Students Cast Votes in Mock Election

Davis High students had the chance to cast their ballots at the mock election held on Nov. 6. Booths were set up in the quad and in the library from 7:30 a.m. until 4 p.m.

The ballots included all 19 items on the Davis version of the Yolo County ballot.

“It was really a last-minute decision to try and host a mock election,” event organizer and social studies teacher Kristin Swanstrom said.

“We really realized that so few seniors, even, are 18 at this point in time,” Swanstrom added. “So we figured, what better way to give people a taste of democracy than during a presidential election year?”

Junior Taylor Soares explained the procedure for student voters. “They can come during class if their teachers take them or they can come during passing period. We check their hand to see if they have already been stamped because we only want them voting one time, and they fill out their ballot and put it in the box and we tally them.”

Soares staffed the polling stations on the quad during fourth period, and expected several hundred students to cast their votes over the course of the day.

Juniors Keir Negron and Jasmine Zhou unanimously agreed that Prop 30 and Measure E were the votes they felt most strongly about. “It’s always nice to get the word out, even if you’re not actually voting,” Negron said.

Zhou’s reasons for voting were to “get people used to voting so that we’ll actually vote when we turn 18, and also to see what DHS is going to do, because I’m kind of curious,” Zhou said.

Swanstrom agrees that getting high school students used to voting is crucial. “So much policy, I think, is dictated by older generations,” Swanstrom said. “This generation needs a voice, and the best way to have that voice heard is through voting.”