Since the majority of students, being under 18, were not eligible to vote in the presidential election, Leadership conducted a campus-wide mock election on Tuesday, November 8.
Students filled out the mock ballots on election day, voting not only for their preferred presidential candidate, but also on a variety of California propositions.
The motivation behind the mock election was to keep Campolindo students informed about contemporary politics and the economy. “We really wanted students to be a part of the election process,” Leadership advisor Dino Petrocco said.
On the ballot, students were given the choice between Republican Candidate Mitt Romney and Democratic Candidate Barack Obama. Participation was optional; out of the 650 ballots turned in, only 567 had votes for a presidential candidate on them.
President Obama won in a landslide victory, with a final total of 380 votes versus 187 votes for his opponent, Mitt Romney. “I wasn’t too surprised by the outcome, because it seems like most people around Campolindo are democrats,” said leadership student and junior Marley Thuma.
Also noteworthy about the mock election was the variety of propositions included on the ballot. “Including the propositions was important because they are actual laws we are voting on,” Petrocco said. “They could directly affect the students in the future.”
Out of the 5 propositions on the ballot, 4 passed, including propositions 38, 34, 32, and 30, while 37 failed to pass.
The student ballot did spark some controversy. No third party candidates were included on the ballot, and a few students expressed dissapointment with the lack of options. “I wasn’t a big fan of either of the candidates this year,” said sophomore Eric Dunning. “I just decided to leave that one blank because I didn’t really want to support either of them and no other options were given,” he noted.
Leadership explained that there was just not enough room on the mock ballot, and “the propositions were more important,” according to Petrocco.