The debate over the issues in the 2004 Presidential campaign was being bantered about. Someone mentioned health care. Another spoke about the war in Iraq. Education, tax cuts, raises and morality were all discussed. One after another, these potential voters had concerns about the issues surrounding the upcoming election.
It didn’t matter that the people participating in the discussion were sixth graders. They were ready to vote for the candidate of their choice, either President George W. Bush or Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, and they had good reasons why they were going to vote for the candidate of their choice. At Roosevelt School, these sixth graders wanted to stand up and be counted.
“I think kids should be able to vote for who’s going to be president,” said Michael Hehir. “We should have a right, just like anyone else. We’re citizens.”
Well, the students at Roosevelt School are indeed citizens, future adults with legitimate concerns and fears that those 18-and-older will have when they head to the voting booths next month. Unfortunately, federal laws will keep many of these youngsters away from casting an official vote for another six years or so.
But for now, they all had a chance to cast a vote, courtesy of the election held by Scholastic America. Ever since 1960, Scholastic Magazine has asked students throughout the country who their choice would be for president if they had the right to vote. And every year since the children of America believed that John F. Kennedy would be the right man to run the country, they have actually picked the winner of the election.
Last week, students all over the country cast their ballots online in the annual Scholastic America election. More than 450,000 students nationwide were expected to participate in the mock election, which concluded last week.
Results of the national election are expected to be released sometime this week.
The students at Roosevelt School cast their votes last week in technology teacher Brian Calligy’s class. Calligy spent the week teaching his students about the difference between the popular vote and the Electoral College, how each state receives a certain number of electoral votes based on population.
Calligy also pointed out to the students that 270 electoral votes are needed to become president of the United States and that Bush received 271 electoral votes in 2000, although Democratic candidate and former Vice President Al Gore received more votes than Bush in the general election.
Calligy also showed the students how close this election has been, with the way voting trends have changed in the different states, charting the progress since May. In fact, the national trends, called the Electoral Vote Predictor, changed four times in the last four days, basing the determination on how voters are expected to vote in three weeks.
“One day, Kerry is in the lead and the next, they have Bush in the lead,” Calligy said. “It’s really close.”
Before they cast their official votes in the Scholastic election, the students spoke of the issues that really concerned them in the election. Chloe Mango wanted to learn more about the candidates’ stance on education. Heather Danchise was concerned with the war in Iraq. “That seems to be the main issue,” Danchise said.
Jacob Romano was certain that Bush “doesn’t know how to handle the middle class,” so Romano is worried about tax cuts and breaks for the wealthy.
Nashwa Elangbawy was not shy about who her choice was. “Bush really doesn’t have a good plan about Iraq,” Elangbawy said. “He rushed into the war and now we have all these people dying there.”
Jefferson Tejada was also backing Kerry.
“I think Kerry would be better for education, because he’s better with children,” Tejada said. “Plus, he would stop the war because he doesn’t seem to be that kind of a person to want the war.”
The students really seemed interested in the election, with a strong majority stating that they watched at least a portion of all four debates – the three presidential and the one vice presidential.
The students were then asked to cast their ballots online. Calligy instructed them to vote from their hearts, not using any outside influences. “Make the decision for who you feel is the right candidate,” Calligy said. “Don’t let anyone else decide for you.”
However, these students were true to their Hudson County roots and voted heavily Democratic. In one class, 22 students voted for Kerry and only two for Bush. In another class, 21 selected Kerry and only three voted for the current president.
“I voted for Kerry because he’s going to do the right thing for us,” Kelvin Fernandez said.
“I think the election is important because we have to find a president who will do the right thing,” Jan Kittelsen said. “Although I voted for Kerry, I think Bush is going to win.”
Mydalis Rodriguez said that she voted for Kerry because her mother is a home health aide and that Kerry would be more beneficial for those in the medical field.
“I think it’s important to vote for the right person now because we will be adults someday and we don’t want the country to be broke,” Rodriguez said.
John Bello voted for Kerry because he feels that Kerry “might give more money for education and help our schools.”
All in all, the students from Roosevelt School seemed in tune with the general population with their understanding of the issues.
As for the national election tally from Scholastic, it stands at 205,998 for Kerry and 202,515 for Bush, with 13,971 voting for Ralph Nader or some other candidate. It appears to be just as tight as what the rest of the nation will more than likely see Nov. 2. The voting ended Friday and the final tally will be released this week.
If the votes remain this way, then John Kerry had better get his acceptance speech ready, because after all, the kids of America haven’t been wrong in 40 years.