Who did Peabody Vote For?
This past Tuesday, voters in thirteen states cast ballots in support of their preferred party nominee, and the results were scrutinized by the national media for days afterward. However, one election was ignored by the mainstream press: the PVMHS Primary! To make up for their universal disregarding of Peabody High, we’ve prepared our own analysis of the results.
Let’s start with the first question, “Who would you vote for in the 2016 presidential election?”
The most immediately obvious statistic is that PVMHS definitely Feels the Bern! Not only did Sanders dominate Clinton in the Democratic primary, he also scored over half of the total votes, an impressive feat.
TOTAL VOTES FOR DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES:
Sanders: 128 (84.21%)
Clinton: 24 (15.79%)
Among self-described Democrats (according to the second question), Sanders won 81% to Clinton’s 15%, and among Independents he won 51% of the vote. It seems as though Hillary’s strategy of Dabbing for the millennial vote hasn’t paid off particularly well.
On the Republican side of things, Trump had a victory as decisive as Sanders’s, although his is less obvious when looking at the graph above.
TOTAL VOTES FOR REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES:
Trump: 53 (73.61%)
Rubio: 9 (12.5%)
Cruz: 6 (8.33%)
Kasich: 4 (5.56%)
74% of self-described Republicans, 21% of Independents, and (surprisingly) 1 Democrat voted for Trump. Cruz, Kasich, and Rubio split the non-Trump vote between themselves, and only Rubio managed to score a double-digit percentage. The Trump Club must be incredibly happy!
Also worth noting is that Ben Carson got zero votes, a lack of support echoed in his real-life Super Tuesday performance. It’s hardly surprising that he dropped out a few days later.
The most interesting answers to the question, however, were the 14 “other” candidates. They were:
Anthony Fisher (2)
Craig Jordan
just about anyone else
Lincoln Chafee #feelthechafe
Nick Merryman (3)
please no
Rand Paul
Richard Moore
Vermin Supreme (3)
Whoever the Democrat is
Vermin Supreme, a candidate notable for promising a free pony for every American if elected, as well as for wearing a boot on his head during debates, received three votes.
When it comes to PVMHS students, Nick Merryman is apparently the most presidential, winning three votes. Anthony Fisher received two, while Craig Jordan and Richard Moore got one each. (I personally would support a Richard Moore candidacy wholeheartedly.)
Lastly, I’d like to point out the vote for “please no,” a vote which perfectly encapsulates the feelings of many Americans about the current state of the election.
Now on to the second question, “What would you say your party affiliation is?” The high Democrat-to-Republican ratio isn’t surprising (we’re in Massachusetts, after all). What is surprising, however, is that nearly half of PVMHS students identify as Independent.
You might figure that self-described Independents would lean more heavily towards Sanders, since Sanders himself was an Independent for most of his political career. However, it seems as though PVMHS Independents truly are independent: Sanders won 51% of Independents, slightly less than his total vote percentage. Trump won 21%, which matched his total vote percentage, and Clinton won 10%. The rest of the Independent vote went to candidates such as Cruz, Rubio, and Nick Merryman.
Again, the “other” votes proved to be the most interesting responses. They included:
Three variants of Socialist (“Socialist,” “Democratic Socialist,” and “Independent Socialist”)
Richard for President (submitted by the same person who voted for Richard Moore)
Two Pirate Party members (yes, that’s a real thing)
Wizard (submitted by a Vermin Supreme supporter)
That’s about it! Thanks to all the respondents for participating in democracy.