Staff Report

Students across the commonwealth set a new record for participation in the Kentucky Student Mock Election program sponsored by Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes. Approximately 160,000 Kentucky students from hundreds of schools cast votes for President and U.S. Representative.

“I am thrilled that so many young Kentuckians were able to experience firsthand how our democracy works,” said Grimes. “This program is a great way to prepare students to be active citizens when they reach voting age.”

Secretary Grimes conducted the mock election with several student groups using iPads. “This was the first year students could vote using computers or tablets,” said Grimes. “This new technology is a great way for students of all ages to engage in the process and receive confirmation when their votes have been successfully cast.”

Unofficial results indicate that in six of the seven races on the Mock Election ballots, students selected the same candidate as eligible Kentucky voters who participated in the Nov. 6 general election.

In the Middlesboro Independent School District, students gave challenger Mitt Romney the nod over president Barack Obama, 102 votes to 69. Students in the district also gave the nod to state Rep. Rick Nelson as well as the new school board member: Jeff Greene, J.J. Jones and Charlotte Webb.

In Kentucky, the presidential race was extremely close among students. Romney and Paul Ryan received 50.6 percent of the vote while Obama and Joe Biden received 49.4 percent.

In the U.S. Representative, 5th Congressional District race, Harold “Hal” Rogers received 73.4 percent of the students votes, while challenger Ken Stepp received only 26.6 percent of the votes.