Mock election great way to emphasize importance of voting for students
Sixteen-year-old Kelly Perez is not old enough to vote in Tuesday’s provincial election, but she knows whoever gets elected will have a significant impact on her generation. “A lot of the decisions of each party really affect the youth, and those decisions are super important,” she said, adding she would like to see younger people having more of a say in politics. “I’m looking for actual change, not just words.”
Perez voted for her candidate of choice Friday morning during her Social Studies 10 class at Mount Boucherie Secondary, as part of the Elections BC Student Vote program.
More than 1,200 schools across the province, representing all 87 electoral districts, registered to take part in the mock vote.
Barb Butler, social studies teacher at Mount Boucherie participates in the Student Vote program with her students every election.
“The purpose of it is to educate young kids on the process of voting and why it’s important,” she said.
“Every single one of these students will be voting in the next provincial election, so for the next four years, the decisions that are made by the incoming government will affect everything about them, so they need to know who’s running the show.”
Leading up to voting day, Butler taught her students about the responsibilities of government and about the differences between all the parties. “We went to the all-candidates meeting so they were actually able to make decisions for themselves and to actually make an informed vote,” she said.
Dylan Baker, 15, cast his vote based on issues that matter to him, including funding for public education and teachers’ contracts.
“We did four or five classes on all the candidates and what they want to do with the province,” he said. “It doesn’t really go towards anything, but it’s just fun to do.”
Casting a ballot for the first time was a learning experience for 17-year-old Ethan Anderson.
“Voting is more important than I thought, because you never know what’s going to happen,” he said. “Every vote counts.”
The results of the student vote will not be released until after the official election.
A lot of the decisions of each party really affect the youth, and those decisions are super important.
Student Kelly Perez