They’re getting to experience the voting process firsthand and practice the habits of active and informed citizenship.
Elementary and high schools across Delta are taking part in Student Vote, a program which see students across the country learning about the election process before casting their ballots this week.
They are selecting among the seven candidates vying to be the city’s next MP and the results will be reported next week after the federal election. The results of each school as well as total for Delta will be announced.
Student volunteers are taking on the roles of deputy returning officer, poll clerks and others, in an attempt to recreate as authentic an experience of voting as possible for the students. Students even bring their identification to simulate actual voting at a polling station.
At Delta Secondary in Ladner on Wednesday, student Rebekah VanHatlem after casting her ballot in the library said what she’s learned is that people need more open mindedness, not just voting for whoever seems to be the most popular party.
“To be honest, I think a lot of young people are still not educated on politics very well and it would be good if that was better implemented into schools. Even more for me, I don’t know as much as I would like to know. People should know the ideologies behind each party and what they stand for,” she said.
Jessica McMillan, a teacher at DSS who is helping organize the vote at the school, said students in social studies classes are participating, so it should involve almost all the students at the school.
She said the idea is to build up interest so they take the time to vote when they’re 18.
Although they wouldn’t be able to vote normally, three international students got to take part in the DSS vote as well, describing it as an interesting experience.
The votes take place over several days at Delta schools with some wrapping up on Friday.
The Delta district-wide result of the Student Vote in the 2015 race mirrored the actual federal election results with Carla Qualtrough getting the most votes.
Elections Canada commissioned an independent evaluation of the Student Vote Program to study its impact in the context of the 2015 federal election.
Among the findings, the report found that 90 per cent of participants felt the program increased their families’ opportunities to learn more about elections and politics and provided them greater intention to vote in the future.
Elections Canada this week reported that voter turnout during the four advanced polling days in the country was up 29 per cent over numbers recorded during the same period in 2015.
Approximately 4.7 million electors voted at the advance polls.
Election day takes place Oct. 21.
