Chris Lowrey
MANSFIELD Oct. 11, 2017
Students at École secondaire Sieur-de-Coulonge, despite being too young to vote, will still get the chance to cast a ballot for their candidate of choice.
The students will be taking part in a program called Voters in Training. The initiative was spearheaded by the directeur général des élections du Québec to get youth more engaged with the democratic process.
The program is an election simulation where students can cast a vote for real candidates in their own municipality.
The goal of the program is to make sure students understand the importance of becoming informed about the issues and candidates before casting a ballot.
Students are encouraged to use the experience to talk about politics at home and even interview the candidates.
The current crop of students will be eligible to vote in the next round of municipal elections. With the help of this program, the students will have a better idea of what to expect during those elections than many other first-time voters.
The program officially kicked off on Oct. 6, the day after nominations closed. The ballots will be cast on Nov. 2, with the results being announced on election day on Nov. 5 and will allow for an intriguing comparison between the student’s election outcome and the actual results.
