Montezuma Students Voting for President in Mock Election

5th Graders register ‘voters,’ staff the polls

Students went to the polls to cast their votes at Montezuma Elementary.

October 30, 2012

Fifth graders in Deborah Motes’ class at APS’ Montezuma Elementary wanted to vote in the upcoming presidential election and were disappointed when they found out they had to be 18 before they could cast their ballots. 

“Students have been very excited about the upcoming election and wanted to vote,” Motes said. “I explained that they couldn’t vote until they were 18, but that they could vote in the National Student Mock Election. They got even more excited and wanted to include the whole school.” 

So the fifth graders got students and staff to register to vote, watched the debates and opened up the polls in their classroom on Friday, Oct. 26. 

Johanna Kelly, one of   Motes’ fifth graders, was helping to guide other students in how to mark their ballots, which included all the candidates for president that are on the New Mexico ballot. “It’s important to vote because you want to choose the best leader for the United States,” Kelly said. 

The Montezuma Elementary votes were to be tallied by Motes and two other Montezuma teachers and submitted to the National Student Mock Election on Tuesday, so that they could be included in the national totals.