Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon today announced the release of preliminary results for the 2018 Students Vote Mock Election. Minnesota Students Vote 2018 is the first statewide midterm mock election for Minnesota high school students organized by the Office of the Secretary of State. More than 280 schools participated in 2016 in the inaugural Students Vote mock election. Students Vote participation this year rose to 290 Minnesota schools.
“Minnesota high schools have stepped up to get kids engaged in our democracy,” said Secretary Simon. “The participation levels we are seeing – 290 schools across the state – are remarkable. Minnesotans are a civically engaged people and programs like Students Vote help young Minnesotans establish good habits early. Many of these young people are on the cusp of turning 18 and having formal political power. I hope we have created for them some excitement about just how important it is to be a voter.”
The preliminary results of Students Vote 2018, as of October 30, show Tim Walz and Peggy Flanagan (Democratic-Farmer-Labor) leading Jeff Johnson and Donna Bergstrom (Republican) by approximately 10 percent – 41.04 percent to 31.32 percent. Chris Wright and Judith Schwartzbacker (Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis) have 17.16 percent and Josh Welter and Mary O’Connor (Libertarian) are at 5.59 percent of the vote to date.
As of October 30, 2018, 45,941 student votes from 156 schools have been counted. Every participating school has the ability to decide how, where, and when voting takes place, whether in one central location, over the lunch hour, in individual classrooms, or something entirely different. Many participating schools have chosen to put on their mock elections on November 6, 2018. Final results will be published when they become available.