In a mock election on Monday, November 5, 460 Greendale High School students cast their votes for the next President of the United States. In this educational political exercise, just under 50% of the student body cast a vote. The students were given the chance to examine the issues and the candidates, form their opinions and vote like the rest of the nation.

“Our polling place was open during lunch and voting was optional, just like in real life,” says Social Studies Teacher Ben Hubing. “We used the actual voting booths and placed iPads in them with a Google survey that tabulated the votes for the national presidential, senate and house races.”

Student volunteers checked-in voters and ran the booths. A resource center also staffed by student volunteers was available for “undecided voters” who wanted to spend a little time checking websites and filling in their beliefs on issues to guide them towards the candidates of their choice.

Several students commented that they enjoyed having a chance to be part of “the election” and since the final polls for the true presidential race were showing the two major candidates almost equally split, they were curious to see which one the students of Greendale High School would choose. Also, with Wisconsin being considered a “swing” state, they were interested in whether Greendale High School ends up voting like the rest of the state.