Gloucester High students will be participating in the school’s 3rd Mock Presidential Election, on October 29th. During the event, students will cast ballots which mirror that of the real thing. They will cast their votes for the president and vice president, clerk of courts, senators and representatives for the general court and congress, sixth district Councillor, and register of deeds. The ballot will also have five questions which only pertain to Massachusetts.
The mock election was started by the Social Studies department in 2016 to encourage students to educate themselves on both candidates and their values. Data from the mock election is then collected to see which candidate the student body favors, which in 2016, was Hilary Clinton.
“Our focus is to give the students an unbiased look at the current political landscape and have them complete a questionnaire so they know where they align politically prior to casting their ballots,” Head of Social Studies Department Shaun Goulart said.
This year, the event will be run by history teacher Alyssa D’Antonio, and her AP Comparative Government class. The students are in charge of counting ballots and collecting data results.
“The purpose is to see who’s more favorable in the school and see if there’s any correlation between grade and candidate,” AP Comparative Government student Martina Cracchiolo said. “So far we have set what the day is going to look like and who’s going to work what blocks and what positions during the school day.”
With around 800 students in the school predicted to participate in the election, the event requires planning and assistance from Mrs. D’Antonio’s class.
Students are encouraged to research all the candidates so they are prepared to cast their ballots on the 29th.
