ROYALSTON – Royalston Community School fifth and sixth graders visited Town Hall Tuesday morning for a lesson in civics.

Town Clerk Barbara Richardson and poll workers arranged to have the students participate in an election all their own. The youngsters were asked to vote for what piece of new playground equipment they would most like to see. The choices included sports equipment – soccer balls, basketballs and footballs – a giant chess game, giant checkers game, roll-up sleds, and chalkboard and chalk.

Before the voting began, Richardson welcomed the students and poll worker Brenda Putney, who also serves as town treasurer, explained the significance of each step in the voting process. She discussed the need for privacy needed to ensure the sanctity of each individual’s vote. In addition, she noted that those distributing campaign material or holding signs or wearing garments emblazoned with the name of their favorite candidate must stay at least 150 feet from a polling station.

As students were ushered into the polls they had to follow the same procedure that voters will need to follow when they cast ballots in next week’s presidential election. Each student first had their name checked off against an official ‘voter list,’ after which they were given a ballot listing the five choices. They then proceeded to the ballot box where they marked their ballots. Some were in and out of the box relatively quickly, others seemed to weigh the benefits of each alternative before being satisfied with their choice.

From there, they stepped over to the next poll worker who checked another voter list to record that the individual had indeed cast a vote. This was the last step before depositing their ballot into the vintage wood and brass, hand-cranked voting machine.

In the end, it was a comfortable win for the roll-up sleds, which collected 13 votes. Sports equipment finished second with nine votes. Third place went to the giant chess set with six votes, followed by chalk board and chalk, with three. Giant checkers failed to garner any support.

The supplies for the mock election were paid for with a $100 gift from the RCS Parent Teacher Group and the Royalton Academy paid for transportation from the school to Town Hall.

Following the election, students were treated to apple cider and traditional “election day cake” baked by poll worker Mary Barkley.

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.