FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2018
Contact: Kristen Muszynski
207-626-8404/ 207-441-7638

Students elect Moody for governor in 2018 Mock Election

AUGUSTA – Students from 62 Maine schools chose Shawn Moody to be Maine’s next governor in Student Mock Election results tallied today in Augusta.

The voting has been underway at Maine schools since October, for the offices of Governor, U.S. Representative and U.S. Senate, as well as the five statewide referendum questions. Students voted in favor of the referendum question (Question 1) and the four bond questions. Incumbents Chellie Pingree and Bruce Poliquin won the student vote for the U.S. Representative to Congress seats, and Angus King won the U.S. Senate race. Full results can be viewed online at http://www.maine.gov/mockelection/.

Voting culminated today at the Augusta Armory with the “Rally and Tally” event, which gives students an opportunity to collect election results by phone and via the Internet, and report statewide results to the national mock election. Students also enjoyed election related activities, such as a ranked-choice voting presentation, craft booths and opportunities to give stump speeches for their candidates.

The event is hosted by the Department of the Secretary of State and featured WCSH News Center anchor Katie Bavoso as emcee. Several candidates and party representatives took the stage to address students, including gubernatorial candidate Terry Hayes and U.S. Senate candidate Zak Ringelstein.

“The mock election is a great opportunity for students to learn about democracy and feel prepared to exercise their right to vote in a few years,” said Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap. “It’s an important introduction to the process.”

The following schools took part in the Rally and Tally event in Augusta: Brooklin School, Cornville Regional Charter School, Hermon Middle School, Mt. View Middle School (Thorndike), Oak Hill Middle School (Sabattus), Tripp Middle School (Turner), and Walker Memorial School (Liberty).

The mock election program engages students in election-related activities, reinforcing the importance of participation in the democratic process. Statewide results will be provided to the national mock election program for inclusion in national results.

For more information about the mock election, visit www.maine.gov/sos/kids/mockelection/index.html