The voices of Californians 18 and over have been heard: President Barack Obama has been re-elected for another four-year term.
But what about the voices of the students who cannot vote yet? In a few years, they will make up the next voting contingent, highly courted by both the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates.
Secretary of State Debra Bowen’s office held a Student Mock General Election to expose students to voting and encourage them to make educated decisions. Eleven schools in San Mateo County have submitted their results out of 674 schools statewide as of Nov. 1.
School City Obama/Biden Romney/Ryan Aragon High School San Mateo 80.6% 11.7% Burlingame High School Burlingame 53.1% 28.8% Burlingame Intermediate School Burlingame 76.5% 19.8% Capuchino High School San Bruno 78.7% 9.7% Oceana High School Pacifica 88.9% 11.2% Parkside Middle School San Bruno 82.3% 12.1% Sea Crest School Half Moon Bay 73.3% 25.3% South San Francisco High School South San Francisco 96.3% 2.8% Terra Nova High School Pacifica 81.5% 9.2% Vallemar Pacifica 75.7% 19.1% Westborough Middle School South San Francisco 86.5% 10.00% Average 79.4% 14.5%Note: Totals do not add to 100% because some students voted for Independent candidates.
California and San Mateo County is traditionally a blue state and again elected Obama to the presidency with 71.2 percent as a county, 59.1 percent as a state and 50.1% as a country.
However, amongst San Mateo County students who voted in this mock election, Obama was the heavy favorite, with almost 80 percent of the students voting for the President.
Many political analysts have noted the trend of young people leaning farther and farther left. College students in 2008 fervently supported Obama, hoping he would bring about change to the country. Though analysts say the enthusiasm has waned, Obama still has a large control over the younger demographic.
And if these poll results are any indicator, it seems the even younger future voters are pro-Obama, for the time being.
