Students at Alexander Junior High “got out the vote” recentlywith a mock election sponsored by Channel One, the news programbroadcast to thousands of schools across the nation.

Students voted during their computer discovery and socialstudies classes. Voting ballots with unique numbers weredistributed to each school prior to the mock election, which washeld Oct. 19 and 20 on ChannelOne.com.

Nearly 1.4 million teenagers across the nation voted, andresults show they want President Bush to stay president of theUnited States. The Republican incumbent garnered 55 percent of thetotal votes cast. Democratic challenger Sen. John Kerry fell shortwith only 40 percent of the total votes. Five percent of teenschoose third-party candidates.

According to Channel One’s exit poll, 44 percent of teens saidthe most important issue facing the candidates in the election wasthe war in Iraq, followed by the economy with 22 percent, educationwith 14 percent, national security with 12 percent and health with8 percent.

According to Kay Leggett, Alexander librarian, Channel One’selections closely mirror the outcome of the general election.

Channel One election results for Mississippi were closer thanthe national results, with the president receiving 49.9 percent ofthe vote and the senator receiving 47.4 percent. Third-partycandidates received 2.7 percent.