Minneapolis, MN- In a first round of Minnesota mock elections, known as “Minnesota Students Vote 2016”, with 213 of the 280 participating schools reporting, Minnesota high school students gave Donald Trump the win over Hillary Clinton with a slim margin of victory of 34.97% to 32.89%.
77,000 students participated in the mock election, which not only gave the choice between Clinton and Trump, but also included presidential candidates Darrell Castle (Constitution), Dan R. Vacek (Legal Marijuana Now), Alyson Kennedy (Socialist Workers Party), Jill Stein (Green), “Rocky” Roque De La Fuente (America Delta Party), Evan McMullin (Independence), and Gary Johnson (Libertarian). More than 7,000 students wrote in a candidate and 1,456 students did not have their votes counted due to a “spoiled” ballot.
Dividing the participating schools by region – Metro schools and outstate – the results show the difference in prevailing ideology between the regions. Using only the data for Trump and Clinton, 62% of metro area students choose Clinton (16,368) over Trump (10,002). Conversely, Trump (16,928) wins in outstate Minnesota with 65% as compared to Clinton’s 35% (8,975).
Secretary of State Steve Simon told KSTP news that Minnesota Students Vote “is about getting good voting habits started early. ‘We want students to think of themselves as voters even before they can vote because then they will vote and if they vote they will likely make it a lifelong habit.’”
To see the full election results visit the Minnesota Secretary of State website.
Andrea Mayer-Bruestle
Andrea Mayer-Bruestle is a former writer for Alpha News.
