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Cabarrus kids: Obama, McCrory, Hagan
County students hold mock vote
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Published: November 5, 2008
The majority of Cabarrus County voters may have favored John McCain for president, but Barack Obama seemed to captivate their children.
Some 57 percent of students voted Obama for president, compared to McCain's 40 percent, according to Kids Voting Cabarrus, a nonpartisan, nonprofit group that hosts mock elections for students.
"It's a neat way for kids to learn about the civics process by being involved in it," said Amy Ferrell, director for Kids Voting Cabarrus.
Unlike previous elections, voting occurred in schools rather than polls to allow more children to participate. Votes were cast by 19,519 students.
The student vote also differed with Cabarrus County voters when it came to the U.S. Senate race between Elizabeth Dole and Kay Hagan. Hagan, who won the real election Tuesday, edged Dole out of the student vote 48 to 46 percent.
Students, like Cabarrus County voters, favored Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory for governor of North Carolina with 50 percent of the vote. Bev Perdue, who won the official race on Tuesday, collected just 41 percent of the student vote.
Fourth- and fifth-graders in Tam Swinson's classes at Carl A. Furr Elementary School researched presidential candidates and prepared speeches to educate peers on how they stood on the issues.
"This is the first election a lot of these students will experience in their elementary years, so it's important to explain and talk about not only the historical aspect of it, but the importance of voting and what it takes to be a registered voter," Swinson said.
Kindergarten and first-grade students at Furr Elementary voted via paper ballots. And the school computer lab was set up like a polling place so older students could have a realistic voting experience. They even had to show voter registration cards to participate.
Swinson said there was a lot of political talk amongst students the day after Tuesday's historic election.
"You can tell what's going on around the kitchen table," Swinson said. "It amazes you about what they understand at an elementary school level."
Kasey Kropa-Dellisant, a civics teacher at Northwest Cabarrus High School, said the election has helped her students gain a greater appreciation of the curriculum.
"Next semester, I'm thinking how am I going to make this real for my kids?" she said. "I feel like I'm constantly going to be referring back to the election in November or the debates in October."
• Contact reporter Justin Vick: 704-789-9138
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