Districts all over the state are holding mock elections in their social studies classes.
LIVINGSTON -- If it were up to about 2,200 kids in the Livingston public school system, Hillary Clinton would be the next president.
In a mock election held at the school last week, the Democratic candidate got about 57.5 percent of the vote, beating out Republican Donald Trump, Libertarian Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein.
By similar majorities, the kids would also voted against bringing casinos to northern New Jersey, and in favor of allocating all of the revenue from New Jersey's gas taxes to transportation projects.
The school is one of many districts across the state holding kid elections in the weeks leading up to Nov. 8.
NJ Mock Election - a project put on by the NJ Social Studies Supervisors Association, NJ Center for Civic Education, the Community Foundation of NJ, and the NJ Council for Social Studies - will be collecting the results from schools across the state over the next few weeks. The overall results will be posted before Nov. 4.
On Friday, Oct. 14, Livingston students too young to vote went to the polls to cast votes in the NJ Mock Election. Shown casting a vote in a digital polling booth at Heritage Middle School is Edward Padilla. (Courtesy Livingston schools)"We have historically found that middle school students are very accurate" in terms of predicting the results of elections, said Robert O'Dell, the social studies coordinator at Nutley Public Schools and director of NJ Mock Election.
He said the practice of voting is one that will stay with the students as they get older.
"The goal of the New Jersey Mock Election is to help students become critical thinkers and informed citizens who can sustain our democracy," O'Dell said.
Livingston has gained a reputation as a civic-engaged school system. Last year, the high school hosted alum Gov. Chris Christie when he officially announced his campaign to run for president.
Though the district has conducted other types of mock elections in the past, this is the first year that the district signed on for the NJ Mock Election. It has helped enhance teachers' lessons about the election process, and the current candidates, school officials said.
"During preparation for voting and using the debates as learning opportunities, the teachers facilitated classroom discussions that examined (things like) the historical role debates played in American politics (and) the positions of Libertarian and Green party candidates," said Scott Kercher, the district's social studies supervisor.
"(Our) teachers have found inventive ways to guide classroom discussion into topics related to civic participation and the role of a citizen in a democratic country."
Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.