In Mock Election, LTHS Picks Obama over Romney

In a mock presidential election Thursday that saw record turnout, the student body of Lyons Township High School reelected President Barack Obama (D) over challenger Mitt Romney (R) by a vote of 56.6 percent to 35.6 percent.

Over 42 percent of the student body cast their votes in the mock election, a total of 1,690 students, half again as many as voted in 2008. Libertarian Gary Johnson received 4.3 percent of the votes, Green Party candidate Jill Stein got 2.9 percent and Ron Paul got 0.3 percent.

The mock election was put on by the Lyons Township social studies department and the La Grange Area League of Women Voters, using copies of authentic ballots and real voting booths sent by the Cook County Clerk’s Office. The results were sent to the National Student Mock Election central, which is compiling a nationwide tabulation.

“We think it’s important to begin the process of educating our students about how an active participant in the democracy behaves, what an election looks like,” said Global Studies division chair Paul Houston. “It coordinates well with our curriculum which is about not only what to do, but why it’s important for citizens to be involved in the democratic process.”

The differential between Obama and Romney in the Lyons Township mock election closely matches the 19-point lead that Obama currently has here in his home state of Illinois, according to FiveThirtyEight polling analysis.

The real Election Day is Nov. 4.