(DURHAM, November 3, 2006) – This week, 19,000 students in 71 New Hampshire schools voted for congressional and gubernatorial candidates and voiced their opinion on issues facing our country. As part of the 2006 National Student/Parent Mock Election, students and teachers from John Stark Regional High School and Sunapee Middle High School gathered at New Hampshire Public Television November 2nd and tallied votes from across the state. District 1 Congressional candidate Carol Shea-Porter stopped by and talked with students at the NHPTV Broadcast Center in Durham.In the race for governor, John Lynch was the overwhelming choice with 74% of the vote over challenger Jim Coburn. Jeb Bradley won the race for U.S. House of Representatives in District 1 with 60% of the vote; Carol Shea-Porter received 40% of the vote. In the House District 2 vote, Charlie Bass garnered 51% of the vote, Paul Hodes received 40% and Ken Blevens received 8%.Student voters identified the war in Iraq as the number one issue facing the country; energy and the environment and immigration reform were listed as other top issues. The New Hampshire Mock Election, now in its 13th year, provides students with an opportunity to participate in the electoral process. There are now 70 million youth and children under the age of 18 in the United States—the largest ever generation in this age group. New Hampshire’s intense effort to provide civic education and activities to these school-age children and youth will help move the United States towards developing a nation of voters.The New Hampshire Student/Parent Mock Election is supported by the New Hampshire Department of Education, the New Hampshire Council for the Social Studies, New Hampshire Public Television, the League of Women Voters of New Hampshire, the New Hampshire Political Library, the University of New Hampshire Education Department, and the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at St. Anselm College.The New Hampshire Mock Election is made possible, in part, by a grant from the Lane and Elizabeth Dwinell Charitable Trust.Full election results may be viewed at www.nhptv.org/mockelection.
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