish I had the right to vote.”
At Bonham Middle School, which held its mock election last Tuesday, students voted for Obama over McCain by a final vote of 239-111. The results of the Bonham election were also sent in for Project V.O.T.E.
At Kennedy-Powell Elementary, students participated in mock elections Friday. “We had our own televised debate, where we had two students argue for both candidates,” said Tracey Tepera, a counselor at KP.
Students were shown the debate before they cast their ballot.
At Kennedy-Powell, McCain beat Obama by a final vote of 263-244. “It was a close one,” Ms. Tepera said.
“They kind of asked us to participate and do a debate,” said Jack Pirtle, 11, a fifth-grader, who defended McCain in the televised debate. “I think (McCain) would make a better president because of his experience - I think he’ll be better for the economy, and help bring our troops home from Iraq in a safer way.”
Akash Ramanathan, 10, defended Obama during the debate.
“I really don’t support the war (in Iraq), and I would like in to end,” Ramanathan said. “I think he would make a better president - I think he’s shown good judgement (as a senator).”
Both Pirtle and Ramanathan said they only recently started paying attention to politics.
“I started paying attention during the primaries, when Hillary (Sen. Hillary Clinton) and Huckabee (former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee) were still in the race,” Pirtle said. “It really caught my attention because it was all you saw on television.”
“I really started getting into it lately during the debates,” Ramanathan said.
All the students at Kennedy-Powell were allowed to vote, even the young ones.
“I think a lot of the kids decided to vote for who they voted for because of what they hear at home,” said Kennedy-Powell principal Melissa Harper. “Although, we do have a number of students who think for themselves and have their own opinions.”
Grace Westmoreland, 6, a first-grader, voted for McCain.
“I had a lot of fun doing it, and I felt like I was important,” she said. “I think we need to have better rules about gas prices.”
Trey Gomez, 7, another first-grader, also cast his vote for McCain.
“I felt like I was doing something good,” Gomez said.
The following campuses still have elections pending within the TISD: Raye-Allen Elementary School on Wednesday, Scott Elementary on Monday, and Meridith-Dunbar Elementary, Jefferson Elementary, Western Hills Elementary and Cater Elementary on Nov. 4, Election Day. Temple High School is planning on holding elections, but a date has not been determined.
If your school is participating in mock elections and you would like the results published in a story following the general election, please send your results to .
