With no previous experience, going into election polls for first-time voters may seem daunting.

Flathead High School social studies teachers gave students a chance to practice the democratic exercise by voting in a schoolwide mock election Wednesday.

This is the third mock election held at the school, and outcomes usually reflect how the vote goes in Flathead County, according to social studies teacher Bruce Guthrie.

“I think it’s important for the students to see what a polling place looks like and to understand how important it is to be prepared to go in to vote,” Guthrie said. “For the students that aren’t prepared, this gives them a low-stakes experience for what it feels like not to be prepared, and maybe when the time comes for them to vote they may take a different approach.”

Students went through the motions of a real election: signing their names, waiting for a booth to open and receiving an “I voted” sticker after casting a computerized ballot. Students eligible to vote in the actual election were also given the opportunity to register.

Students went Republican in a big way, favoring GOP candidates in every race

With 834 students (about 58 percent of the school) voting, the youth vote favored Mitt Romney for president by a 62 percent to 33 percent margin over President Barack Obama.

Students similarly picked Republican candidates for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, governor, secretary of state, attorney general, state auditor and superintendent of public instruction.

Social Studies Department Chairman Sean O’Donnell said he hopes that by going through the mock elections, students will vote when they are eligible.

“There’s information out there that if kids vote in their first election they’ll continue to be voters,” O’Donnell said.

Included on the ballot were the five proposed ballot issues facing Montana voters this election. Teachers spent time discussing pros and cons of the initiatives.

“We decided to put the initiatives on this ballot even though some students might find them confusing — a lot of citizens might find them confusing — good citizenship requires spending some time with that voter information pamphlet and be as informed as possible and we tried to model that for our students,” Guthrie said.

Glacier High School students held their mock election on Thursday. Results of that vote are not available yet.

Flathead High School voting

President/Vice President

Mitt Romney-Paul Ryan (GOP), 62 percent

Barack Obama-Joe Biden (Dem), 33 percent

Gary Johnson-Jim Grey (Lib), 5 percent

U.S. Senator

 Dennis Rehberg (GOP), 45 percent

 Jon Tester (Dem), 39 percent

 Dan Cox (Lib), 16 percent

U.S. Representative

 Steve Daines (GOP), 50 percent

 Kim Gillan (Dem), 30 percent

 David Kaiser (Lib), 20 percent

Governor-Lt. Governor

 Rick Hill-Jon Sonju (GOP), 50 percent

 Steve Bullock-John Walsh (Dem), 43 percent

 Ron Vandevender-Marc Mulcahy (Lib), 7 percent

Secretary of State

 Brad Johnson (GOP), 52 percent

 Linda McCulloch (Dem), 38 percent

 Roger Roots (Lib), 10 percent

State Auditor

 Derek Skees (GOP), 61 percent

 Monica Lindeen (Dem), 39 percent

Attorney General

 Tim Fox (GOP), 66 percent

 Pam Bucy (Dem), 34 percent

Superintendent of Public Instruction

 Sandy Welch (GOP), 67 percent

 Denise Juneau (Dem),  34 percent

Voter Initiatives

LR-120: Requiring parental notification prior to abortion for a minor.

 For: 56 percent

 Against: 44 percent

LR-121: All applicants for state services have to prove U.S. citizenship

 For: 78 percent

 Against: 22 percent

LR-122: Stopping state or federal government from requiring the purchase of health insurance

 For: 56 percent

 Against: 45 percent

IR-124: Repeal the existing medical marijuana law and replace it with a new medical marijuana program with tighter regulations, lower volume and no profits for growers.

 For: 60 percent

 Against: 40 percent

I-166: Requires Montana elected and appointed officials to carry out a policy that corporations are not human beings and do not have constitutional rights.

 For: 57 percent

 Against: 45 percent