Gerik Parmele photo

Lacey Nickerson casts her ballot Thursday as fellow third-graders Katie Kirchhofer and Carmen Ramirez, far left, wait to vote. Third- and fourth-graders at Mill Creek Elementary School were holding a mock election to select the president of the United States and governor of Missouri. •  Slide Show: Election Day in Columbia

They might not get a chance to vote in the official election, but Columbia schoolchildren can certainly tell you whom they’re rooting for.

"Obama," Gentry sixth-grade student Cooper Dawson said. "I think he can actually change the world and make it a better place."

Sen. Barack Obama was a popular choice among a lot of students: He won mock elections at all but one of the schools that reported results to the Tribune. At Gentry, Obama snagged 59 percent of the vote. At Hickman, the Democratic candidate won yesterday’s mock election with 64 percent of the vote, and at Rock Bridge High School last week, he won 50 percent compared to Republican Sen. John McCain’s 41 percent. Obama also won at Lange Middle School and Blue Ridge and Paxton Keeley elementary schools. McCain captured the rural Midway Heights Elementary, where he won 65 percent of the vote.

And McCain was not without young supporters elsewhere. Kyle Bell, a Gentry sixth-grader, said after watching debates and news coverage of the race he believes the older candidate is more qualified. "He’s had a lot of experience in war, and he fought for our freedom," Kyle said.

And fellow Gentry student Katharine Miller added that McCain has "more experience in government."

At Mill Creek Elementary, children tended to vote for whomever their parents were supporting. That was a little tough for third-grader Annie Sebastian, who ended up siding with her mom.

"I voted for Barack Obama because ... oh, I don’t know," she said. "My dad’s voting for John McCain. My mother’s voting for Barack Obama."

Although their votes won’t count in any official tally, the mock election experience is a good way to get students familiar with the election process, said Karen Harris, president of Gentry’s Parent Teacher Student Association, which organized the mock election.

"Basically, we want to bring awareness to kids about what’s going on around them," she said. "We want to make the election come to life."

To accomplish that, the school enlisted the help of an election official from Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan’s office to talk to students about the registration process. Gentry students then had to fill out registration applications and bring their voter identification with them to the polls.

"I was surprised the process takes so long," Katharine said after voting.

Children at Mill Creek saw firsthand just how important each vote really is - Obama won by just two votes, fifth-grade teacher Tricia Crews reported.

And third-grader Grant Fougere got a chance to practice saying "no" to an exit poll. "I’m not telling you that," Grant said when the Tribune asked whom he voted for. "It’s private."

Ultimately, the mock elections were aimed at showing students why democracy is important. "I think voting is important because everyone should have a say in who should be president and why," Cooper said. "Without a president, we would go all crazy."

Tribune reporter Sara Semelka contributed to this story.

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