Students cast ballots in shadow election

Last Updated: Monday, January 16, 2006 | 6:13 PM ET

CBC News

Ballot boxes and election slips took over Manitoba's Sisler High School library Monday, as students took part in National Student Election Week.

Students in Grades 9 through 12 had the opportunity to vote for one of the six candidates who are running in the ongoing federal campaign in the school's Winnipeg North riding.

Students base their votes on information about candidate and party policies received in class.

• Turning students into citizens

Daniel Rea, 18, will be voting not only in the student election, but also in the real federal election next week. He says the student event helps provoke debate and raise interest in issues and the political process.

"What this will do is help get people talking about it. It's actually really helpful, because that way you get other opinions and viewpoints, and you can kind of argue and see what people are going for," he said.

Grade 12 student Nicole Duseigne says the "pretend" vote is an effective way to help teens see elections as something real.

"I've finally realized that I have absolutely no idea right now who I'm voting for," she said. "It's really enforcing for me that, hey, these people are going to be running the county. This is going to affect me."

Results from the Sisler High school vote, along with the 3,000 other schools across Canada, will be released Monday, January 23 – the same day as the federal vote. They will be available on CBC.ca

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