Chelmsford High School holds mock presidential election

CHELMSFORD – The presidential election may not be until Tuesday, but Chelmsford High School students have already voted, casting their ballots in a mock election on Oct. 16.

Class by class, students from grades 9 to 12 went to the Chelmsford High cafeteria and voted for their favorite candidate using an electronic ballot on a Chromebook via Google Form.

To streamline the voting process, only the presidential candidates appeared on the ballot; no other elections or voting questions were available.

A total of 615 votes were cast during the mock elections.

“It was more than I expected,” said Danny Richter, a social studies teacher at CHS, explaining that history and social studies students spurred interest. “It exceeded our expectations.”

In order to host a successful mock election, Richter said there was a lot of coordination and collaboration with the technology department in setting up the Chromebooks and creating the Google Form.

In their social studies class, students study many current events, including politics and government.

“Our class is very conversation-based,” said senior Elizabeth Falcone. “We talked about the presidential debates and learned more about policy. We would also discuss the general election process, which I find interesting.”

Public administration student Caroline Pitts, a senior, said she enjoyed helping and participating in the mock election.

“I think this is a good opportunity, especially for seniors,” she said. “There is a good percentage of kids who can vote this year, so it illustrates how important it is to vote.”

At the CHS polls, numerous civics students helped guide their peers through the voting process, just as poll workers do during municipal or national elections.

“We encourage them to volunteer at the polls as well,” Richter said. “Overall the children were enthusiastic and respectful. I thought the process went as smoothly as possible. I was most impressed by the turnout and the help from student volunteers.”

The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is the state coordinator for the National Student Mock Election for Massachusetts, a program designed to teach students about the power of voting.

“We will get the results from this school and send them to the JFK Library,” said Stephanie Quinn, social science department coordinator for Chelmsford Public Schools K-12. “And they pick them up from schools across the country.”

Falcone said she looks forward to the final results of the mock election.

“It’s important to see where future generations will lean, whether it’s to the left or to the right,” she said. “That is the most interesting to me.”

Once all results have been collected, the JFK Library will post the final totals on the National Student Mock Election page at jfklibrary.org/learn/education/teachers/civic-education-programs-and-materials/national-studentparent-mock-election .