ASOP AWAKENERS: A BLOG
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“I am not a teacher, but an awakener.” - Robert Frost, American poet and educator
DEMOCRACY IN THE CLASSROOM: BENEFITS OF STUDENT-RUN MOCK ELECTIONS
November 15, 2024
Young people have traditionally voted in lower numbers compared to other adults. However, in recent elections, young voters are more passionate and engaged, and, since 2022, their share of the electorate is growing. Therefore, civic education is more important than ever, and opportunities for students to take ownership of their democracy are essential.
With that in mind, my American Government students at Accelerated Schools of Overland Park organized and ran a school-wide election for President of the United States. The mock election was held on election day, Tuesday, November 5, 2024. All students at the school were eligible to vote. American Government students created and distributed a voter guide, designed the ballot, created “I Voted” stickers, and ran all the procedures for the election and the count.
Students chose between the following three candidates: Kamala Harris, Democrat; Donald Trump, Republican; and Chase Oliver, Libertarian. They also had the option to write-in other candidates. The school had a 58 percent voter turnout. This aligns with the average voter turnout in recent decades during presidential election years of 60 percent.
Student-run elections are best practice and research-based. As Ben Paris noted in his 2018 article “Benefits of Running a School Election”:
A functioning democracy depends on active, informed citizens.
While it’s a well-established fact that young people vote at lower
rates than older people, we don’t have to view this as an unsolvable problem. Having active and positive experiences with a political
process, even within one’s school, could be a spark igniting
long-term interest.
Accelerated Schools’ mock presidential election provided its students with the opportunity to build voting habits early and to better understand the election process. In the long run, this kind of positive exposure to the political process will hopefully continue even as the students leave school and become eligible to vote as adults.
