Hickory Flat Elementary School students joined students from across the nation as they voted for U.S. President in the Youth Leadership Initiative Mock Election on Oct. 30, 2012. 

The event at Hickory Flat ES was coordinated by the fifth-grade AIM students of Dr. MaLinda Blanchard, who had completed a unit of study of campaigning, which culminated with each student presenting his/her own campaign to the class.  Students came to school dressed in patriotic colors ready to vote privately using an electronic voting system, and the AIM students acted as poll workers.

Youth Leadership Initiative is a national civic education program based at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, and approximately one million students were expected to vote nationwide as part of the mock election.