Madrid Middle School students rocked the vote by participating in a mock election as a way to learn about the civic voting process and the importance of democracy. Led by Madrid’s History Teachers, Christina Correa, David Dorf and Jorge Ramos, students also had the opportunity to express their opinions on who they would vote for as the 45th President of the United States.
Through the mock election students developed an appreciation for the First Amendment right granted to every U.S. citizen. According to Ms. Correa, who displayed her American pride by dressing as the Statue of Liberty, each class was assigned a state and conducted a popular vote as well as an Electoral College vote.
“We wanted to model our Mock Election after the actual process so our students could get a better understanding of it,” said Correa. “They were able to see that the popular vote is not the end of the election process and that the Electoral College really elects the U.S. president.”
Students gathered in the cafeteria during their history class to drop their vote in the ballot box and spent a few minutes watching CNN’s live election coverage. Voting was tracked as Madrid’s Leadership students kept busy painting the states red or blue on large maps reflecting the school’s popular vote and Electoral College votes.
“I’m glad we are having the Mock Election,” said Natalie, an 8th grader. “It’s fun to participate and support the election and it’s really important that people go out and vote,” she said as she painted the state of Kentucky blue on Madrid’s mock Electoral College map. “So far it looks like Hillary Clinton is going to win our election here at Madrid.”