N.J. Students Pick Corzine
to Repeat as Governor

If New Jersey's schoolchildren could vote in the General Election next Tuesday they would choose incumbent Gov. Jon S. Corzine to continue as the state's governor.

Corzine, the Democratic candidate, received 46.7 percent of the votes cast in the New Jersey Student/Parent Mock Election at 201 of the state's schools.

Republican Chris Christie received 31.9 percent of the Mock Election vote and Independent Christopher J. Daggett received 13.5 percent. Seven other independent candidates received a total of 7.9 percent of the statewide vote.

Voting in schools was done October 26-29. Results were finalized at 8 p.m., November 3, Election Day.

Voting results for each New Jersey county, as well as the statewide results, are available at www.njmockelection.org .

In addition to their selection of Corzine as governor, 73.9 percent of the students voted to approve the Green Acres, Water Supply and Floodplain Protection, and Farmland and Historic Preservation Bond Act of 2009, the Public Question on this year's statewide ballot.

The New Jersey Mock Election, which is affiliated with the National Student/Parent Mock Election attracted a total of 66,653 students who voted in their schools on computers or paper ballots.

More than 980 New Jersey schools had enrolled to participate in the Mock Election. The enrolled schools with ID codes listed on this website sent in their vote totals through the end of the General Election on November 3. All votes were compiled by PracticeYourVote.com .

The sponsor of this voter-education project is the Institute of Democratic Education, which also operated the nation's only other gubernatorial race in Virginia. Republican Robert F. "Bob" McDonnell won that race with 52.3 percent of the student vote. He was trailed by Democratic candidate R. Creigh Deeds with 47.7 percent.

"The children are the real winners of this exercise in democracy," said Gloria Kirshner, president of the National Student/Parent Mock Election. NSPME invites participation from kindergarten through college and by parents who are invited by schools to help with the election.

Kirshner added that research has shown that 88 percent of parents want their children taught about elections, democracy and ethics.

The Media Fact Sheet posted on this website provides information about the Mock Election and how to interpret the voting results.

The National Student/Parent Mock Election prepared a special teacher's guide for the gubernatorial race. Click here to retrieve the guide. This curriculum guide offers outstanding exercises for students as they studied the candidates and issues leading up to the Mock Election.

The Institute of Democratic Education (Instituto de Formación Democrática), based in Puerto Rico, received a grant from the federal Election Assistance Commission to operate the gubernatorial Mock Elections in New Jersey and Virginia and to launch the Youth Citizen-Journalist Network.

Journalism students from Communications High School in Wall Township, Monmouth County, helped prepare this report from data compiled by PracticeYourVote.com, the computing company that received the online and paper-ballot results submitted by the state's schools.

The National Student/Parent Mock Election and all of its affiliated state mock elections are free to schools and the students who vote.

New Jersey Wins!

Thanks to the efforts of many people and organizations, our state's Mock Election was recognized for its extensive campaign education efforts and high student participation in the 2008 Presidential Mock Election.

See the video of the awards presentation on June 26 at the New Jersey State Museum. The ceremony featured the display of one of the few remaining copies of the Declaration of Independence.

For the complete story and the press release from the New Jersey Department of State.
 

286,249 New Jersey Students Cast Votes in '08 Mock Election

TRENTON, October 30, 2008 - Senator Barack Obama captured 67.8 percent of the votes cast by 286,249 New Jersey students from 802 schools statewide and won the Presidential race in the Garden State's 2008 National Student/Parent Mock Election.

Senator John McCain received 29.5 percent of the votes in New Jersey. All other New Jersey candidates received 2.7 percent.

New Jersey statewide results, which are posted on this website, were first announced the evening of October 30, 2008. Also, a news story about the New Jersey election is posted on an inside page of this website, as are tabular results from New Jersey schools.