For the past forty years, the kids participating in the Scholastic News election polls have picked the winning candidate. And this week, they announced the 2008 winner. Before I get to the punch line, here’s a short introduction to their polling techniques.
“The poll was open to kids from grades 1 to 12 in Scholastic News and Junior Scholastic magazines. Almost 250,000 (a quarter of a million) kids voted by paper ballot or online at www.scholastic.com/news. The poll closed on October 10.” (Source: http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3750501 on 10/14/2008)
And, the winner is: Democratic nominee Senator Barack Obama with 57 percent of the vote. Republican nominee Senator John McCain captured just 39% of the kid vote.
What do I think? I think the kids are right. As of today, I believe Senator Obama is winning. Note I am not divulging my personal wishes as to who I am voting for, just who I think is ahead at the moment. But it ain’t over until all the polling places close on November 4, and in today’s wild times, anything could happen.
Resources:
Election 2008 for Kids
Scholastic News: Election 2008: Kids’ Vote Announced
CNN.com: Kids Poll President (Video)
