Results from the 2016 Iowa Youth Presidential Straw Poll
State of Iowa Seal
DES MOINES – More than 50,000 students participated in the statewide 2016 Iowa Youth Presidential Straw Poll on Tuesday. The Straw Poll was organized and the results were tabulated by Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate. This was the largest youth straw poll in Iowa history.
Students voted in both Republican and Democratic Straw Polls. The statewide winner on the Republican side was Donald Trump. He garnered 25 percent of the vote. As of now, Marco Rubio sits in second place with 18.4% and Dr. Ben Carson is just behind him with 18.0%. Ted Cruz is in fourth place, at 15%. More schools are expected to turn in results on Wednesday.
On the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders was the overwhelming statewide Youth Straw Poll winner with 53% of the vote. Hillary Clinton finished second at 30% and Martin O’Malley placed third, with 10%.
“I think it’s important that young people’s voices are heard and that we give them an early opportunity to participate in our elections. I hope this is just the beginning of a lifetime of civics engagement for them,” Secretary of State Pate said. “I also hope Iowa maintains it’s first-in-the-nation status for a long time. It is vital to this state.”
The Iowa Youth Presidential Straw Poll is part of the “Caucus 101” curriculum developed by Secretary of State Pate for Iowa schools. Students participating in the Straw Poll included ages K-12. The age groups and grades varied depending on the school.
Secretary Pate encouraged schools to conduct both a Democratic and Republican Straw Poll. All of the presidential candidates submitted videos with messages aimed toward Iowa youth as part of the curriculum. Many schools utilized those videos to inform the students about each candidate prior to the Straw Poll.
Full results can be found here:
http://sos.iowa.gov/youth/studentmockelection/results.aspx
A video of Secretary Pate announcing the winner of the Iowa Youth Presidential Straw Poll is available at the link below:
To access data on how each school, city and county voted, visit http://teachers.caucus101.com/resources/.
The data is contained in an Excel file. Instructions on how to utilize
the spreadsheet can be found on that page, and at the links below:
http://teachers.caucus101.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Windows-IYSP-PivotTable-How-To1.pdf
http://teachers.caucus101.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Mac-IYSP-PivotTable-How-To1.pdf
***Schools were encouraged to hold separate straw polls for Democrats and Republicans. Some opted to place all the candidates in one poll.
***Due to school cancellations because of bad weather and other factors, several schools have not yet conducted the Youth Straw Poll. Some are scheduled to do so on Wednesday. Those totals will be added to the final numbers on our website, http://sos.iowa.gov/youth/studentmockelection/results.aspx.
