Casco Bay and Deering high schools were among 78 schools across Maine participating in the Maine Student Mock Election on Oct. 28. It is the first year that Maine has held a student mock election for a referendum election — and Casco Bay was one of the schools that Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows visited that day to mark the event.

“This is the first time ever we’re doing a mock election outside of a general election year,” Bellows said. “It’s a great opportunity for students to learn about referendums and discuss the issues of the day.” 

The results of the  mock election, released the next day, on Oct. 29, showed students statewide decisively defeating Question 1 on this year's Maine state ballot, which calls for changing the state’s election laws, and resoundingly approving Question 2 on the state ballot, a “red flag” gun law.

At Casco Bay on the day of the mock election, Bellows enthusiastically greeted students and engaged with them. “We appreciated that Secretary Bellows visited our students to emphasize that each one has an important voice to share and a role to play in uplifting our democratic traditions," Principal Priya Natarajan said. "Our students showed energy and passion in their discussions and we hope they will stay involved and engaged!”

At both Casco Bay and Deering, teachers used the mock election as a springboard for learning. For example, Casco Bay math teacher Jake McNally helped to develop a crew lesson to enable students to understand even more about the election.

And, at Deering, AP government and politics teacher Darcie Drew said a wide range of teachers there also took advantage of the opportunity to enhance learning. “I had my students research the Maine questions that were on the state ballot, and add on extra information about the Portland question [whether to increase the minimum wage in the city to $19 per hour by 2028] and candidates up for election,” Drew said. “I offered materials and student support to all teachers in the building. Nine took me up on it, so either ran the referendum themselves in class, or had small groups of my AP gov students visit to present their slides about the election and answer questions.”

Drew said that “121 students participated, and represented all sorts of classes, from ninth-grade algebra to ML level 3 to AP English. I know the ML Level 3 class used this to launch their unit about government and participation.”

Each school got to choose which of three provided questions to use for their mock election. The questions included the two state referendum election questions that will come before Maine voters on Tuesday, Nov. 4, as well as one added in recognition of the United States’ upcoming Semiquincentennial celebration:

●      Question 1: Do you want to change Maine election laws to eliminate two days of absentee voting, prohibit requests for absentee ballots by phone or family members, end ongoing absentee voter status for seniors and people with disabilities, ban prepaid postage on absentee ballot return envelopes, limit the number of drop boxes, require voters to show certain photo ID before voting, and make other changes to our elections?

●      Question 2: Do you want to allow courts to temporarily prohibit a person from having dangerous weapons if law enforcement, family, or household members show that the person poses a significant danger of causing physical injury to themselves or others?

●      Mock Referendum Question: Do you believe that the language in the Declaration of Independence, written 250 years ago, is still relevant today?

“The third question was added both for younger participants perhaps learning about the history of our nation for the first time, as well as older students who may be taking a deeper look into the contents and meaning of the Declaration of Independence as part of school curriculum as we approach the 250^th anniversary of our nation’s birth,” said Secretary Bellows, who chairs Maine’s Semiquincentennial Commission.  “Young Mainers are the decision makers of the future. The mock election process is a fun and educational way to learn how to determine what is fact or rhetoric and to discuss and even debate questions while forming their own opinions about how they choose to vote. It will be valuable lessons when they one day are in a real voting booth.”

Since 2008, the results of the Maine student mock elections have proved remarkably prescient — with students statewide correctly choosing the winning presidential candidate in each election since 2008. Last year, Donald Trump beat Kamala Harris in the student mock election. However, the results have not always been so predictive in non-presidential contests.

The results of this year’s Maine Student Mock Election showed students voting statewide to reject Question 1, the change to Maine’s voting laws, by a 2 to 1 margin. The vote was 65.1 percent against Question 1 and 34.9 percent in favor. And the students strongly supported Question 2 — having a “red flag” law allowing courts to temporarily prohibit a person from having dangerous weapons if law enforcement, family, or household members show that the person poses a significant danger of causing physical injury to themselves or others. Students voted in favor of that question by a margin of almost 4 to 1, with 79.5 percent in favor and 20.5 voting against.

Also, a large majority of the students — 70.8 percent — voted to say that they believe that the language in the Declaration of Independence is still relevant today.

Student participation in the mock election aligns with Achievement and Whole Student goals in the district's Strategic Plan.

The Student Mock Election is one of several programs for students from the Department of Secretary of State. Other programs are listed on the Secretary’s Kid’s Page.

Photos:

Above: Casco Bay High School senior Evelyn Jones, co-chair of the student cabinet, talks with Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows as CBHS students participate in the Maine Student Mock Election on Oct. 28.

Below: Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows greets students at Casco Bay High School prior to the Maine Student Mock Election on Oct. 28 and also talks with CBHS teacher Jake McNally, who used the mock election as a springboard for student learning. Also shown is one of the slides Deering students created for a presentation to educate others about voting in regard to the state referendum questions.