Kids Pick the President is a series of "campaign" specials produced by the Nickelodeon TV network, organized around a mock election to determine children's choice for the President of the United States.
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The specials began in 1988 as part of a yearly "Kids Vote" election-related coverage, in part as a way to encourage children in Nickelodeon's audience to become engaged in the political process, and partly for comedic value.[1][2]
The 1992 election was sponsored by Target Corporation, and promoted by newspaper advertisements. Children voted in-person at Target's stores, which were used as polling stations.[3]
In the 1996 election, conducted by televote, children picked Bill Clinton over Bob Dole.[4]
In the 2000 poll, 400,000 people participated via an 800 number.[5] Both Al Gore and George W Bush made campaign appearances at the Nickelodeon studios.[6]
In 2004, Nickelodeon promoted the event with interstitials throughout its regular programming, features in Nickelodeon Magazine, online activities, and a book.[7] Both John Kerry and George W. Bush declined to appear, claiming they were too busy.[6] The results were announced by Linda Ellerbee on U-Pick Live.[7]
In 2008, 2.2 million people participated in the event.[1] Both major candidates participated, and filmed television commercials promoting the event. Participants were allowed to vote, without any voter eligibility or verification, on a non-partisan page of Nickelodeon's website that outlined the candidates' positions on various issues. Barack Obama received 51 percent (1,167,087 votes), and John McCain received 49 percent (1,129,945 votes).[1] Linda Ellerbee announced the results live again in 2008.[1]
The "Scholastic Election" has been conducted by Scholastic News every election year since 1940. It claims to have predicted the final election results correctly with two exceptions: Harry S. Truman's win over Thomas E. Dewey in the 1948 election and John F. Kennedy's win over Richard Nixon in the 1960 election.[8][9]
The "Kids Voting" election takes place in school classrooms, as part of a curriculum exercise in the American democratic process, with different programs designed for kindergarten through high school students. It is a nationwide organization made up of local affiliates. Unlike the others, which generate publicity by announcing their results shortly before the general election, the Kids Voting election takes place on the actual election day.