This story was originally published Oct. 30, 2024, by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters
With “The Star Spangled Banner” playing, students in Monica Poncé‘s class cast their vote for U.S. president in a mock election. But this democratic process had its own look and feel.
Each student sat in front of a projector screen showing portraits of the candidates. Poncé held a pair of buttons. She pressed the blue one for students to hear “I’m Kamala Harris” in the candidate’s voice. Next was the red one that said “I’m Donald Trump” in his voice. Then it was the student’s turn.
Some students made their choice by pressing the button. One touched sensory pads that corresponded to the candidates. Another indicated his choice between a plastic toy donkey and elephant. Two picked by fixing their gaze on one of the candidates on the screen.
“Thank you, that’s a good choice,” Poncé said regardless of the student’s choice. Together, they’d mark the paper ballot and put it in the cardboard ballot box.