Spring Branch middle school holds mock presidential election

The results of a mock election at the Spring Branch Independent School District Charter Middle School favored President Barak Obama over former Gov. Mitt Romney, 211-176, or 54 percent to 46 percent.

Teaching middle school students about the nation's electoral college system was one key goal of the mock election.

The mock election are comparable with the nation's results.

Cornerstone Academy was one of many district schools that held mock elections.

At Cornerstone, eighth-grade history teacher Catherine Wood-Sponsel designed and planned the student exercise to help young people understand how to vote, what the candidates believe, and how votes in the Electoral College system are apportioned to presidential hopefuls.

The school Electoral College votes were assigned by formula. The number of electoral votes per state was based on the student and teacher population of a state — five students plus two teacher votes equaled on electoral vote, the news release states.

After participating in the mock election, eighth-grader Diana Dial said she is more enthusiastic about voting when she turns 18.

"Voting today at school made me feel good because I participated in something and my voice mattered," she said in a press release. "We watched a video in our advisory classes that played out the scenario of each candidate winning and what the result would be. The video really helped in understanding how each candidate would influence our nation."