Macomb, IL – The Iowa caucuses are still two months away, and the presidential election won't take place for another year. But students at Western Illinois already cast ballots.
They did so in a large mock election titled The Road to the White House Begins at Western Illinois University.
Over the past couple weeks, students held mock primaries, debated party platforms, and chose candidates. On November 5, they heard speeches and then voted.
The winner - in a landslide - was the mock ticket chosen by Democrats: Barack Obama for president and John Edwards for vice president.
You can listen to News Director Rich Egger's feature about the mock election by clicking on the audio button.
Additional information:
*Thousands of students participated in the process.
*The idea for the mock election came from Political Science Department Chair Rick Hardy and associate professor John Hemingway of the Recreation, Park, and Tourism Administration Department.
*Hardy and Hemingway met at the University of Iowa in the mid-70s and held their first mock presidential election in 1976. Hardy also held one at the University of Missouri in 1988. In both of those years, the winner of the mock election ended up winning the real election.
*The two say the idea is not to predict the presidential winner but rather to increase civic awareness and enhance participation. They feel those goals were accomplished during this year's mock election at WIU.