In a mock election held statewide this week, Marshwood students followed the general sentiment among Maine students, voting in Hannah Pingree for governor, Troy Jackson for U.S. Senate and Chellie Pingree for U.S. House of Representatives.
The Maine Student Mock Elections saw students from more than 115 schools across the state taking part, including at Marshwood High and Marshwood Middle schools.
The mock ballots featured races for governor, U.S. Senate and two U.S. House of Representative seats.
Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, whose office coordinated the mock election, cautioned against taking the results to be an early view of next week’s numbers.
“As we have seen in past mock elections, students sometimes voice very different opinions from the adults in their lives,” said Bellows.
“Each of the candidates created campaign-style videos that were provided to the schools, so students could make their decisions from a unique point of view,” she noted.
Marshwood students held their election Thursday, Oct. 29, while most schools across the state participated earlier in the week.
“Students voted during their social studies classes using voting booths provided by the town of Eliot,” according to Marshwood Middle School Principal Christine Goulet.
Preparation included reviewing election vocabulary, learning about the candidates, and previewing ballots supplied by the Bellow’s office. Families were also encouraged to discuss the materials with their children to help them make informed choices.
The Middle School reported the following vote totals:
Governor:
Hannah Pingree 50.5%
Rick Bennett 31.4%
Bobby Charles 18.1%
District 1:
Chellie Pingree 64%
Ron Russell 36%
Senate:
Troy Jackson 58%
Susan Collins 30%
Write-in 12%
The High School reported the following results:
Governor:
Hannah Pingree: 63.3%
Rick Bennett: 16%
Bobby Charles: 12.7%
Write-ins: 6.8%
District 1:
Chellie Pingree: 75.9%
Ronald Russell: 16.9%
Write-ins: 6.8%
Senate
Troy Jackson: 72.2%
Susan Collins: 21.1%
Write-ins: 6.8%
High School Principal Richard Gowers recognized students who helped conduct the election.
“A special thanks to our students from Honors Civics class who served as election clerks and kept the process running smoothly,” he said.
The Bangor Daily News reported Wednesday that more than 1,200 students across the state took part in the mock election and “handed U.S. Senator Susan Collins’ seat to Troy Jackson.”
Maine students preferred Hannah Pingree for governor over both Bobby Charles and Rick Bennett. In the first House congressional district students chose Chellie Pingree over Ron Russell. In the northern second district, former governor Paul LePage was the winner over Matt Dunlap.
Students used ranked choice voting on the ballot, but only first-round votes are reported. This mirrors the state’s reporting process for ranked choice voting for elections, in which only first-round results are reported on election night.
“Mock elections are a great civics lesson for schools and students,” Bellows said. “Students get to practice voting and learn how elections work as they prepare to become active voters in the future.”
The Maine Secretary of State’s office has coordinated the mock student election in every two-year cycle since 2012.
