PUPILS VOTE — Pugliese West Elementary pupils cast their ballots during a mock voting event on Election Day. Fourth-graders Dominic Borsch and Joia Rose portrayed President-elect Donald Trump and his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris. They “campaigned” throughout the day Nov. 4 and then preschool through fourth-graders rendered their decision Nov. 5. -- Contributed

STEUBENVILLE — Pugliese West Elementary School pupils got in on the Election Day action and made their voices heard during a mock voting event which took place Nov. 5.

Pupils in grades preschool through fourth cast their ballots for the 47th U.S. president of the United States in an activity that was led by the first-grade class. Fourth-graders Dominic Borsch and Joia Rose traveled to classrooms in order to campaign as President Donald Trump and his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris during the previous day, Nov. 4. Children made their decision at the makeshift polls the following day, Election Day. The results were 300 votes for Trump and 98 votes for Harris.

First-grade teacher and organizer Sarah Naleppa said her class prepared for two weeks prior to the big day.

“This was the first time the first grade got to do it,” said Naleppa. “The first-graders enjoyed doing it for the school. We watched videos and had lessons about the electoral process. They learned about the candidates, what it means to vote and the different parties.”

Classes took turns casting their votes under the watchful eye of the first-grade organizers, some of whom spoke out about voting.

“It was fun to do,” said first-grader Carlo Saccoccia.

“It’s fun because you get to vote before you’re 18,” added classmate Blake Price.

“I like it because you get to vote for the president,” said Jordie Walter.

They all agreed that every vote matters.

Borsch and Rose added that portraying the candidates was important so they could learn about the issues people were deciding upon.

“I watched the news a lot and would see how he uses his hands,” Borsch said, noting he studied Trump’s mannerisms and comments to talk like him. “It’s important [to vote].”

“I watched Harris’s campaign rally in Michigan and wrote down some of her quotes on flashcards and studied them,” Rose added, describing how she prepped for her role as the vice president. “I liked it because she stands up for women. I’m excited because I can’t vote for a while.”

Meanwhile, Principal Lynnett Gorman said it was a fantastic way to include the children in a very important part of being an American.

“It teaches them about their civic duty and being part of the community,” Gorman said. “It’s super exciting to include a girl to portray a candidate and it’s great to see that both males and female candidates can run for president.”