Obama Won With 67.8% of the Votes

286,249 New Jersey Students Cast Votes in Mock Election

Final Results

Senator Barack Obama captured 67.8 percent of the votes cast by 286,249 New Jersey students from 802 schools statewide and won the Presidential race in the Garden State's 2008 National Student/Parent Mock Election.

Senator John McCain received 29.5 percent of the votes in New Jersey. All other New Jersey candidates received 2.7 percent.

New Jersey statewide results, which are posted on this website, were first announced the evening of October 30. Also, a news story about the New Jersey election is posted on an inside page of this website, as are tabular results from New Jersey schools.

National results are available on the website of the National Student/Parent Mock Election. Also, a news story is posted about the more than 5 million students who cast votes nationwide.

In the New Jersey race for a U.S. Senate seat, incumbent Senator Frank Lautenberg won with 50.5 percent of the votes cast. Dick Zimmer received 29.1 percent.

Students then voted for candidates to fill the state's 13 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. The winners were:
1st Congressional District - Rob Andrews, Democrat
2nd Congressional District - Frank LoBiondo, Republican
3rd Congressional District - John Adler, Democrat
4th Congressional District - Christopher Smith, Republican
5th Congressional District - Scott Garrett, Republican
6th Congressional District - Frank Pallone Jr., Democrat
7th Congressional District - Linda Stender, Democrat
8th Congressional District - Bill Pascrell Jr., Democrat
9th Congressional District - Steven Rothman, Democrat
10th Congressional District - Donald Payne, Democrat
11th Congressional District - Rodney Frelinghuysen, Republican
12th Congressional District - Rush Holt, Democrat
13th Congressional District - Albio Sires, Democrat

In addition to expressing their opinions about the candidates, students considered several questions about the major issues facing the nation during the 2008 campaign.

The economy was clearly on the minds of the state's students. Thirty-seven percent of the voters said the economy will be the most pressing issue facing the next president.

Other issues included health care, the high cost of energy, education, the environment and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The students were treated to a hypothetical question that asked them to pick a past president they would want to lead the nation today, "if miracles could happen." The winner was Abraham Lincoln, followed closely by George Washington.

The New Jersey students who voted are in these grades:
34% - Elementary School - Grades 1-5
36% - Middle School/Junior High School - Grades 6-8
30% - High School - Grades 9-12

Because this was a mock election, the students' selections don't count in the General Election on November 4. The National Student/Parent Mock Election, which was founded in 1980, is the nation's largest youth voter-education project.

The New Jersey segment of the mock election was administered by the New Jersey Press Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the New Jersey Press Association.

How the Students  voted

There were two ways the students cast ballots in the 2008 Student/Parent Mock Election ... paper ballots and with computers.

School Perceptions, a national educational research firm, developed a computer interface that was used for the first time in a Mock Election.

Nearly three-fourths of the students who voted used paper ballots that were tabulated by a school official who then transmitted the school totals to School Perceptions. The others voted online using computers in their schools or at home.

The voting booth above was used by students at Cleveland Elementary School in Englewood.

Promoting the Mock Election

Fox News carried a report on the Mock Election during their Friday and weekend cable news shows, October 19-20. The report was based on a visit by their news team to Fort Lee Elementary School #4 on Wednesday, October 22.

The ABC channel in New York City carried a great report on the Mock Election at Mount Vernon Avenue Elementary School in Irvington.

Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor explains in a video the importance of having our nation's youth become involved in the Mock Election and the political process. She said, "Young Americans are truly driving this election." The video, which posted on YouTube, is less than nine minutes long. Several TV and entertainment stars featured in other Mock Election videos.

Listen to three audio Public Service Announcements announcing the New Jersey Student/Parent Mock Election. We thank Mathias Kiwanuka, defensive end for the New York Giants, and the Giants organization for donating these audio tapes.