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Eric Finder

The LHS Electoral College map showing how the majority of each class, represented by a state, voted.

High schools around America are full of first-time voters. Being educated about not only the reasons to vote for each candidate, but also how the election process works, is important. In 2016, the LHS social studies department held a mock presidential election. Each social studies class was delegated a specific number of electoral votes based on class size. This year, as political tensions ran high, LHS students partook in this tradition for the second time, and the results are in. 

Vice President Joe Biden won the LHS popular vote. Out of LHS’s 847 students, 512 voted for Biden and 335 voted for Donald Trump. However, just like in the actual presidential election, LHS’s winner was decided based off the Electoral College votes. According to a New York Times (nytimes.com) article, in the electoral college, each state is given a certain number of votes based on population, and whichever candidate wins the popular vote in that state gets all of the state’s electoral college votes. The only states where the electoral college votes are not winner takes all are Maine and Nebraska. To offer more insight on the roots of this mock election and its process,  Social Studies Department Chairperson Eric Finder answered a few questions. Finder explained the process used to create LHS’s electoral college: “I had a master list of social studies class sizes. The largest classes were assigned the larger states (i.e.. California was given to the largest class) and the smallest classes were assigned the smallest states (i.e. Montana).” Biden won the Electoral College by the vote 453 to 85. 

Finder also revealed that “In 2016, Donald J. Trump won the LHS Election; Joe Biden won the current election; therefore, we do not have enough of a sample size to establish a trend.” Additionally, Finder shed light on the goals of conducting this election: “…[The goal is] to get students involved in the voting process. In my opinion, this is the greatest civic duty that a citizen of the United States could have. It also gave students the opportunity to further their understanding and the workings of the Electoral College.” 

Students discussed the importance of learning about the election process and the importance of voting. Junior Lily Cohen explained, “I think it is important to vote because we have a privilege of choosing our president that some countries sadly do not. Voting gives everyone a chance to voice their opinion. Being an educated voter helps you to become more knowledgeable in your decision.” Junior Luca Russo also voiced his opinion: “…it is our civic duty to choose our leaders and representatives. It is important to be an educated voter in order to choose the representative that is closely going to represent your ideals. It is also important to choose the leader who you feel will best accomplish those goals.” 

This process educated students about how a president is elected. They are now more prepared to follow how this 2020 presidential election unravels. A new generation of educated voters will emerge from LHS.