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Maine South students re-elect Obama in mock election
Maine South High School senior Augusta Paulik of Park Ridge finishes voting during a mock election at the school on Nov. 1. | Buzz Orr~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: December 9, 2012 6:05AM
PARK RIDGE — The first Park Ridge election results were in even before the polls opened Tuesday.
But these results didn’t count toward any actual races.
Maine South High School held a mock election Nov. 1 for all senior government classes, giving new and soon-to-be voters an opportunity to experience the process before entering an actual polling place.
The school also allowed underclassmen to take part in the voting process by using an online tool.
“The goals are to let the kids know this is an election year, obviously, and for our seniors to know how the process works,” said Maine South social science teacher Warren Scott.
In the mock election seniors chose to re-elect President Barack Obama who received 48 percent of the vote to Republican Mitt Romney’s 36 percent. Green Party candidate Joel Stein received 3 percent of the vote and Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson received 4 percent.
In local races 59 percent of seniors voted to re-elect Democrat Jan Schakowsky in the 9th Congressional District race and 55 percent voted in favor of incumbent Democrat Dan Kotowski of Park Ridge in the 28th State Senate District race.
The race for state representative in the 55th House District, which did not include an incumbent, was closer. Republican Susan Sweeney, of Park Ridge, beat out Democrat Marty Moylan, of Des Plaines, by just 8 votes according to the senior class results.
Among underclassmen the same candidates were selected as winners, with the exception of the 55th House District. Results for freshmen, sophomores and juniors show Moylan beating out Sweeney by a mere 12 votes.
Students also voted on an Illinois constitutional amendment asking if a three-fifths majority vote should be required in order for the General Assembly to increase any public pension or retirement system benefits. By a vote of 73.4 percent seniors expressed support for the referendum.
Voting seniors were given copies of paper ballots similar to what actual voters received on election day, Scott explained. The students then voted at stations what like what polling places have.
“We’re trying to re-enact the actual situation,” Scott said prior to the mock election.
