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London students ready to mock the vote – Metro US

London students ready to mock the vote

They may not be able to vote in Monday’s election, but students at Saunders Secondary School in London are getting a lesson in civic duty Friday.

And they’ll have a voter turnout that would make electioneers countrywide jealous.

As part of Student Votes, a nationwide campaign, all students at the London high school will receive ballots in homeroom. Then they’ll be asked to cast their vote for their candidate of choice in the riding of London West.

“We tell our kids that political parties are reactive, not proactive, so if they know a certain group is not voting in huge numbers, they really don’t give those people the due diligence they should,” said teacher Stu Mutch, organizer of the Saunders campaign.

“But if they vote in big enough numbers, they’ll listen to you.”

Mutch said they’ve held similar mock votes for the municipal and provincial elections, and turnout is close to 100 per cent. By comparison, turnout during the last federal election was 58 per cent, an all-time low.

“We try to encourage everyone to vote, but if some student absolutely opposes the idea we’re not going to force them.”