LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — It’s Election Day at Tates Creek High School. Well, sort of. Students at Tates Creek took time to cast their vote in a mock U.S. Presidential Election.
“It’s a huge opportunity to kind of have our kids practice some citizenship skills, or be aware of the things that we teach in citizenship class, and how they affect real life,” said library media specialist Jennifer Eldridge. “Just seemed like the perfect time to kind of get the whole school together, involved in a schoolwide activity that kind of celebrates that and brings awareness to everything that’s going on.”
The schoolwide election actually started a few weeks ago when students had to register to vote in their social studies class. When they walked into the library, students checked in and showed their student ID.
“We check them in, send them over to vote, they get a sticker, like we’re trying to make it as much like the real thing as possible,” Eldridge explained. “I love whenever I can get the kids in here doing this kind of stuff, because it really does help them connect things.”
The voting booths and the ballots do look a little different, but students like juniors Braylon Dobbs and Chance Masika are still learning valuable lessons about the Election Day process.
“I definitely think it’s a good training experience for people to go out there and vote for when they are able to,” Dobbs said.
“I think it feels good to kind of teach our youth how to vote and be involved in our country and our government because this is our future too,” said Masika. “This is our future, we’re building it, and we should be involved.”
The mock ballot – which was a Google form – only listed the presidential race, but teachers say the mock election has generated different conversations around the school.
“Voting should be something that is connected to you, what you want, and what you expect from our country,” Masika said. “It feels really nice and I’m glad I was able to participate, not just as a voter, but as staff, because I was helping here earlier, helping people register, and giving out stickers, and putting them to booths.”
While some seniors will be voting for the first time in the 2024 Presidential Election, Eldridge hopes students of all ages took something from the exercise.
“I really feel like they’re going to be more aware of what’s going on tomorrow, more interested in what’s going on tomorrow because of what they’ve experienced today,” she said.
Students learned the results of the mock election at the end of the day, just before going home.
