By Zahra Hankir and Gaia Pianigiani
In a mock vote held at the Lefferts Historic House, Brooklyn, some 74 children cast their ballots and elected Senator Barack Obama as 44th President of the United States. The children aged 3-10 gathered at the venue on Election Day, where they filled in voter registration forms before entering a voting booth. Obama won with an overwhelming majority of 65 votes, Senator John McCain earned 8 votes, and Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney earned one.
The children were also taught about presidential elections and about how the voting bloc has changed over the years. New England traditional election cake was served as a treat.
This is the first time that the museum has held a mock vote. “We realized that this is a really big election and that it could be a fun way to engage children,” said Elyse Newman, organizer of the event and Education Curator of the museum.
This is so cute!