By Geoffrey Wertime, Staff Writer
With a historic presidential election looming, observers have paid a lot of attention recently to young voters. Yet they have given little thought to the next generation.
But this year, students in four local schools are being given the opportunity to voice their political opinions as part of the 2008 New Jersey Student/Parent Mock Election.
As many as 447,000 students at 988 schools throughout New Jersey are participating in the program, which is part of a national mock election. The goal is to educate students of all ages about the voting and political systems, and to give their politics a voice, according to the organization’s Web site.
As part of the election, students in kindergarten through 12th grade have the option to vote for president, as well as for New Jersey candidates for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Several other questions will ask students to say how important they find issues such as health care, the economy, educational system and national security.
Votes must be in by today, Thursday, and at press time results were expected to be available this evening at www.njmockelection.org. While parents also can vote under the program, none of the local schools has elected to include them as part of the process this year.
At Allentown High School, all students in social studies classes will have the opportunity to vote about 40 percent of the student body, according to social studies department chairman Warren Gessmann. He said the classes have been studying the electoral process, red and blue state maps, and the candidates’ positions.
The department’s goal, he explained, is to make students into informed voters once they turn 18. The school has given political ideology tests to help students figure out where they stand, and it also has provided voter registration forms to those who will be of age by Nov. 4.
For those particularly keen on politics, the department will host a sleepover on the night of the election. About 25 students are signed up so far for the evening, which Mr. Gessmann said has seen a lot of excitement in the past few elections.
”We had a sleepover in 2000 and at about 10:30 (p.m.) I told everybody they should go home because Al Gore won,” he said. “At midnight I said Bush had won, and at 3 (a.m.) when we finally went to sleep we didn’t know who won.
”Those kids will never forget the 2000 election as long as they live,” Mr. Gessmann said.
Students in middle school may not be old enough to remember that event, but Millstone Middle School and Upper-Freehold Regional Elementary-Middle School are set to prepare theirs for the next big election.
Fifth-grade teacher Dee Burek is the election coordinator for UFREMS, where students in grades five through eight are slated to participate. She said students would come in groups to vote at the computer lab, where the machines will be set up as voting stations.
But before that, students would have to fill out their voter registration cards and sign in with parent volunteers, much like in a real election.
Ms. Burek said her goal was for students “to understand the process a little better,” as well as “to get the feel of voting.” The school also will host guests from the community to talk about their election memories and the importance of voting on Monday, Nov. 3, as part of an “election tea.”
Fifth-graders also have been making scrapbooks about the election and have become quite invested, Ms. Burek added. “Their opinions are amazing,” she said. “They have a lot to say about the whole thing.”
Even the youngest of students are getting in on the action; in Robbinsville, students at Sharon Elementary School also will make their voices heard. Assistant Principal David Friedrich said that while each teacher has the choice to participate, he was encouraging all of them to take part in the program.
”I think it’s really important for all students, even as early as kindergartners, to recognize the power of voting,” he said. “And to recognize the fact that there are many citizens in our world that don’t have the privilege of voting and it’s something we should not take for granted.”
Five-year-old kindergartner Cameron Coyle agreed. A precocious politico who can name every president in order, he said he plans to vote for Sen. John McCain.
”He’s got better ideas, but I need to observe a little bit more,” he added.
Ms. Burek said she has one other goal for the vote at her school, beyond her hopes for the children: to encourage parents to vote as well.
”When (the students) see they can vote and are participating,” she said, “they can go home and say, ‘Hey mom, go vote please!’”

