You need not wait for Election Day to know the winner among the K-5 voters on Anna Maria Island.
It may have been a long, grueling election season for adults, bringing out the good, the bad and the ugly in candidates and citizens alike.
But students at Anna Maria Elementary School had the opportunity to learn about the process and weigh in on their choices to run the country for four years.
Lynne McDonough of the school media center has seized the election in real time, turning it into a lesson in democracy and the electoral process in the United States.
Every student in school had a vote in the Oct. 31-Nov. 2 balloting. They studied the election process and learned about the meaning of ballots, candidates and representatives and also got a lesson on the U.S. constitution.
Books about voting were made available, including “Everyone Counts” by Elisa Grodin and Linda Granfield’s “America Votes.”
The students learned about living in a democracy and how leaders are chosen.
McDonough set up a private voting booth in the media center and students received an “I Voted!” sticker after casting ballots.
This year’s vote was close, not unlike the national polls following candidates Clinton and Trump.
“They are almost right where the national pollsters have it,” McDonough said Nov. 2.
She said that four years ago, the student vote mirrored the national vote for Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. McDonough said this election season, it may happen again.
Will the student vote be correct?
The AME vote results are: Hillary Clinton 123; Donald Trump 97; Gary Johnson 16; and Jill Stein four.