Kids count: Hillary Clinton wins K-12 vote

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is the winner of the presidential contest among students in grades K-12.

Approximately 153,000 students across the country cast their ballots in the 2016 Scholastic News Student Vote.

Clinton  received about 52 percent  of the student vote while Republican candidate Donald Trump received 35 percent.

Thirteen percent of student voters wrote in “other” choices.

Write-in votes were cast for Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson (2 percent), U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (1 percent, and Green Party candidate Jill Stein (1 percent).

Students also voted for “Mom,” Kanye West, Harambe the gorilla, Spider-Man and “bacon.”

Votes in the 2016 Scholastic News Student Vote were cast by students in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Since 1940, the outcome of the Scholastic News Student Vote has mirrored the results of every presidential election, except two: Thomas E. Dewey versus Harry S. Truman in 1948 and John F. Kennedy versus Richard M. Nixon in 1960.

Students who voted for Clinton explained their decisions:

• “I voted for Hillary because she will be the first woman president. Hillary is showing all women young or old you can do anything.” sixth-grade student in Arizona.
• “Hillary will make good decisions and do good things for America. She has the experience.” fourth-grade student in New York.

Students who voted for Donald Trump stated:

• “I would choose Trump because he would be good for business.” fifth-grade student in Georgia.
• “I voted for Donald Trump because he says that he will make America great again.” sixth-grade student in Arizona.

Scholastic News Student Vote results from key states: 

• Colorado: Clinton 59% Trump 28% Other 14%
• Florida: Clinton 48% Trump 39% Other 13%
• Iowa: Clinton 41% Trump 42% Other 17%
• Michigan: Clinton 49% Trump 36% Other 15%
• Nevada: Clinton 59% Trump 28% Other 13%
• New Hampshire: Clinton 50% Trump 31% Other 18%
• North Carolina: Clinton 49% Trump 40% Other 11%
• Ohio: Clinton 43% Trump 42% Other 15%
• Pennsylvania: Clinton 48% Trump 41% Other 10%
• Virginia: Clinton 50% Trump 37% Other 13%
• Wisconsin: Clinton 46% Trump 40% Other 14%

“In this unprecedented and contentious presidential race, students have made their voices heard by casting their votes in our mock election for president,” said Elliott Rebhun, Editor-in-Chief of Scholastic Classroom Magazines.

He continued, “The Scholastic News Student Vote is the culmination of a year of coverage in our classroom magazines and Scholastic News online, bringing the election to classrooms nationwide to inform students about the electoral process and the positions taken by the candidates on complex issues — from immigration and the economy to the environment. Our job at Scholastic is to support teachers with age-appropriate content that not only engages students and teaches them about the democratic process, but also helps them think critically about the issues.”

On the Web

To see the full results, visit www.scholastic.com/vote.