On Nov. 3 and 4, Stone Bridge students rushed the main hallway to learn about the diverse group of candidates in this year’s Mock Election. This event gave students an opportunity to gain knowledge on the different political parties and the various people running for local office positions.
The results of the Mock Election were very close throughout most of the positions. The biggest disparity was in the vote for Commonwealth’s Attorney, with Buta Biberaj (D) beating Bob Anderson (R) with a 61% majority vote. For eight of the twelve positions, the democratic candidate won; however, some were very close. The narrowest margin was in the vote for the Loudoun Board of Supervisors position for the Ashburn district, with Tumay Harding (R) squeaking past Mike Turner (D) in a 50.2% victory.
Government students spent two weeks researching their candidates and making trifolds to inform students and teachers about who is running for office. This event aptly paired a unit on media and elections with the state’s November elections. Through all the hard work, everyone enjoyed creating these projects and getting to know their candidates.
“I thought it was super fun to be able to compete with other people like an actual election,” senior Drew Speier said. “It was also super nice getting to research the candidates because I feel much more informed about politics than I have ever been.”
The students researched a slew of candidates running for political positions in Virginia. Among the candidates researched were House of Delegates candidates David Reid (D) and Paul Lott (R) for district 28 and Marty Martinez (D) and Mark Rogers (R) for district 29. Also included were State Senate candidates Russet Perry (D) and Juan Pablo Segura (R) for district 31 and Suhas Subramanyan (D) and Greg Moulthrop (R) for district 32.
Beyond the General Assembly positions are local candidates for the Board of Supervisors such as Phyllis Randall (D), Gary Katz (R), and Sam Kroiz for Chair-at-Large. Below the Board of Supervisors is the School Board positions up for grabs in Loudoun, with Anne Donohue (D) and Micheal Rivera (R) running for the School Board At-Large and Harris Mahedavi (D) and Deana Griffiths (R) for the Ashburn district.
The remainder of the candidate lineup included Commonwealth’s Attorney (Buta Biberaj (D) and Bob Anderson (R)) and Loudoun County Sheriff (Craig Buckley (D) and Micheal Chapman (R)).
Every history class took time to visit the trifolds and learn more about the candidates and the political process. Then, students got to vote on each position based on what they were told by the different campaigners.
“I was able to learn a lot about the people running that I didn’t know anything about,” junior Hannah Skemp said.
Much of the learning was a result of the flashy projects created by Government students. Along with a patriotic red, white, and blue color scheme, each trifold had numerous photos of their candidate and presented facts about them and, more importantly, what the issues were that they cared about and were trying to solve with a position in Loudoun.
The most practical and important outcome of this project is for those who were able to vote in the election on Nov. 7. It is the first opportunity that seniors have to have a direct say in the government, and it is important to be informed about the various positions up for grabs in Loudoun as well as the rest of Virginia.
“The Mock Election informed me of the candidates backgrounds, agendas, and representations,” senior Fletcher Mezzullo said. “It was helpful to see a quick overview of all the candidates that were on the ballot.”
By every standard, this year’s Mock Election was yet another success, setting a high standard for years to come and providing an opportunity for people to learn more about politics.
