Bristol students back Obama and McMahon

Chris Murphy greets Barack Obama in Hartford in 2008.

At a mock election at Bristol Central High School today, students and teachers overwhelmingly picked President Barack Obama to win reelection Tuesday. But in a result that might trouble Democrat Chris Murphy's campaign, they also backed Republican Linda McMahon in Connecticut's hotly contested U.S. Senate race. The mock election attracted 878 votes, according to Democratic Registrar Mary Rydingsward, who said students used one of the electronic voting machines that everyone will be using next week to cast their ballots. In the presidential race, Obama attracted 70 percent of the vote, crushing GOP contender Mitt Romney who got only 221 votes compared to 619 for Obama. Minor party candidates pulled in 29 votes. In the Senate race, however, McMahon secured 431 votes to Murphy's 400. A Libertarian contender collected 36 votes in the race. That means that nearly 200 students who voted for Obama also picked McMahon, a result that could be troubling Tuesday if their parents follow suit. In the only other race on the students' ballot, U.S. Rep. John Larson picked up 559 vote to Republican challenger John Henry Decker's 219.
Copyright 2012. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Tunxis students back Democrats in mock election

Press release from Tunxis Community College:
Tunxis Students Vote in Mock ElectionTunxis Community College students participated in a mock election on October 18 and 19, using a new voting machine lent by the Office of the Secretary of the State.
A total of 377 students cast ballots in the election. “I was pleasantly surprised by the voter turn out,” said Rafaele Fierro, Ph.D., Tunxis assistant professor of history and organizer of the mock election. “It was a fun way for students to become more aware of how the political process works.”
The students voted for Richard Blumenthal, who defeated Linda McMahon 204 to 128 in the race for U.S. Senate. Dan Malloy beat Tom Foley 213 to 118 in the gubernatorial race. On the ballot question, 149 students were for and 215 were against abolishing the death penalty.
Tunxis Community College, which first opened for classes in October 1970, is celebrating its 40th year of service to the community. From fine arts, health, and technology to liberal arts & sciences programs, Tunxis offers almost 60 associate’s degrees and certificates, providing critical thinking and problem-solving skills that prepare students for transfer to bachelor’s degree programs and employment in areas with industry need. Tunxis is located at the junction of Routes 6 and 177 in Farmington. Visit Tunxis on the Internet at tunxis.commnet.edu.
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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

If Central's students are any indication, Democrats should stock up on champagne

At Bristol Central High School's mock election today, Barack Obama and the Democrats buried their Republican challengers.

With nearly 1,000 students voting, Obama garned 76 percent of the vote while Republican John McCain trailed with less than 20 percent of the tally.

Here are the results, courtesy of Lawrence Covino, Advanced Placement Instructor and Social Studies Department Coordinator at Central:

Bristol Central High School Student Vote Results

Vote taken:  Monday, November 3, 2008

 

                      -             President/Vice President

Rebublican --- John McCain/Sarah Palin ------------197

Democrat----- Barack Obama/Joe Biden - -----------761

Independ.----- Ralph Nader/Matt Gonzalez -----------29

 

                                   Representative in Congress

Rebublican --- Joe Visconti ----------- 219                              

Democrat ---- John Larson ----------- 682

Green---------- Stephen Fornier -------76

                                    

                                   State Rep.  77th

Rebublican--- Jill Fitzgerald---------- 350

Democrat----- Chris Wright----------- 641

 

                                  State Rep. 78th

Rebublican--- William Hamzy-------- 389

Democrat ---- Jacqui Denski--------- 583

 

                                  State Rep. 79th

Rebublican --- David Norton---------- 209

Democrat-----Frank Nicastro--------740

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Mock election: Ward wins

A mock municipal election at Bristol Central High School gives hope to the Republicans.
Though Democrat Art Ward came out on top among the 800 students voting in the mock election, Republican contenders Mark Anderson won the treasurer's race and two of the GOP City Council candidates beat their Democratic foes.
Here are the results of the polling among students:

Mayor
Democrat Art Ward - 384
Republican Ken Johnson - 338

Treasurer
Republican Mark Anderson - 355
Democrat Bill Veits - 344

1st District City Council
Democrat Rich Kilby - 541
Democrat Cliff Block - 420
Republican Mike Rimcoski - 373

2nd District City Council
Democrat Bruce Lydem - 388
Republican Ken Cockayne - 327
Democrat Kevin McCauley - 326
Republican Joe Geladino - 210
Independent Mark Blaschke - 157

3rd District City Council
Democrat Frank Nicastro - 592
Republican Bob Merrick - 421
Democrat Craig Minor - 334

This year's mock election was once again sponsored by the Social Studies department with the help of a senior, Brock Weber, who's active in Republican politics in town.
Teacher Lea McCabe's ELL (English Language Learners) Social Studies class also took part in organizing the mock election as part of its unit on the democratic process. Though most of the students in McCabe's ELL class are from Central American countries, she also has a student from Ukraine. These students, with the help of Weber, organized the ballots and tallied the results.
They had a greater than 50 percent response rate and more than 800 ballots cast.

PS: For those who read an early version of this post, the mistakes were mine. I posted in haste because I was getting ready to go trick or treating with my kids.

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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com