TV6's Marqui Mapp learns how these mini voters are more politically engaged than you might think.
NEGAUNEE -- Gina Sorensen gave a quick overview of how to vote online before a classroom of student voters eagerly rushed off to their "polling booths" or laptops.
"Kids don't get to do this! We're really lucky to be able to go to this school and do it today, which was really cool," said fifth grader Shaala Schwab.
Like their adult counterparts, over 500 Lakeview Elementary School students decided between Republican candidate John McCain and Democratic nominee Barack Obama in a mock presidential election on Tuesday morning.
"They're learning about voting and elections in their classrooms, in their social studies units,” explained the election’s organizer, Gina Sorensen. “So this is just reinforcing what they're learning."
And their experience wasn't very far off base with some students asking questions about their ballots and others having technical problems voting on computers.
Just a click away from being able to choose Lakeview's pick for president, they were surprisingly aware of how important that click was. "Voting is a good thing to do!” exclaimed third grader Travis Nelson. “It's an American honor, and I think voting is really good for people."
And Lakeview’s first through fifth graders spoke loud and clear with an overwhelming win for Obama. He had 321 votes compared to McCain’s 191. We'll soon see if the rest of the country agrees.
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