Students sample process

The “I voted” stickers were out at Greenacres Middle School on Tuesday, even though students aren’t old enough to cast their ballots. Instead they participated in a mock election that will see their results posted on a national Web site. Students voted only for president and Washington state governor.

Seventh-grader Cerissa Herman said she voted for Barack Obama and Dino Rossi. “Obama says that he’ll give insurance to employed people like my father,” she said in explaining her split vote. She voted for Rossi because she thought Chris Gregoire had run up the deficit too much.

Students who dropped their ballots in the ballot box invariably asked each other who got their vote. The answers sometimes launched spirited discussions.

Seneka Silbert, also a seventh-grader, said she voted for Obama after learning where he stands on the issues. “I watched all the debates because my parents got me interested in it,” she said. “I really like the things he’s planning to do for the country.”

Eighth-grader Karissa Olson, on the other hand, voted a straight Republican ticket. “McCain has been in the Senate longer than Barack Obama and knows what America wants,” she said.

Josiah Brubaker also looked for experience before deciding to vote for McCain. “John McCain has a lot more experience than Barack Obama,” he said. “I agree with his views on Iraq.”

The results of the students vote will be posted at nationalmockelection.org.

Students in the senior history classes at East Valley High School will cast mock votes on Tuesday along with the rest of the country. They prepared this week by having debates, with students in each class signing up to represent McCain, Obama and Libertarian Bob Barr. The candidates in Peggy Estes’ third-period class started out tentative and scripted, but soon warmed up to their alter egos. It was obvious that the students had done research in preparing their arguments on the environment, education, immigration and the Iraq war.

“You voted no on the Arctic Wildlife Refuge,” said Ayla Paulson as Bob Barr, speaking to McCain stand-in Amber Cox. “You did this on April 16, 2002.”

Some of the debate closely mirrored issues that have come up in real debates, with Taylor Feldmuth as Obama taking a hit on his plan to raise taxes. “I am suggesting raising taxes on all people who make more than $250,000 a year,” he said.

The other students in the class served as the audience and were assigned to take notes on the debate. The sound of pencils scribbling across paper filled the room as their classmates argued. As the delegates warmed up to their topics, they began to violate the debate rules by speaking out of turn and arguing directly with each other, causing the moderator to step in to move things along. “Hey, let them fight,” one student said.

Estes said her class has been preparing for the election since the start of the school year, first learning about how government is organized before moving on to the candidates and issues. Students took quizzes to determine their political values before she assigned students to one of the political parties. Assignments have included drawing a political cartoon, making a political bumper sticker and designing a brochure. The students have really gotten into it, she said.

“It’s such a historical election,” she said. “We have some really good informal class debates. A lot of them are very passionate about their political views.”

The excitement has carried over into signs for and against the candidates hanging in the halls. “McCain is a pain,” reads one. “Vote Obama ’08.” A competing sign just a few feet farther reads “Be sane. Vote McCain.”

For a few seniors, they’ll have a chance to vote for real on Tuesday. Estes said that when one of her students turns 18, she presents them with a voter registration form.

Senior Melinda Siegel said that before the classroom debate, she had been on the fence. After the debate, she found herself leaning more toward the Republican camp. “I thought some of them were just rambling,” she said.

Paulson said the research she did in preparing to represent Barr may have caused her to change her vote. “I just got on the Internet and just looked up the topics we were given,” she said. “I’ve been following the debates. My family is Republican, so it was odd doing it from a Libertarian perspective.”

Now she finds herself leaning toward a vote for Barr next week. “I think doing the research on Bob Barr has made me realize that you shouldn’t do it (vote) based on what your family believes.”