More than 40,000 students from schools across the nation learned about the U.S. Constitution and Constitutional change this fall by voting on proposed changes to one of America's founding documents.

Students from across the country cast nearly 430,000 votes over the course of two weeks in the nation's largest, student-only, online mock election in the nation, using ballots with suggested amendments to the Constitution. This fall, very few states held federal elections, which gave YLI the chance to do something it had never done before - host a mock election based solely on the Constitution. YLI offered supporting lesson plans on topics such as congressional redistricting, holding a constitutional fair, amending the Constitution, and extending House terms. Students in Louisiana and Mississippi also had the opportunity to vote for their state's governor, and in addition, YLI offered a lesson comparing the gubernatorial candidates in both of those states.

The Youth Leadership Initiative's (YLI) Mock Election program is an activity which offers K-12 educators the opportunity to directly engage students in the excitement of the American electoral process. "I love the idea behind the Mock Constitutional Convention. Just imagining students discussing these issues from all sides and hashing out the pros and cons makes me excited. I think this is the most unique and inspiring program YLI has held to date," said Meg Heubeck, YLI Director of Instruction.

For a detailed listing of national voting statistics and statewide results, please see the Mock Election Results section of the YLI website.

The Youth Leadership Initiative is the largest program of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics. YLI resources are free for K-12 educators, who are encouraged to visit the YLI website for more information about how to sign up and become a part of a greater effort to increase civic understanding and participation among the nation's youth.

The YLI Mock Election is an academic exercise. It is not a true random sample of public opinion among America's K-12 student population and is therefore not designed or intended to be predictive of the general election.