Massachusetts students cast a record number of more than 90,800 votes in the 2008 National Student/Parent Mock Election. The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum served as the state headquarters for the Mock Election, a nation-wide program held biennially to increase student interest and participation in voting. The Library created age-appropriate curriculum packets for K-12 audiences about the presidential candidates and key campaign issues. Materials were distributed to educators and parent coordinators throughout Massachusetts. Although National Mock Election Day was held on October 30, the polls were open October 27 - November 4. In total, 5.1 million votes were cast nationally.
Massachusetts students elected Senator Barack Obama with 67% of the vote, while Senator John McCain received 29%. Third party candidates received 4% of students’ votes. When asked about the usefulness of government spending, 35% responded that money spent toward aiding the economy would be most helpful, followed by healthcare and the environment, with 17% and 16% of the vote, respectively. When asked which President from the past they would most like to lead the country again, 26% of students voted for Abraham Lincoln. John F. Kennedy came in second with 22% overall.
To prepare for National Mock Election Day, classrooms across Massachusetts made posters encouraging both students and parents to vote; invited local politicians to speak about the importance of voting; and held debates about the issues and candidates. On voting day, many school gymnasiums and cafeterias were transformed into polling stations where students registered, cast their votes, and received ‘I voted’ stickers. One teacher wrote that the National Student/Parent Mock Election was “a wonderful resource and gave students a feeling of having their vote count. It was exciting announcing the winners at the end of the day.”
Information about the National Student/Parent Mock Election and nation-wide results are available on www.NationalMockElection.org. To have your school added to the mailing list for the 2010 brochure, please send an email with your school’s contact information to mock.election@nara.gov.