And Maloy hasn't set up some phony popular-vote election system, either. Each class at the school will be assigned a number of electoral votes based on size. In addition to studying current issues, students have been studying the Founding Fathers and the system they created.

It all makes me wonder how many adult voters out there go through a similar process, not just when voting for president, but for everything on the ballot right down to the school board. If not, aren't they the ones throwing their votes away?

In a recent piece in The Wilson Quarterly, Princeton professor and author Larry Bartels presents a sobering picture of the American electorate. Beginning in the 1950s, social scientists have conducted studies that show people tend to believe their favorite candidate sees things pretty much as they do, even though that isn't necessarily true. They tend to be more influenced by political ads and partisan biases than by facts or rational debate. And they often let current realities, such as an economic downturn, affect them more than the long-term performances of an incumbent or a party.

Bartels has researched voter perceptions, compared them to facts and determined that several recent elections would have turned out differently if voters had been informed.

Maloy seems to be wagering his students won't make those mistakes. As often has been the case since the early '60s, I'm right behind him.

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Jay Evensen is editor of the Deseret News editorial page. E-mail: even@desnews.com