It is finished.
Now that the drama known as the “fiscal cliff” has been avoided due to a last-minute deal between the House and the Senate on Jan. 1; President Barack Obama has navigated a prominent issue that was facing him as he prepares to enter his second term as president of the United States.
For Middletown High School senior Linnea Kriete, this action neither helps nor hinders her opinion on the President.
“I never supported one candidate or the other specifically since I can’t vote yet. I don’t think Romney would have been a bad president, but Americans showed that their views were better aligned with Obama,” said Kriete.
Student opinions like this prompt a look back at how the MHS mock election lined up with the true results of the 2012 presidential election.
On Nov. 1, many MHS students enjoyed a privilege not often available to others of the same age- the opportunity to vote on the leaders of the United States.
The second MHS Mock Election, organized by MHS social studies teacher Sean Haardt, was a great success. More than 850 ballots were counted, as students filled out ballots that were identical to the ones used in the Maryland General Election on Nov. 6.
Several students, including members of the MHS club Students Advocating Global Awareness, stayed afterschool to help Haardt and Michael Malafarina, MHS history teacher, tally results to present to the student body the next day.
Haardt said he was surprised at the level of involvement and interest from the students, also citing that all but three teachers participated, only because they were not notified until the day before.
Haardt first held a mock election at MHS during the 2008 presidential campaign.
“I started the mock election because I think it’s important that students take part in the democratic process. If they see how the actual ballot is used, it takes some of the anxiety out of voting,” said Haardt.
That year, current president Barack Obama defeated Sen. John McCain 51 percent to 39 percent, with a significant 12-point margin.
In 2012, the student vote shifted to favor the Republican party.
Gov. Mitt Romney defeated President Barack Obama by a vote of 47 percent to 42 percent, while Republicans John Bongino and Ken Timmerman received the majority for the Maryland Senate seat and the 8th District of the U.S. House of Representatives, respectively.
Though the vote for government positions suggested that MHS would tend to be conservative on social issues, the students leaned more toward the liberal end of the political spectrum.
All of the additional measures on the ballot passed; including Question 4 approving Maryland’s DREAM Act, Question 5 approving Maryland’s redistricting map, Question 6 allowing gay marriage in the state, and Question 7 allowing the expansion of table gambling.
“I was expecting a slim margin (between Romney and Obama). That dramatic of a change (from the 2008 election) was surprising,” said Malafarina, “But the big margin for the DREAM Act and gay marriage actually mirrored the discussions in my National and Global Issues class.”
The MHS results didn’t line up perfectly with the results from the Maryland General Election, as voters elected Ben Cardin for the Maryland Senate seat, Chris Van Hollen for the House of Representatives, and re-elected President Obama.
However, the general public agreed with MHS on the social issues, and passed all of the ballot measures.
When looking at these trends, however, some see an inconsistency in the vote.
“The way that the kids are voting, it shows me that the electorate isn’t researching, they are just listening to the commercials,” said State Delegate Kathy Afzali (R).
Afzali points to Question 5 in particular, saying that both Democrats and Republicans have rejected the new redistricted map, but the way the question is worded “makes it sound like it is your constitutional duty and you are just affirming.”
To support her belief that all voters should do their homework before going to the polls, Afzali regularly sends out emails to her constituents on various issues explaining her positions and providing them with more information.
Regardless of political affiliation, Afzali had this advice for students at MHS that will soon become the next generation of young voters:
“I would encourage kids to think for themselves. I think young voters are easily manipulated. People can get caught up in personalities and not in policy.”
