On Thursday, Sept. 20, Metea Valley High School students had the opportunity to experience what it was like to vote.
The teachers of the American Government classes put together a mock election due to the upcoming November elections for state officeholders. “We try to do everything we can to educate kids about voting and registering to vote, and the elections,” said Susan Fuhrer, an American Government teacher at Metea Valley High School.

Metea Valley decided to participate in this activity was to give students an idea of what voting is really like. Students had the opportunity to get a ballot, complete it in privacy, and then cast it using the machines.
To make the experience realistic, and as hands-on as possible, the American Government teachers worked with the League of Women Voters and the College of DuPage to get the real voting machines. In addition, students from Government classes helped assist the students and submit the voting results. Each student completed the voting in their own secluded booth, which also created a “real” experience.

The people on the ballot were state governors and office holders. The governor and lieutenant governor run as a team, at the top of the ballot. Attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer and comptroller, are more positions in the government that were on the ballot. Every two years, members of the House of Representatives are voted on as well. Bill Foster and Nick Stella are running against each other this year.

Many students had a chance to vote. “Overall, we were really excited, we had 559 students vote,” said Fuhrer. The results came in as being a democratic sweep, “which is kind of typical too because generally young people are a little more liberal,” said Fuhrer.

“The one thing that I think is cool is that I was hearing kids talking about the results. That is the goal when they saw the screens,” said Fuhrer. It’s the education and awareness that make a difference in the lives of the students.