It’s lunch hour at South Eugene High School.
But this time, before students join the cafeteria line to get a chicken sandwich and a chocolate milk, they’re casting their ballot in a mock presidential election.
Luca Feldhoff-Choi, a member of student government who helped run the event, said he’s hoping a positive voting experience in high school will make his classmates more likely to vote in the future.
"Maybe in ten years, they'll be getting out of college, they'll be getting a job, and they'll be like, ‘Oh, I haven't voted but I remember doing it at school and it was kind of fun and it felt impactful,”’ Feldhoff-Choi said. “That's the important thing. We're trying to give them a taste of that, and it's engaging and students want to do it, which is cool to see."
Students had three races on their ballot - president, 4th Congressional District and Oregon attorney general. Student government also wrote a miniature voters guide providing a few basic details about each candidate on the ballot.
South Eugene High School usually has a mock election every four years - but didn’t hold one during the pandemic.
Most students say they don’t know very much about the people running for Congress, or state positions. But many, including junior Sydney Chandler, have opinions about who’s running for president.
“If it were real voting - I would definitely be excited to vote for Kamala Harris,” she said.
Chandler said she talks about politics with her family at home and is one of several students who said they wish they were old enough to vote this year.
“I think with her becoming a presidential nominee - it's become a lot more interesting as a presidential election,” Chandler said. “She’s going to do great things for our country hopefully, and from what I’ve heard of her, she’s a great nominee.”
Freshman Kyla McWhorter said she’s also disappointed she can’t participate in the real presidential election, but appreciated a chance to practice voting.
“Not enough people vote in the actual elections,” McWhorter said. “If more people get into the habit of doing it, even in schoolwide activities, that will hopefully make it more appealing for people to vote later on. And that is a very important and impactful thing to do when you’re an adult.”
Organizer Feldhoff-Choi is one of the few students who is old enough to vote in the regular election this year. He said his goal is to fill out everything on the ballot, even the initiatives, many of which take a little more research to understand.
“In 2020, I watched the election very closely and I was really interested and engaged in politics,” he said. “It's stressful, but it's also super exciting.”
For the mock election, student volunteers hand counted the votes at the end of the day.
Democrat Kamala Harris came in first for the mock presidential election with about 69% of votes. Republican Donald Trump came in second with about 15%, and the rest were write-in and third party votes, with students voting for teachers, pop stars and professional basketball players.
In the mock election race for 4th Congressional District, Democrat Val Hoyle took 74% of the vote and Republican Monique DeSpain took 16%, and nearly 10% of students wrote in a third option.
For attorney general, roughly 72% voted for Democrat Dan Rayfield, close to 15% voted for Republican Will Lathrop and nearly 13% of students wrote in a third option.
For more of KLCC's coverage of the 2024 elections, visit our Elections page.