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Schools in the region to take part in mock elections

Students throughout the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo will be taking part in an election of their own.

While they are not yet old enough to vote in the 2017 municipal election, Student Vote gives youth in the region the chance to learn more about municipal politics and become more involved.

Through the program students research the candidates and talk about the upcoming election both in the classroom and at home. Then they are given the chance to actually vote in a mock election held at their schools where results are tabulated and released publicly after official polls close.

Jonathan Teghtmeyer with the Alberta Teachers Association told MyMcMurray that students are able to get a real understanding of what voting is and why it is important.

“The students learn about democratic systems, how voting works and ultimately they practice it which means at the end of the day there is no real intimation to being a voter,” said Teghtmeyer. 

The goal of the program is to not only create future voters but have students starting conversations at home about the election and encourage their own families to vote.

“Even when the student gets home and says ‘who are you voting for mom?” the mom starts to think about who she will vote for,” says Teghtmeyer. 

Resident of the RMWB will vote in the election on October 16.