Candice Roberts checks in a student voter during Rhinelander High School’s mock election Wednesday morning.
The 17-year-old senior is working as a poll worker alongside an adult volunteer.
“Prior to that, all I knew is that you have to give them your ID and you fill out the ballot. But I didn't know it was this like private and intense,” said Roberts. “The lady I'm sitting with, she's given me a lot of insight on voting and the process. I like learning about this and I think it's just so interesting and I'm glad that I'm learning more about it because it's important.”
The League of Women Voters of the Northwoods worked with the high school history teachers and local clerks to make the mock election happen.
It’s about as close to the real thing as you can get.
“We just wanted to bring the process of voting to the students so that they would become comfortable when they turn 18, and it was their opportunity to vote,” said Debra Durschlag, president of the League of Women Voters of the Northwoods.
Any students that volunteers were trained as poll workers ahead of the mock election day.
The ballot is formatted like the one voters will see on November 3rd, though it only had three races and one of the constitutional amendment questions.
The students went into voting booths, privately cast their votes, and then put them in a locked box.
The Oneida County Clerk printed the ballots, the Rhinelander City Clerk provided the privacy screens, and the Newbold Town Clerk lent them a lock box for the ballots.
“They [the clerks] are excited that kids are getting excited and practicing voting because the kids can learn all they can in the classroom, but to get the confidence, you need to be able to demonstrate that you can do something, and that's what this experiential civics education program is all about,” said Durschlag.
Senior JaLyn LaChapelle, 18, was the Chief Election Inspector helping ensure everything runs smoothly.
She says part of the goal of the mock election is to show how it’s done and hopefully get out some of the nerves before students eventually vote in real elections, like she’ll be doing for the first time this year.
“I'm very excited that I get to vote, and I'm excited that we're doing this,” said LaChapelle. “It's going to make me feel more comfortable going, and for people in the future that go.”
Through their social studies and history classes, students did research on candidates and learned more about the election process.
Christopher Heitz teaches 9th and 10th grade social studies at Rhinelander High School.
“For my class, they had an assignment to complete where they had a wide open list where they could pick which candidates they wanted to research, and they just had to tell me a few things that those candidates were fighting for, things that they stood for,” said Heitz. “Didn't ask students who they wanted to vote for; they just had to research specifically information about each candidate.”
LaChappelle thinks the mock election is important to increase voter turnout. In general elections, especially in years the President is on the ballot, voter turnout in Wisconsin can range from 49%-79%. Spring elections see far less with as few as 15% of the voting population turning out to vote.
“Voicing your opinion is, I think that's what democracy is all about. That's what America is about. You’ve got to cast your vote,” said LaChappelle. “It's in our rights, and we should exercise them.”
Wisconsin is known for its tight elections, with races for president having been won by less than a percentage point. It happens even at the local level, with a county board race being decided by a coin flip. It stresses that every vote matters.
“Voting is important for I think absolutely every aspect of life. The way of living,” said Roberts. “If you don't like the way you're living, go vote. If you don't like the way the world is, go vote. You can make a difference.”
The votes were tallied up Wednesday after the polls closed. Students were expected to learn the results Thursday.
