BATH TOWNSHIP, OH (WLIO) - They might not be able to vote just yet, but students were still able to experience their own Election Day. Bethany Ulrick tells us how the Electoral College came to life at Bath Middle School.
Bath students from grades 4 to 8 had an assembly to watch and participate in a mock election, complete with candidate impersonators and even the Secret Service.
Bath students from grades 4 to 8 had an assembly to watch and participate in a mock election, complete with candidate impersonators and even the Secret Service. Students and staff serving as electors from all 50 states and Washington, D.C. demonstrated how votes are counted under the Electoral College. Each state came up to declare its results until one person reached 270 votes and was chosen as the next president.
"We've learned how each state at least has three votes because we have to have two people in the Senate and one person in the House of Representatives. It depends on their population of how many people they have," commented Adelyn Barnhart, an 8th grader representing Indiana.
Students and staff serving as electors from all 50 states and Washington, D.C. demonstrated how votes are counted under the Electoral College.
The election's results were decided by the students. Each class represented a state, and some states were represented by groups of staff. The district wants to make sure kids have a thorough understanding of how the system works because it won't be long before they're voting in real elections.
"I think it just gives an opportunity to kids who aren't old enough to vote. It kind of allows them to be a part of the process and gives them an opportunity to feel the importance of democracy and democracy at work and just kind of can appreciate what goes into it," stated Adam Rohrbaugh, an 8th grade social studies teacher who was representing GOP candidate Donald Trump.
Each state came up to declare its results until one person reached 270 votes and was chosen as the next president.
"It doesn't matter what age you are; I think that it's important because it shows, like you vote and it shows independence in the country, not as just one state, but as all states," said Bentley Atchison, a 6th grader representing South Carolina.
In this mock election, Donald Trump won all but two states with a final total of 528 electoral votes.
In this mock election, Donald Trump won all but two states with a final total of 528 electoral votes.
