Students pick Bush, DeMint and Spencer

By SCOTT POWELL

Gaffney Middle students cast their votes for president in a mock election. Ledger Staff Writer

In mock elections on Thursday, Gaffney High and Ewing Middle students voted solidly in favor of George W. Bush.

Bush received 91 electoral votes, compared to 9 for John Kerry in Gaffney High’s mock election.

Bush received all 87 electoral votes from Ewing Middle School.

Gaffney High had 400 students and teachers participate in a mock election for U.S. Senate, U.S. Congress, and the race for president. The school picked James DeMint over Tenenbaum as its next senator and Limestone College professor Albert Spencer over John Spratt in the U.S. House race.

Both schools recreated the American electoral college with presidential candidates receiving electoral votes based on their results in different departments and grade levels.

The presidential race between

Bush and Kerry was much closer when Gaffney Middle held its mock election Oct. 12.

Bush only won the popular vote at Gaffney Middle, 242-228. Students participated in a second election for Channel 1 with Bush receiving 48.7 percent and Kerry receiving 48.1 percent.

The school’s mock election did not involve electoral votes.

“Raina Batrice, from Inez Tenenbaum’s campaign headquarters, spoke to our students about the importance of voting, being aware of the issues and the candidates view on the issues, and making an educated choice,” Gaffney Middle teacher Judy Olson-Robinson said.

Batrice presented the students with statistics on jobs, health care, college, tuition costs and other issues that concern people from the ages of 16-21.

The Young Democrats and Teenage Republican student organizations at Gaffney High discussed these election issues in a debate on Monday before a packed house in the media center. Students have spent the past month learning about becoming a registered voter, the election process and how American voters choose their president.

“I was pleased with the turnout. I think it was very beneficial for our students to learn about the different candidates and discuss the election issues,” Gaffney High teacher Billy Pennington said. “As a follow-up, our students will do some graphing and analysis after the election.”