We now know who would become president if grade school kids were the only people voting
Although polls show that Hillary Clinton has recently taken a strong lead over her opponent, Donald Trump, many American voters remain stressed out and anxious about the 2016 election — and we’ll probably feel that way until the final results are in on November 8th.
Although we’ll have to wait three weeks to learn the outcome, one group of Americans has spoken and Hillary Clinton is the clear winner amongst elementary school “voters.”
Although it’s encouraging to see that so many youngsters have rejected Trump’s hateful rhetoric and actions, they sadly can’t head to the voting booth on Election Day. But, the results of Scholastic’s nationwide mock election are more telling than you may think. The poll, which has been conducted in every presidential race since 1940, has correctly predicted the outcome of every presidential election since 1964.
Another piece of good news is that Clinton won the mock election by a landslide. The elementary schoolers have spoken, and the former Secretary of State defeated Trump by a whopping 17 points.
Of course, like any other presidential poll, Scholastic’s is far from foolproof. And, because this is no ordinary election, third-party candidates garnered more kids’ votes than they have in past elections — most likely because they’ve heard their parents say they don’t want to vote for either Trump or Clinton. The elementary school voter pool was also smaller than usual, perhaps because many teachers have found it difficult to discuss this election with children.
But, let’s stay positive, because the mock election brought us more good news. As reported by USA Today, Clinton was not only victorious in the popular vote, but in battleground states as well.
In the majority of crucial swing states, such as Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, and Nevada, schoolchildren chose Clinton over Trump. She even won in several states that are decidedly Republican — Alaska, Idaho, Texas, and Utah.
Although every poll needs to be taken with a grain of salt, this is great news — and not just because the Scholastic mock election has been a solid predictor of past elections. It shows that many kids have rejected Trump’s reprehensible campaign tactics and they know that a hot-tempered bully is undeserving of a vote. The election has put many of us in a dark place, but the next generation of voters provides a ray of hope that America will never again endure another ugly election like this one.
