Charles Jay places a solid fourth in the Utah Mock Election - is it a harginger of things to come?
Elkhart, IN (PRWEB) October 31, 3004 -- Charles Jay, the Personal Choice Party's presidential candidate, achieved a very solid fourth-place finish in the Utah Mock Election, garnering 1% of the vote, in figures that were posted at the Mock Election website (http://mockelection.utah.gov) on Thursday.
The Utah Mock Election is a simulation of the actual electoral process, and is conducted in elementary, middle, and high schools throughout the state. Parents take an active part in the event as well. This year a little more than 30,000 young people took part in the election, which, in Utah, included all candidates listed on the state's official ballot.
Jay won 294 votes in the presidential contest - equal to .96% (1%, when rounded up). He placed behind only President Bush, Senator John Kerry and independent candidate Ralph Nader. In the process, Jay edged out Libertarian candidate Michael Badnarik by eight votes, and easily outdistanced James Harris of the Socialist Workers Party and Michael Peroutka of the Constitution Party.
"There are a lot of mock elections out there, but this poll means something special to me, for several reasons," said Jay. "Obviously, this is the state where we appear on the ballot, right alongside everyone else. Also, the participants in this event were the future voters of this country, and I have been saying to a lot of folks along the campaign trail that I am definitely the young people's candidate in this election. I'm mindful of the fact that the kids went through a process of researching the candidates, along with their parents, which bodes well for our chances to get a significant vote total in the general election. And finally, this is not one of those mock election exercises where party volunteers can 'stuff the ballot box', so to speak. There's a greater air of legitimacy to it."
Jay feels this result, coupled with what he hopes will be a strong showing on Election Day, might offer a good barometer as to how he would be able to perform against other third-party candidates, given equal ballot access.
"It'll be a great sign for us in the event we campaign in 2008, because at that time we're going to be on a lot more ballots.'" he said.
Jay, a youthful-looking 43-year-old, has grabbed the attention of young voters with his insistence on eliminating the budget deficit, overhauling the Social Security system in an effort to protect future generations, and expanding educational choices on both the high school and college level, which may ultimately provide independence from the burden of expensive student loans.
"This campaign is not only about the rights of people to make their own individual choices in life," he says, "but also emphasizing the fact we have to govern in a way that exhibits responsibility now, so that when our children and grandchildren grow up, they don't have to be saddled with a deficit and debt that is so far gone it can't be controlled. That kind of message has a way of resonating with the younger people."
Jay actually finished ahead of Kerry in four Utah schools, and beat out Bush in two of them, including Success Charter School in Taylorsville.
"That's a good sign," says Jay. "Advocates of charter schools certainly understand what I mean when I talk about providing more choice in education. I think charter schools are an incremental step in the right direction, on our way to the eventual goal of completely privatizing the school system, giving parents absolute choice without government involvement in delivering the content."
(Charles Jay is the Personal Choice Party's candidate for President. He is on the presidential ballot in the state of Utah and is running a write-in campaign in other states. For further information on the Charles Jay--Marilyn Chambers campaign, please visit http://www.charlesjay.com. More information on the Personal Choice Party can be obtained at http://www.personalchoice.org)
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