Oakland County, Michigan, October 20, 2008 --  Thanks to the Oakland County Clerk's award-winning Project VOTE program, more than 1,200 Birmingham Seaholm High School students "voted" for president on recycled voting machines Monday.

"This was a hands-on lesson in democracy for young people," said Ruth Johnson, who initiated the Project VOTE program with the assistance of local city and township clerks. "They learn that their vote can make a difference, that their voice will be heard."

Students in grades nine through 12 cast their ballots in the presidential race, congressional races and on Michigan's ballot proposals. Of the school's 1,250 students, 744 or about 60 percent voted. The results were as follows:

Obama -   401 votes     
McCain - 297 votes

Levin - 460 votes
Hoogendyke - 244 votes

Knollenberg - 401  votes
Peters - 295 votes

Medical marijuana?
Yes - 450 votes
No - 217  votes

Stem Cell Research?
Yes - 470 votes
No  - 193  votes

Seaholm High School government teacher Ben Harwood said mock elections are important because voting is a learned behavior.

"If you don't learn how to become a part of the political process, there's a good chance you'll end up on the sidelines, either apathetic or wondering what just happened," Harwood said. "In 2004, roughly 40 percent of 18-24 year olds voted in the presidential election. So the real goal is to motivate students - in all grades - to start thinking about how they can get involved, regardless of ideology."

After the election, Harwood said two forces were at work - the fact that many voters in the age 18-25 age group tend to vote for democrats versus the fact that many young people tend to vote their parents' position and Birmingham is fairly conservative.

"I kind of had a feeling Obama was going to win - it's pretty much on par with where Michigan is polling right now," Harwood said. "Maybe this is an indicator to what we'll see in 15 days."

Created in 2005, Johnson's Project VOTE (Voting Opportunities Through Education) saved hundreds of "gently used" voting machines that had been headed to local landfills after the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2004 required communities to use brand new machines as part of a standardized system.

Instead of being thrown out, the "perfectly good" optical scan voting machines were given to local schools for use in the classroom, Johnson said. Since Project VOTE began, machines once used to elect U.S. presidents have been used to elect student body presidents, homecoming queens and even used to democratically select school field day events.

Earlier this year, Project VOTE received a prestigious 2008 Achievement Award from the National Association of Counties (NACO), which recognizes successful, innovative county services.