Patti Harrington, Ed.D., State Superintendent of Public Instruction Should I ? Or Shouldn’t I? A Mock Election Primer Utah State Office of Education, 250 E. 500 S., P.O. Box 144200, Salt Lake City, UT 84114-4200 Patti Harrington, Ed.D., State Superintendent of Public Instruction www.schools.utah.gov

My teacher said that there is an election coming. That’s when people get to vote and decide who their leaders will be. My teacher said that we can vote too, if we want.

There’s a place for us to vote in the school. But she said we didn’t have to. She said our votes don’t really count anyway. Voting is really for big people.

So why did she say we could vote, if our votes don’t matter? Why is she telling us to do something that doesn’t count?

Is she sure it doesn’t count? How come just big people vote? So should I or shouldn’t I?

Teacher said that if we vote we have to do it during recess. Or sometime when we aren’t learning important school work.

I guess it’s ’cause our votes really don’t count. This is a mock election. That means it’s not the real thing. But she showed us a ballot, and it’s got the names of real people on it.

And they showed us how to do it And they showed us how to do it. We’re supposed to mark the ballot in secret and we don’t have to tell anyone who we voted for. We only mark next to the name of the person we want to win. If that person gets the most votes, he or she will be the next leader.

But not really – remember, it’s a mock election. So should I or shouldn’t I?

Teacher said that leaders are important. They make decisions about rules and stuff that can change the way we live. It’s important that we choose good people to be our leaders.

So how come my vote doesn’t count? I guess I’m not smart enough to make a good choice for a new leader. Or maybe it’s just that I’m not very old.

You have to be old to make a good choice. Decisions have to be made by people who are old and smart. Little kids like me can’t do it. Not really, anyway.

So should I or shouldn’t I?

Teacher said that we vote so we can practice. So we can know what to do when we are old enough to really vote. It will help us want to vote when we are older. So if we vote, it will just be for practice. It doesn’t really count.

But they are going to count the votes to see who wins. I wonder why they care. Because it doesn’t really count.

Maybe they just want to practice counting. Just like we’re practicing voting.

So should I or shouldn’t I?

We talked about the people who want to be leaders. Their names are on the mock election ballot.

They have different ideas about laws and rules and stuff. And the changes they want to make. Teacher said we need to know about these people and the ideas they have. So that we can be informed voters.

So if we vote in the mock election we will know why we are voting for somebody. We vote for them because of how good we think their ideas are.

The teacher talked a lot about these things. I don’t get it - it’s a mock election and our votes really don’t count. So should I or shouldn’t I?

I talked to my Mom and Dad about the mock election. I told them about the people whose names are on the ballot. I told them about their ideas.

I told them about how you have to mark the ballot in secret when you vote. And that you don’t have to tell anybody who you voted for.

I told them that we were having a mock election. And that I could vote for practice but not for real. They are going to count our votes, but it’s just for practice too. Mom and Dad looked at me funny. They acted like they didn’t know what I was talking about.

So should I or shouldn’t I?

So today I voted in the mock election. I was real secret when I marked the ballot. I didn’t tell anyone how I voted.

When all the votes were counted the person I voted for didn’t win. But I’m not upset about it - it’s only a mock election. It doesn’t really count.

Mom and Dad told me that they are going to vote in the real election next week. They asked me about the people whose names are on the ballot. They asked about their ideas. They asked me to tell them how I voted.

So should I or shouldn’t I?

Written and Illustrated by Alan Griffin, Civics Specialist Utah State Office of Education May, 2008