Tanque Verde High School senior Jordin Harrison, a supporter of Sen. Barack Obama, participates in Kids Voting Arizona while a classmate views a Web site for Gov. Mitt Romney on Tuesday. Students from the school and Emily Gray Junior High School took part in the project, registering to vote as Democrats or Republicans and casting ballots.

A. E. Araiza / arizona daily star

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Thousands of Tucson-area students joined their adult counterparts in voting for their preferred presidential nominees during Tuesday's primary elections.

Students from 53 Tucson schools participated in Kids Voting Arizona, a non-profit, non-partisan voter education program designed to fight voter apathy and encourage lifelong voting habits.

The students were among 261,000 statewide who were registered to vote in the student election.

Even though their votes won't influence this year's elections, the program is intended to teach students valuable, long-term lessons about the political process.

"First of all, it teaches kids that they have a voice in the community," said Lara Slifko, resource development director for Kids Voting Arizona. "Also, it encourages parents to go out and vote. They don't want to disappoint their kids."

The program also exists in 25 other states and Washington, D.C..

The student elections bring textbook and classroom lessons into a real-life context, said Tanque Verde High School teacher Sharon Akridge.

"They're learning the political process so that they become better citizens when they become adults and hopefully understand the importance of voting," said Akridge, who teaches history and government classes.

Akridge coordinated with Kids Voting Arizona and the Arizona Foundation for Legal Services and Education to bring the program to the high school and Emily Gray Junior High School, which shares a campus with Tanque Verde.

The students either voted online in the campus library or they used paper ballots, which Akridge faxed to the program's Phoenix headquarters.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the local schools were almost split evenly down party lines, with Democratic candidates holding a slight edge.

There were 163 votes for Democrats, compared to 154 votes for Republicans.

Barack Obama received the most votes among Democratic candidates with 116, while Sen. John McCain led the Republicans with 95 votes.

Obama led all presidential candidates statewide in the student polls with 30,734 votes; Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton was second with 18,538 votes.

McCain came in third statewide with more than 14,000 votes.

Some students did careful research before selecting a candidate.

Senior Megan Pomeroy, 18, viewed Mitt Romney's Web site before she decided to vote for the Republican candidate.

"I looked at where he stands on issues and looked at the YouTube debates," Pomeroy said. "I wanted to make sure that I'm comfortable voting for him."

Pomeroy was impressed with Romney's stance on health care, which favors "privatization instead of relying on the government and cutting down on government spending," she said.

She was also concerned about the war in Iraq, the economy and education.

"I want to make sure that schools get proper funding and education improves for children," she said.

Matt Tancredo, 16, and Scott Harlow, 17, both voted for Republican candidate Fred Thompson, even though Thompson had withdrawn from the presidential race.

The two students went to a Republicans meeting a few weeks ago, however, and were impressed by the Thompson representative who spoke at the meeting.

"He talked a lot more about issues, while the other representatives talked about who they were representing," said Harlow, a senior.

Harlow was most concerned about the war and border security, he said.

"I think we should stay until we get done what we need to get done," Harlow said, referring to the war in Iraq.

Tancredo, a junior, was impressed by Thompson's stance on tax cuts.

"The big corporations don't pay taxes because, if taxes go up for them, they just increase the prices for their goods," Tancredo said. "He's for cutting taxes for the middle class and everybody."