VOTER EDUCATION AT BRFHS

We have been staging mock elections at BRFHS since 1992.  In Presidential years we have participated in KIDSVOTE, a state and national mock election program.  In off-years, we have set up our own elections.  Our goal is to promote informed voting among our students.  Along with our in-school mock votes, we have promoted voting for our 18 year olds through something called the FIRST-VOTER INITIATIVE.   

1992:            77%             399/519        (PRESIDENTIAL YEAR)
Note:  We took kids from class to vote in ’92.  Since then, we have simulated voting by not allowing them to vote during their class time.  Therefore, the 77% is invalid. 

1994:            47%             273/585                 
1996:            57%             354/615        (PRESIDENTIAL YEAR)
1998:            39%             232/593
2000:            47%             285/602        (PRESIDENTIAL YEAR)
2002:            46%             301/649
2004:            64%             414/648        (PRESIDENTIAL YEAR)
2006:            52%             325/630

2004 represented our best effort yet in terms of students making an effort to vote. Since 1992, 2,583 students have voted in our Mock Elections.

HOW ACCURATE HAVE OUR VOTES BEEN?
Through 4 Presidential elections, we have not been off yet as far as who got elected.  Our percentages have proven most accurate in 1996 and 2004.   

1992:  Students elected Clinton with 50% of the vote.  He actually received 43% of the vote nationwide (remember the Perot factor?).  

1996:  Students elected Clinton with 45% of the vote.  He actually received 49% of the vote nationwide.  

2000:  Students elected Bush with 56% of the vote (Gore received 34%).  Bush and Gore, recall, both had 48% of the popular vote, although Gore actually won the popular vote in the final tally by close to 500,000 votes.  Bush, of course, won the Electoral Vote 271-267 due to being awarded Florida after the Supreme Court intervened in the case of Bush v. Gore (December 2000).

2004:  Students reelected George W. Bush with 50% of the vote (actually .502) with John Kerry 50% of the vote also (actually .497).  Incredibly close!  This vote mirrored the actual national vote where Bush received 51% to Kerry's 49%.  

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