About 200 juniors and seniors at Waite High School on Friday participated in a mock election as part of the Grads Vote Ohio initiative sponsored by Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who spoke to students after the vote.

“It was pretty cool; the students actually enjoyed it,” Waite Principal Todd Deem said. “It was a fantastic opportunity for our students to have the secretary of state, the highest ranking elections official in Ohio, come here and talk about the importance of civics.”

For more than two hours Friday morning, students lined up to vote using real voting equipment provided by the Lucas County Board of Elections on the following mock election questions:

● Is the Ohio State University or the University of Michigan the best college?

● Is Kendrick Lamar or Drake the best rapper?

● Should Tony Packo’s be the official hot dog of Ohio?

Mr. LaRose shared the election results following the vote. The majority of students picked OSU over UM by a vote of 159-38; Kendrick Lamar over Drake, 171-26; and Packo’s being the state hot dog, 106-91.

Mr. LaRose’s office picked the questions, Ben Kindel, a spokesman for Mr. LaRose, said.

“The idea is to get the students to vote on fun, non-political topics so they get used to the process before they become Ohio voters,” Mr. Kindel said.

Mr. LaRose spoke to students about the importance of being civically engaged and registering to vote. 

“If you’re 18 now, or will be by Election Day, all you have to do is go to voteohio.gov and it takes about two minutes to register to vote,” Mr. LaRose said. “There’s no good reason not to do it.”

Organizers hoped the mock election would provide a positive voting experience that would make it easier for students to participate in elections when they are of voting age.

“Hopefully it was pretty easy to cast your vote,” Mr. LaRose said, adding he hoped it wasn’t too difficult to use the touchscreen voting technology.

“The choices you guys made today is kind of a practice round,” he continued. “Some of you this year, if you’re going to be 18 by November, will have a chance to vote on some really important local races, like mayor, city council, and school board members. So there are bigger choices coming up for you in the future.”

Many students said they enjoyed the experience.

“It was kind of fun,” said 17-year-old Princess Blackman, a junior. “It was an easy experience. It’s important to vote so we can give our opinions and change lives.”

Although Trinity Fonseca, a junior, had never voted before, she planned to in the future.

“I was surprised,” the 18-year-old said. “I thought voting would be a little more complicated, but it was actually pretty easy.”

Da’Quasia Dean, 16, said she “loved it.”

“I felt I actually had a say and I felt important at the moment,” the junior said. “When I’m of age, I’m going to vote. I see it as a lifetime commitment.”

Bobby Moton, a junior, was a little nervous because he had never voted before.

“I only saw an actual voting booth on TV,” he said. “Being able to vote gave me some pride.”

Every spring, all Ohio high schools receive voter registration packets to distribute to graduating high school seniors as part of the Grads Vote Ohio initiative, Mr. LaRose said. The packet includes information on how to register to vote and how to become a poll worker.

First Published March 14, 2025, 10:32 p.m.