National Student/Parent Mock Election





	How to Get Involved High School

	"The fact of the matter is that there are many students and young people today who are passionate about voting and the issues." Bernard Holloway, Maryland Student Council first vice president

	You could: Create your “ideal candidate.” What party does your candidate represent? What office is the candidate running for? What campaign strategy will your candidate use to win the election? Role-play a debate between your candidate and a candidate from the opposing party. Ask your audience to vote for the winner. Write, record and edit a political advertisement for your candidate. Organize a school-wide contest for the best ad. Do negative ads win? Look at the New Millennium Report of the National Association of Secretaries of State at www.stateofthevote.org. Do you agree or disagree with the opinions of the students interviewed? Organize your own student poll about the decline in the participation of America’s youngest voters. Share your findings with your secretary of state. Design and distribute a voter registration form for the Mock Election. Use an actual voter registration form as your model. Prepare to tally the votes for your school, school district or state’s Mock Election. How will you guarantee a fair and accurate tally? Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper about the importance of voting and/or about why you support the candidates you do. Will they publish your letter? Send a copy to the National Student/Parent Mock Election, P.O. Box 36653, Tucson, AZ 85740. Role-play the candidates for governor of your state and hold debates for the elementary and middle school students. Invite the media. Volunteer to help in a candidate's election campaign. Write a report on your experience. Put together a “how to” kit to help new voters register to vote. Share it with your local election clerk. Talk to a military veteran and ask him what democracy means to him. Tape-record your interview and share it with you class. Talk to a senior citizen and ask about the history of voting in our country from someone who has lived through tremendous changes in our electoral system. Start a class collection of oral interviews. Organize a “Candidates Forum.” Invite competing candidates to come for a special night at your school to meet students and parents and share their views. Research the candidates and VOTE on Mock Election day.


	"With every task we complete, we're simply applying knowledge we learn in the classroom to a real life project, while still working for a cause and learning more about our passions, in my case, politics." John Kennedy, Virginia 2002 Youth Policy Forum co-coordinator

	Establishing a state’s election headquarters All over the country, high school students man the phones, faxes and computers as the votes come in from schools across the state. In some states, high school students train, practice on Mock Election day, and work on the regular Election Day as paid poll workers. In other states, high school students role-play the candidates and hold debates before the elementary and middle school students. Many high school students are in charge of their school and/or school districts’ Mock Elections. Students with driver’s licenses have volunteered to drive adults to the polls. Many students volunteered to help out in a candidate’s campaign office and gained real insight into the world of politics and political campaigns. Here are a few examples of what students around the country have done and are planning for 2002: Becoming Politically Active For the last two decades, the Maryland Association of Student Councils (MASC) has been the state coordinator of the Maryland Mock Election. Those motivated and politically savvy students began preparing for this fall’s election last February. They have been active in lobbying days, legislative forums, and in taking positions on bills that affect youth. Town Hall Meeting High School students from Luz Academy, a predominantly Mexican-American charter school in Tucson, Arizona designed a Town Hall meeting for their 2000 Mock Election day event. They invited parents, teachers, politicians and other interested parties to discuss the state and national issues. The event was bilingual throughout. Students had questions prepared in advance, made voting stations to collect votes, made campaign signs and held debates with other students. Youth Policy Forums

	"It's impossible to articulate everything I learned with Mock Election. Most importantly I learned to organize a large-scale event, how to get passionate and motivated students involved, how to write letters to distinguished officials and enlist their help, and, of course, to never give up on a crazy idea you're passionate about." Kevin Fogg, Virginia

	In October of 2001, the Virginia Student/Parent Mock Election hosted its second annual Youth Policy Forum. Five students had an idea that evolved into the first Youth Policy Forum, an event that brought 100 high school students from around Virginia to the state Capitol to discuss issues that affect and concern youth. The daunting task of organizing such an event did not faze its student coordinators, who considered the job a learning experience. Participants in the Youth Policy Forum, often student leaders in their school, traveled to the Capitol to speak for the students they represented, meet leaders like themselves and converse with the officials whose faces they see only in the newspapers. Educating Elected Officials Students are not the only ones given the opportunity to learn, but also elected officials. The Youth Policy Forum allows students to address delegates about the issues that concern the students, which provides elected officials with student insight to topics such as new driving laws and state standardized tests. Often asked to defend laws that were passed, or support regulations that a room full of high school students oppose, such as raising the driving age, the distinguished guests were good sports and always commented in the end on what a “tough and informed audience” students were.

	*What will YOU do?* Links for Students: Guide to the National Student/Parent Mock Election Reports From the Real World AOL@SCHOOL High School GovernmentGuide.com State of the Vote Young Democrats of America Young Libertarians Party Yrock - Young Republicans online Community Network More Links Back to Students Page