On
election day last month, Missouri adult voters defeated
a plan to raise the state tax on cigarettes by 80 cents
a pack. If it had been left up to Missouri kids, the higher
tax probably would have passed.
That's one of the times when kids voting in the Kids Voting
Missouri 2006 program differed from adults who voted at
the same time in the general election.
There
also were other examples in the Nov. 7 balloting when kids
came to different conclusions than adults voting nearby.
The Kids Voting Missouri program arranges to have kids accompany
their parents to regular polling places.
Then, the kids fill out their ballots at special polling
places in the same building. This gives kids a realistic
feel for the voting process.
And, while regular election officials tally the adult
votes, Kids Voting Missouri workers add up the kids' votes
on the same election issues.
(If you'd like to look at all of the general election
results, you can go to www.sos.mo.gov.
The complete Kids Voting Missouri results are on www.kidsvotingmissouri.org.)
(Also,
in some school districts, individual schools held in-school
election rallies. At Iveland Elementary in the Ritenour
district, kids held a referendum on a local school issue-school
uniforms. For results of that vote, see sidebar
below.)
In this article, Young Saint Louis.com will compare
the general election results with those in the Kids Voting
Missouri 2006 voting. Kids Voting has been operating in
Missouri since 1996 and balloting is held every two years.
In
2006, we had an off year, or non-presidential, election.
The top race was for a U.S. Senate seat. In 2008, Americans
will again select a president and vice-president.
A total of 23 St. Louis area school districts are included
in the Kids Voting this year. In addition, school districts
in the Greater Kansas City area as well as in northwest
and southwest Missouri had special voting programs for kids.
In most of the 2006 political races and ballot issues,
the Kids Voting Missouri participants ended up with results
similar to those by adults in the general election.
The
notable exception was the proposed constitutional amendment
that would raise the state tax on cigarettes a whopping
80 cents per pack.
In the regular election, that amendment failed when adults
voted against it by a narrow 51.5% to 48.5%. In the Kids
Voting Missouri balloting, the kids voted to pass the tax
by a strong 56% to 44%.
But, in the U.S. Senate race between incumbent Jim Talent
(R) and Claire McCaskill (D), both the adults and kids had
McCaskill winning. In the adult vote, McCaskill won by a
49.5% to 47.4%. In kids voting, McCaskill won, 55% to 35%.
In the State Auditor's race, the adults and kids also
were in sync. Democrat Susan Montee polled 52.9% to just
43.3% for Republican Sandra Thomas. In the kids vote, Montee
won, 56%-26%.
In the Amendment 3 ballot (stem cell research), adults
passed the measure by a narrow 51.2% to 48.8%and kids favored
it, 56%-44%.
In
Proposition B (minimum wage), the adults and kids both passed
it by whopping margins. Adults voted 75.9% to 24.1% with
kids, 82%-18%.
The adults and kids were on the same page in all the U.S.
House of Representative races in the St. Louis metro area.
Incumbents won all of the races.
In District 1, Rep. Lacey Clay won easily, 72.8% to just
24.7% for Republican Mark Byrne in adult voting. The kids
gave Clay a 69% to 22% margin over Byrne.
In District 2, Rep. Todd Akins won in the adult voting
61.4% to 36.6% while kids gave Akin 54%-38%.
In District 3, Rep. Russ Carnahan (D) won in adult voting,
65.5% to 31.7% over Republican David Bertelsen (R). The
kids voted in favor of Carnahan 53% 29%.
In District 9, Rep. Kenny Hulshof (R) got 61.4% of the
adult vote, to 35.9% for Duane Burghard (D). Hulshof's margin
among the kids was 47% to 33%.
In all of these races, the kids gave minor candidates
more votes than did the adults. For instance, the Carnahan-Bertelsen
and Hulshof-Burgland races, the Liberarian and Progressive
Party candidates tallied almost one of every five votes.
Minor candidates got only a combined vote of 2% from adults.
YSL.com has found, in past elections, kids also
gave minor candidates more votes than did adults in the
general election.
Several state Senate and House of Representative races
found the kids and adults on different sides.
For instance, in State Senate District 22 race, Democrat
Ryan McKenna won over Republican Bill Alter, 60.4% to 39.5%.
But, the kids favored Alter by 52% to 48%. Kids in three
school districts (Fox, Northwest R-1 and Rockwood) voted
in this race.
In House of Representative Districts 85, 90 and 92, the
kids and adults didn't agree.
In District 85, Republican Jim Lembke won over Democrat
Bob Burns, 52.2%-47.8%. In that district, kids favored Burns
over Lembke, 55%-45%. Kids in the Bayless, Lindbergh and
Mehlville districts voted.
In District 90, Democrat Sam Kono won over Republican Sean
King, 55.9%-44.1%. But kids in the Fox, Northwest R-1 and
Rockwood districts favored King, 51%-49%.
And in District 92, Incumbent Rep. Charles Portwood (R)
won handily over Beverly White (D), 56%-44. But, the kids
in the Parkway district favored White, 54%-46%
In House District 91, there was a good example how every
vote can be meaningful. In the adult voting, Kathryn Fares
(R) won by only 227 votes out of over 17,000 votes cast.
In kid voting for the same race, Fares won by just one vote,
289-288.
Kids did a good job of predicting an upset in the St. Louis
County Council race between incumbent Kurt Odenwald (R)
and Democrat Barbara Fraser. In adult voting, Fraser won
rather easily but, in kids voting, she got 71% of the vote,
to just 29% for Odenwald.
In the vote for St. Louis County Executive, Charles Dooley
won re-election handily in both the adult and kids voting.
But, in the kids voting, the Libertarian and Progressive
Party candidates got 13% of the total vote.
(Remember, for complete totals for adults and kids visit
www.sos.mo.gov
and www.kidsvotingmissouri.org.)
