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Updated: 12:09 PM Jan 16, 2012
UPDATE: Results are in for Albemarle High School Mock Primary
As New Hampshire residents voted Tuesday in the GOP presidential primary, so too did Albemarle County High School students. It’s a mock election, but as we found out, students are taking it very seriously.
Posted: 12:09 PM Jan 16, 2012Reporter: Carter Johnson Email Address: carter.johnson@newsplex.com |
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5 Comments 
January 16, 2012
While South Carolina holds its GOP primary on Saturday, the results are in from the Albemarle High School mock presidential primary.
Texas Congressman Ron Paul was the top choice among the students with 34 percent of the vote. He was followed by Mitt Romney with 20 percent. The rest of the candidates each earned less than 10 percent of the vote.
Although, the results were a little different when students were asked to rank the GOP hopefuls against President Barack Obama. Forty-nine percent said they plan on voting for Obama and only 40 percent said they'd vote for the Republican nominee.
January 10, 2012
As New Hampshire residents voted Tuesday in the GOP presidential primary, so too did 350 Albemarle County High School students. The mock election is more than just a political lesson, as government students are making sure their votes count in the primary process.
“I have always been very interested in politics, and I think it’s really neat for us to be able to voice our opinions through voting,” said Spencer Hadley, a senior at AHS.
Just like the voters in New Hampshire, students are casting their votes for the GOP presidential candidates. But they are doing it through the Youth Leadership Initiative (YLI), an educational outreach program offered by the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics.
“Albemarle is just a great example of active teaching about government and civics,” said Meg Heubeck, Director of Instruction for YLI. AHS is in fact a pilot school for the mock primary election. Their results will be added to those of other schools on Super Tuesday, which is March 6.
Again, just like the real voters, students have been following the current events, getting interested in politics and becoming educated voters.
“I’m actually informing my mom on politics more than she was before,” senior Sara Murphy said with a chuckle. “I’m trying to make everyone an educated voter.”
And that’s the goal – getting students engaged early so the excitement and interest continues into their actual voting years.
“They’re very interested in politics in general and I hope that enthusiasm will carry over to after they graduate and into the general election,” said AP Government teacher Julie Strong.
So who did the students selected as the GOP candidate? We’ll have to wait a week for the results.
Latest Comments
haha you really think high schoolers can be "brain-washed"? I'm one of the students and I can assure you we all on average more informed than the average american and chose the candidate that we think will make the best president.
Actually, this reflects the lack of knowledge and savvy of the government high school students. Paul is the "darling" of the misguided MTV set, so of course he won handily. Romney is the one most in the press lately, as he won NH and is being targeted. So they merely voted for whom else they knew. It boggles me mind why this is even in the news, but I guess we need to say something, now don't we. R.I.P.: Minnie Riperton
The schools will steer the students twards whatever candidate they think Obama has the best chance of beating, and that will be Romney. These types of things are meant to form opinions, not convey them.
