PERU – Thanks to the efforts of seventh-grade teacher Jeff Mayo, all students at Peru Elementary and Heritage School, and six home-schoolers, got a taste of what it was like to actually vote in an election.

Peru Town Clerk Vera Parent arranged for the students to come to Rockemeka Grange Hall, the site for the town balloting Nov. 2.

Ballot clerk Shirley Dolloff registered the student voters and Robert Dolloff manned the ballot box. All election wardens were present to assist in the vote.

Eight eighth-graders sat at a table tallying votes as they were given to them from the ballot box after each class voted. For students in kindergarten through third grade, Mayo produced a ballot with the two main presidential candidates pictured. Students marked a box beside the picture.

The fourth- and fifth-grade students had a ballot with only the presidential, congressional and legislative candidates. The middle school had the same choices plus the two initiatives.

Mayo said he had spent the last two weeks in his social studies classes holding discussions on the candidates, platforms and referendums. Though the state sent out mock election material, Mayo had produced the picture ballot.

Parent explained to the eighth grade counters how the absentee ballots worked and how the counting was actually done with checks to prevent errors in counting.

After all votes were taken, the presidential totals ran 93 for President Bush and Vice President Cheney, 69 for Sen. John Kerry and Sen. John Edwards, 2 for Ralph Nader, 1 for Michael A. Peroutka and 1 for David Cobb. No votes were cast for Libertarian Michael Badnarik.

For Congress, Rep. Michael Michaud received 47 and Brian Hamel 37. Carl Cooley got 23 and Linda Petrie received on write-in vote.

For the property tax cap, there were 46 no votes and 23 yes.

On the bear hunting question, 34 voted yes and 30 voted no.