During election week, the Youth and Government club will be holding a mock election. The student body will be able to vote for their presidential, state and local candidates.
Adviser John Blough has been running the club for two years. However, the club has been participating in mock elections every general election year for as long as he can remember.
“It’s tradition here,” Blough said. “Only a very small percentage of students here are eligible to vote on election day. You’re talking about a sliver of the senior population.”
The voting will begin on Nov. 1. Students will have the opportunity to vote Nov. 1 through Nov. 5. There will be a website link containing the Google Form. This website will also contain information about candidates and tips on how to register to vote.
“This site provides information about the presidential candidate’s background and policy plans,” senior member Gracie Gioiosa said. “If even one student explores the site and learns a little more about the American government, I think that will have a positive impact because their engagement can have a ripple effect.”
Gioisia has been a member of Youth and Government for two years and has been planning for this event since last school year.
“Towards the end of last year, Mr. Blough started talking about how we’re going to hold a mock election next school year which really excited me. I’m glad we can keep the tradition going,” Gioiosa said.
Both Blough and Gioiosa hope to leave a positive impression on students with the mock election.
“I hope they realize that their voice does matter,” Blough said. “I think a lot of students, especially ninth graders taking Civics, don’t feel empowered. I think the idea is to try and show the students that these important decisions affect the country.”
“I think students will feel excited about the mock election because even though it doesn’t count for anything, it will make young people feel like they have a voice,” Gioiosa said. “Additionally, young people have been kept out of the political process, so by doing something like this, hopefully it will make them feel more engaged and inspired to enact change.”
Even though some students are not eligible to vote, they will get a chance to experience what it is like.
“I am planning to vote in the mock election,” senior Andrew Quinn said. “I think it will be a good opportunity for students in the school, especially those who aren’t eligible to vote.”
The club did not hold an election in 2020 and hopes to see a large turnout this year.
“Typically the results of this election tend to mirror the results of the popular vote,” Blough said. “In 2020 we did not do it, but in past elections the way the school votes is usually in accordance with how the entire country votes.”
Blough hopes to see fair results come from this mock election.
“Hopefully we have a clean and largely uncontroversial election,” Blough said. “Hopefully we know by Nov. 6 who the winner is, and the winners take that with grace and the losers take that similarly with grace. I also hope we can find out who the winner is and move on together as a country.”
