More than 245,000 K-12 students got a hands-on lesson in civic duty this year through a partnership between 麻豆原创鈥檚 and Kids Voting USA.
The students were spread out across 28 school districts that hosted mock elections this year using a ballot that reflected all the statewide races. The ballot was editable so that schools could include local races like school board or county commission. While limited in scale, students flipped the results of Tuesday鈥檚 election and sent Andrew Gillum to the governor鈥檚 mansions. While the real Senate race could be heading to a recount, students had no trouble selecting Bill Nelson over Rick Scott.
While the ballots don鈥檛 contribute to the real result, the value of mock elections is high, said Chris Spinale, Action Civics coordinator at the Florida Joint Center for Citizenship.
鈥淎ny time you鈥檙e able to model a civic experience, it sticks with the kids,鈥� Spinale said. 鈥淏y providing them the opportunity to participate in a mock election 鈥� students have shown a greater proclivity to engage in the real thing.鈥�
The mock election ballots are created soon after their official counterparts and distributed to schools across the state. Each school has a unique identifying number, so students can see the day after the election where their vote fits into the bigger picture. That sense of community is another shared experience with real voting, Spinale explains.
鈥淲hen the student understands their voice can make a difference, it starts to affect real change,鈥� Spinale said. 鈥淭hey start to understand their role in the process.鈥�
Doug Dobson, Ph.D., is director of the Lou Frey Institute, which advocates and educates for the development of civic and political skills. Voting is at the heart of American representative democracy, he said, and the mock elections allow students to 鈥渄evelop habits of citizenship that will stay with them throughout their lives.鈥�
Spinale echoes his thoughts on citizenship.
鈥淩ight now you can look at our students as citizen apprentices. When students better understand what it means to be a citizen, then we have a more effective society,鈥� Spinale said.
Kerstin Hamann, Ph.D., a Pegasus Professor and chair of the , added: 鈥淭his experience is invaluable as it enhances young people鈥檚 understanding of democracy and prepares them as future voters.鈥�