Senator Barack Obama won the mock election by 81% percent of the popular vote yesterday in a smooth and organized election that attempted to parallel the national election which took place the same day. Obama took all the electoral votes. Overall, the mock election went smoothly, organizors said, with the occasional long line or confusion about districts and how to use the ballot.
Polls were held Nov. 4 in the gym. With 470 ballots cast, the resultswere: Democrat Barack Obama, 81%; Republican John McCain, 19%; Cynthia McKinney of the Green Party, Libertarian Bob Barr, Alan Keyes, American Independent Party, and Ralph Nader, Peace and Freedom, all received negligible votes.
“The day was really well organized,” said Zoe Valentine ’09, one of the student organizers. “It seems like the large majority voted because we’re a politically active community, but it was also really easy to vote, too.”
Students had to go to certain polling stations because everyone was divided into “states,” such as Rodeo BH and Cawthordena, based on contiguous zip codes. The electoral states worked on a winner take all system, with an amount of electoral votes that would be representative of how the nation would vote. The Electoral College, therefore, did not necessarily correspond with the population in each zip code. This was done because the school is mainly democratic, whereas the nation isn’t.
“We wanted to have at least some republican showing,” Sallas-Brookwell said.
Some states had a small population, like Simibasabu with only six people, while others had a large population to make some students have to wait in lines to imitate the real election. Many students, though, didn’t mind waiting for their chance to vote.
Carly MacLean ’12 lives in Woodsylvania, the state with the largest population at 77 students. She had to wait in line for a couple of minutes to vote, but explains that it was worth it.
“I didn’t cut,” MacLean said. “The line’s really not that bad. If it was, though, I probably would’ve left.”
Though most students voted, a few were upset that their vote was insignificant.
“Why don’t they make propositions that actually matter, where the administration would take into consideration how we feel?” said Perrie Grace ’09.
Chiara Towne ’10 said her mock election vote for Barack Obama paralleled voting in the real election for eligible Californians.
“I felt frustrated because it’s representative of how my vote doesn’t count in California,” Towne said. “The decision is already decided here.”
Others were glad to get in on the election fun, regardless of how much their vote “counts.”
“I felt important — like a grown-up,” said Anna Silk ’14. “It was a great experience.”
Gina Gonzales ’14, who voted Democrat, agreed.
“It was fun to have a say, even though it’s not going to count, in this important election,” Gonzales said.
Sallas-Brookwell explained that the election was done to inspire political activism and to educate students with lectures, Q+A sessions, and other events. According to history instructor Dr. Tom Millar, the goal was achieved.
“Conversation is a good thing, so it went well,” Millar said, citing students’ rampant discussions about politics and the election around school.
