Decatur students hold mock election

Hector Aguirre casts his vote during Decatur High School mock election in Ed Viera's civics class on super Tuesday, March 1. Bernie Sanders was the overwhelming favorite in the Democratic primary, while Ted Cruz won in the Republican primary.
Hector Aguirre casts his vote during Decatur High School mock election in Ed Viera's civics class on super Tuesday, March 1. Bernie Sanders was the overwhelming favorite in the Democratic primary, while Ted Cruz won in the Republican primary.

— The results are in and Bernie Sanders is the winner in Arkansas, according to the students at Decatur Middle and High Schools.

Ed Viera, Decatur High School history and civics teacher, held a mock election during the March 1 Arkansas primary on Super Tuesday to familiarize his students with the election process.

In the Arkansas Primary, Hillary Clinton took the democratic side with 66 percent of the vote over Bernie Sanders' 30 percent. It was Donald Trump who took the Arkansas Republican primary over rivals Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, John Kasich and Ben Carson. Trump took 33percent of the Republican vote to Cruz's 30 percent and Rubio's 25 percent.

The age demographics for this year's primary ranged from 18 to more than 70. A much narrower demographic encompassed the mock election at Decatur High School.

Students who participated ranged in age from 13 to 18, most not yet old enough to vote. But this did not stop them from experiencing the election process and the responsibilities associated with it.

Viera required his students to first research each of the presidential candidates, then choose the one that best represented their views. They formed committees to actively campaign for their chosen candidate. Posters lined the walls is Viera's classroom as primary day finally arrived.

The absentee ballots were counted prior to the primary election and comprised 32 voters or 15.76 percent of those casting ballots. A total of 203 of the 284 students in both schools participated in the election, accounting for 71.5 percent of the total student population.

Interesting enough, 97 student Democrats voted for Sanders, accounting for 92 percent of the vote, while 8 percent went to Clinton. The prospect of free college offered by Sanders was cited as the reason for this wide margin.

The Republican side was much closer, with Cruz taking 30 percent to Rubio's 23 percent and Kasich's 20 percent. Trump only received 15 percent, ahead of Carson's 10.

The lessons Viera taught to these young voters were to research the candidates and choose the candidate that will best serve the country and, above all else, get involved and vote!

Vote Talley: Clinton 9 votes, Sanders 97, Cruz 29, Rubio 23, Kasich 20, Trump 15, Carson 10.

General News on 03/09/2016