<p>A long line of students gathers to turn in ballots during the first poll period Tuesday at Hermiston High School.</p>

The election center was humming by 7:30 a.m., staff members running through a last-minute protocol checklist.

Red, white and blue stars speckled the hallways, posters and signs reminding viewers to vote.

As the deadline approached, a quartet took their seats at the front of the line, ready to check IDs and grant access to the voting area, the booths set, ballots stocked, pencils sharpened.

Then voting began.

Its crazy, ballot receptionist Kendall Shurts said in between voting rushes. Everyone comes all at once Its a crazy thing to be a part of.

At Hermiston High School, the biennial mock elections are anything but.

Students follow strict guidelines for conducting elections, handling ballots, counting and reporting information.

In the voting area, Shurts and Madison Pratt, both juniors, kept watch over the ballot boxes, one for each precinct: seniors, juniors, sophomores, freshman.

Periodically, a security team arrived to collect the ballots, each stack carefully labeled in a manilla envelope with a time and a precinct, and transported them to the election center, where a team counted and recorded the results on each, multiple people at least one from each party always keeping watch over the ballots.

We always make sure theres multiple eyes on each ballot, advisor Chris Demianew told a group of students. We don’t want a Clackamas. Its not that we dont trust you, its that we trust the system.

The recent situation in Clackamas, where an election worker was fired for filling in empty ballots in favor of republican candidates, is one example where Demianew uses real-world examples and evidence to highlight the importance of election and procedure to his students.

If the votes are close, they hold a recount. They certify results. They report them through newspapers, television and websites. Including counters, writers, producers, elections officials and board members, the election staff is well over 75 students.

During the school’s two-week election season, students publish two newspapers the conservative Right Revue and liberal All Thats Left and runs a news broadcast for the morning announcements.

Advanced placement government students voted senior Ryan Simon as director of elections.

I think it’s great. Before this, high school students didnt pay much attention to the election unless theyre seniors and can vote, Simon said. Now, theyre able to take all the information coming in and separating whats fact from whats just political talk. We dont want to send students out of high school uninformed about elections so they vote because they like the way a candidate looks without paying attention to the issues or what they stand for.

The 17-year-old said the experience has helped him appreciate the election process, from the way writers can skew facts to support a candidate to how much work coordinating an election can be.

Its been a lot of work, but its great to see it coming together, he said. Most of the work is just coordinating the departments, making sure everyone is in line. We have a ton of people working on this.

Junior Sara Vanschoiack, for example, worked in graphic design, website design and security, running back and forth across campus between the voting area and the elections center.

I think today is stressful, she said with a smile. Its a lot of work, but its fun and it’s worth it.

The school hosts a mock election every other year: whenever a race president or governor is on the ballot; 2012 marks third time Demianew, science and government teacher, has run the mock election.

Voting is one of those things where its hard to get kids engaged in something they dont have to do, Demianew said. This shows them how voting works, and we hope they understand there is certainly a value to casting ballots and being an informed citizen.

Although only a fraction of the student body is eligible to vote in the real election, the mock election targets the entire school.

Four years ago when we did this for the first time, we got about 900 of the, at that time, 1,300 students. Two years ago, we got about 1,000 of the 1,400 students here, Demianew said. This year, were hoping for even more. No one is required to vote, but we make sure we stress the importance of voting.

The polls opened at 7:30 a.m., before classes began and ran until 2:30 p.m. Some teachers scheduled time to bring entire classes to the polls; individual students could be excused from class to vote or stop by during lunch and break periods.

At 3:30 p.m., the school sent out its final, unofficial count for the day. The students supported Barack Obama as president. The students also chose Ellen Rosenblum as attrorney general, Ted Wheeler as state treasurer, Measures 77, 84 and 85 passed, while measures 79, 80, 81, 82 and 83 failed.

Three races will require a recount: County commisioner, U.S. House of Representatives and Secretary of State. On Tuesday, Bill Hansell led Antone Minthorn, Greg Walden led over Joyce Segers and Kate Brown led over Knute Buhler.

Although the votes wont make a difference outside campus, the mock election and its lessons will impact elections in years to come as the students reach 18 and cast official ballots.

I really wish I could vote in this year, Simon said.

Id just encourage everyone who can vote to do it. Get politically informed and know whats going on in your country so you can make informed decisions when its time to vote. Its important, Simon added.