President Barack Obama emerged as the candidate of choice for high school students from across the state who gathered to celebrate Vote Dat!, Louisiana’s 2012 Presidential Mock Elections, sponsored by the Secretary of State’s Office and Cox Communications.

Approximately 88,600 K-12 students from 280 public, private and home schools in 55 of 64 parishes cast a vote in the mock election.

President Obama was “re-elected” by a margin of 51.29 percent (Obama) to 48.71 (Romney).

Special guest, LSU Baseball Coach Paul Mainieri, motivated participants and encouraged them to stay civically engaged during the celebration at the Old State Capitol on Thursday. Festivities included life-size photo cut-outs of the candidates, speeches from Young Republican and Young Democrat organizations, lunch on the Old State Capitol grounds and entertainment from the Istrouma High School band.

“We are so proud of our students and educators from across Louisiana for making this Mock Election a huge success,” said Secretary of State Tom Schedler. “This event is a great way to inspire our state’s youth to become active, life-long voters.”

“Partnering with Secretary Schedler has allowed us to give students a hands-on and educational experience with the voting process. The enthusiasm is contagious,” says Cox Senior Vice President & General Manager, Jacqui Vines. “It is always great to play a role in helping our youth gain a greater understanding of their civic duties which in turn makes our communities stronger.”

The mock election is a process allowing students to vote for one of two presidential candidates without having their vote count in the “official election.”

Voting was conducted through the Internet, with school computers acting as voting booths.