In the week leading up to the presidential election, FCHS students got their own chance to cast their votes– even if they wouldn’t officially count toward the election. In a written poll, over 130 students were asked who they would vote for if they could vote for president. Here are the results:Nearly 70% of those polled said they wouldn’t vote at all or would choose a different candidate, with write-in candidates ranging from Bernie Sanders to Kanye West.

Meanwhile, on Nov. 7, the day before the national election, FCHS’ Political Awareness Club had their own vote during lunches, with 312 students participating. The results of that vote were as follows: 

The first poll included a section that allowed students to explain their reasons behind their mock votes. Some students said that Clinton actually knew what she was doing, and some say that Trump needed to “Make America Great Again.” Then there were those who said they’d choose Johnson or Stein over Clinton and Trump. “I don’t agree with Donald or Hillary,” said one student who said they’d vote for Gary Johnson. “Rather take an idiot than another corrupt politician,” said Anthony Madison ‘12, who said he’d vote for Trump. “I wouldn’t vote because it’s a pre-determined conspiracy. Trump ran so Hillary would win,” said Rebecca McCann ‘19.

Those who didn’t like any of the official candidates got creative. Chase Evans ‘12 said he would vote for himself because he “knows what [he’s] doing.” Various other students said they would vote for Bernie Sanders, while Autumn Dillahunt ‘19 said she would vote for Michelle Obama, President Obama’s wife. “Although Hillary and Donald make a compelling argument to both presidential parties, they both are politically dumb and do not have what it takes to run a country. Michelle has stood by her husband and as First Lady she has made movements of her own,” she explained. Finally, Leilani Perez ‘19 said she wouldn’t vote at all because “[Both candidates] are both bad. Both of them have a numerous amount of serious problems.”

These mock elections had one thing in common with the actual election: In both cases, Donald Trump won the election. In the national election on Nov. 8, Trump beat Clinton 290 electoral votes to Clinton’s 232 (as of Nov. 11). One difference between the mock and actual election was that in the national election, Clinton won the popular vote (47.7% to Trump’s 47.4% as of Nov. 11), compared to the mock elections at FCHS which had Trump beating Clinton by 14%.