By Symphanie Rosario
Staff Writer
During a mock election held by PTSA parents, Susan Neal and Erika White, and Vice Principal Debbie Hofreiter at Mira Costa High School on Oct. 29, the student body voted on presidential candidates, senate seats, and propositions.
After the ballots were collected and tallied by Associated Student Body, the results were posted on the Mira Costa website. President Barack Obama won a second term, Diane Feinstein won the Senate seat, and propositions 30 and 38 passed.
“Personally, I was really interested in the results of the voting. The results were a cross-reference of how the South Bay would react,” Hofreiter said. “I was most interested in the presidential votes and in the outcome of Proposition 30.”
Prop. 30’s approval in the mock election assuaged Hofreiter’s fears. Prop. 30 proposes to increase the sales tax rate by one-quarter cent for every dollar for four years. It will also increase the personal income tax rates on individual incomes that exceed $250,000 for seven years.
“The money that we will receive if Proposition 30 passes is the difference of life or death in the school system, Hofreiter said. “The funds will help our school system immensely.
Several students were interested in the activity, but others were slightly upset that Costa did not utilize a traditional voting system. Others were upset that the propositions were not explained well.
“I thought the idea was nice. The activity could have been more publicized. The problem was that it didn’t feel like a real ballot.” senior Rafeed Kahn said. ” I felt like the summaries given for the propositions didn’t give enough information to make a decision. The activity should have stressed the importance of voting and the voting process.”
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