Mountjoy is someone I'm really excited about. Why have I seen no ads for him?
Posted on 10/30/2006 5:09:09 PM PST by Tim Long
Arnold Schwarzenegger will be re-elected governor, and Richard Mountjoy will upset Senator Dianne Feinstein if state follows students
Many of us will exercise our right to vote two weeks from today in the November election. However, hundreds of thousands of kids got a head start today in a statewide mock election.
Arnold Schwarzenegger will be re-elected governor, and Richard Mountjoy will upset Senator Dianne Feinstein ... that is, if Californians vote the same way that Templeton Middle School Students did today.
Students there showed off their prized possessions today -- stickers which proved they exercised their rights to vote.
Templeton Middle School is one of 13 on the Central Coast -- and 540 statewide -- participating in today's student mock election.
"I like it because I think it helps us for the future," says 8th grader Jonah Yamagata. "It allows us to say what's going to happen when we're 18 and 19."
Kids were given easy voter guides to familiarize themselves with the candidates for governor, U.S. Senate and 13 state propositions.
Many kids admit that their parents influenced their choices. Others say they decided based on a candidate's stance on specific issues.
"State senate ... I'm going for the Green Party, and I think his name is Don," says 7th grader Lexa Hall. "But I don't know how to pronounce his last name. So, Don. But he has a couple of ideas that I agree [with]."
Kids also discussed issues like Proposition 85 -- which deals with parental notification about abortion -- at length in class.
The polls were only open at lunch time. Still, about two-thirds of the 525 students turned out to vote.
"Could have done it during class, but we wanted them to experience what we as adults have to do and make time to vote," explains Templeton Middle School ASB Director Matt Macfarlane.
So, how did these students vote?
Well, they overwhelmingly re-elected Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger by almost 5-1.
Also, Republican Richard Mountjoy upset incumbent Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein by 21 votes.
Propositions 85 and 86 also passed fairly easily.
Still, student organizers say the real winners in this mock election are the students themselves.
"It really was pretty easy and stuff that maybe it might change their outlook and stuff when they get older."
Now, just how much of a gauge is this mock election for the real thing?
Well, during the 2004 presidential election, Templeton Middle School students elected Alan Keyes as their President of the United States.
More than 500 school and 230,000 students statewide participated in the mock election. At last check, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had just a four-point margin over Phil Angelides ... statewide. And U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein was 15 points ahead of challenger Richard Mountjoy.
Mountjoy is someone I'm really excited about. Why have I seen no ads for him?
With his name, you'd think he'd easily win Marin County.
The interesting thing about polls of schoolkids is that they tend to vote the way of their parents. It just shows how few children liberals have.
It must be a byproduct of in-school sex ed.
kids are smarter than the adults in california.
This (apparently) verbatim quote doesn't make this kid look very well-educated.
I hope he or she reads it in 15 years and says to him or herself, "Like, I was totally a dweeb back then."
It may also cause them to hesitate to talk to reporters any more.
LOL.. and stuff.
I work with HS juniors and seniors every year during Natl Engineers' Week in February. It is so rewarding and reassuring to spend time with responsible focused kids who are intelligent and well-informed, and knowledgeable in the Way of the Right.
TOTALLY!
---I hope he or she reads it in 15 years and says to him or herself, "Like, I was totally a dweeb back then."---
A lot of kids talk that way, but they grow out of it and stuff. :^)
I had heard that jour-nihilists shouldn't do verbatim quotes that make the quotee sound stupid.
An example would be Ted Kennedy. A transcript of anything he says would be unreadable. Likewise Robert Byrd.
Templeton is a small community in the county I used to live in in CA. It's mainly rural, very conservative, overall, and not really reflective of anything but itself.
I don't think he has any moolah and the GOP machine in Cali is pretty pitiful...
: ~ (
"Richard Mountjoy will upset Senator Dianne Feinstein if state follows students"
I'm surprised the Liberal teachers didn't call the election stolen! Victory only by 20+ votes?! Recount! Recount!
you have not seen ads because I don't think that the republican party here really wants to put out any effort..
"safe seats" and all that since the redistricting didn't pass
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