Our Savior Lutheran Grade Schoolers Elect Romney by 3-to-1 Margin

As the Presidential election rolls on today all over the country, students at Our Savior Lutheran School, 1500 San Simeon Way, Fenton, already cast their ballots in a mock election last week.  Voting lines at the Our Savior Lutheran School mock Presidential election were long but the students said it was worth the wait, according to a report from Gary Johnson, of Our Savior Lutheran.  

"I feel like I had a say in choosing the President! It was neat!" said one third grader.  The voting was in conjunction with the Pearson Foundation/My Voice National Mock Election and was open to all Our Savior students in Kindergarten through eighth grade.

Sixth through eighth graders in teacher Michelle Fiala's class oversaw the election, which also consisted of constructing voting booths, acting as election officials and printing out ballots

To provide proof of residency, students were cross-checked against the school roster and asked for their birth date before signing their names. 

"It was fun and the little kids were so cute signing their names!" said Laura, an 8th grader who was one of the poll workers.

The young voters were given an official ballot and directed to voting booths.    After voting, the ballots were collected in a ballot box and the students were provided with an "I Voted" sticker. 

Laura, a 5th grader, said  "It felt so official. It made me want to go vote when I get older." 

Zach, a 4th grader, said "It was interesting to be part of the voting I hear so much about in the news."

Fiala oversaw the election and tabulated and shared the final results with the student body. The result showed Mitt Romney with 76 percent of the vote to 24 percent for President Barack Obama.

"The 6th-8th graders really enjoyed running the election and learning about the democratic process," Fiala said. "Popular work stations were the registration table and sticker distribution, so we rotated jobs after every batch of voters to make sure everyone got to experience every aspect of the voting procedure. I thought it was important to make it as realistic as possible while still maintaining a fun and friendly atmosphere. Younger kids got a giggle out of being asked to verify their names, especially if it was an older sibling at the registration table. All in all, it really couldn't have gone better."