Grade 10 civics students at Ursuline College Chatham turned the cafeteria into a polling station on municipal Election Day, inviting classmates to vote in a simulated election.
Students voted for Chatham-Kent mayor and the two Ward 6 seats, the ward where the school is located. The civics class ran the polling stations, instructed voters and counted ballots. It also contacted candidates six weeks ahead to share their backgrounds, priorities and video messages, which were displayed in a “Candidates Corner.”
“One of our goals, for all students, is to try and foster what we call active and engaged citizenship,” said civics teacher Connor Walsh. “So, what better way to do that than to have them actually come down and see what it means to be an active, engaged and responsible citizen?”
Student Nicolas Barker said the class taught him how elections work. “I’ve learned a lot about how everything works,” Barker said. “I didn’t know a lot about politics before taking this class, but we’ve learned a lot about municipal elections and voting, and federally as well. Mr. Walsh is a great teacher.”
The Student Vote program is run by CIVIX, a non-partisan charity. A total of 1,015 ballots were cast. Mayor-elect Michael Bondy received the most student votes with 375. In Ward 6, Brian Machado had 418 and Ben Labadie 329. In the municipal election, Machado was elected with the second-most votes and Labadie finished third.
