Western Row kids elect a duck over first female president

MASON, Ohio - Why should we grownups have all the fun when it comes to elections?

Emily Matthews teaches social studies at Western Row Elementary School, and decided it was time for the school's 1,200 second and third graders to see what all the fuss was like.

"We wanted to have a way where it wasn't as political, involving the real candidates, but for them to have a chance to see what the process was like," she said.

Their candidate were the title characters from two books with names ready made for campaigning; "Duck For President," by Doreen Cronin, and "Grace For President," by Kelly DiPucchio.

The students campaigned for their favorite, and had to form arguments as to why they supported either fem or fowl.

"I voted for Grace," said third grader Kate Demrich. "She's a human, she's a lot smarter than Duck."

"I voted for Duck," countered Nick Centofonti. "I didn't want the first girl president."

The process was replicated all the way down to the ID checks at the polling place next to the school's office.

The children came down by the classload, and had to identify themselves to pollworkers.