On Nov. 3, the votes started rolling in for the new president of the United States. The candidates running were President Donald Trump, former Vice President Joe Biden, and Jo Jorgensen. On Nov .7, the election ended and the U.S. found out their new president. Joe Biden won the election with 306 electoral votes out of the 270 needed. Since the election, there has been a lot of controversy with recounting the votes. Trump made the argument that the votes should be recounted. Despite his efforts to have a last grab at victory, the recount came back in and he had less votes than the first time.

Due to the coronavirus, many states had to come up with a new plan for voting. Many states decided to use mail-in ballots along with in-person voting. This system seemed to work quite nicely, but many controversies came along with it. There was always a chance that the ballot could have been lost in the mail or even stolen out of the mailbox. With such a unique system of voting, there are sure to be problems and mixed opinions on what is best.

Freedom Middle School also held a mock election so that they could make a prediction on who would be the next president.

“I think that it is a great idea to let the kids vote. Our job as teachers and administrators is to get the students ready for the real world. Voting is a part of that.” said Mr. Ryan Smith, Freedom Middle School principal.    

 When the votes came back the middle school predicted that Donald Trump would win the election. 

 “This year was different from the others because the students had elected Trump, and Biden won the election. I think that students vote on how their parent’s vote and Beaver County voted Trump.” Pete Kappas, eighth-grade history teacher said. The school had never predicted incorrectly since the first time the school began the mock election. 

The school usually put up in person voting booths for kids to vote. With coronavirus, the school was forced to use a Google Form ballot. This ballot was put together by Ms. Jeanine Ging, the sixth-grade science and math teacher. 

 “Before the election, I teach my class about the jobs in the White House and what they do, so the students can make an educated decision,” said Kappas. 

Hopefully, Freedom will continue to hold a Mock Election so the kids of the next generation will be able to learn about the leaders of our nation.