ASU students mock-elect Bernie Sanders, Jeb Bush

The votes are in: Arizona State University students want Democrat Bernie Sanders and Republican Jeb Bush to go head to head in the 2016 presidential election. Or at least hundreds of them do.

More than 500 students voted in a mock presidential-primary election on ASU's Tempe campus Tuesday afternoon, and hundreds more registered to vote in the event marking National Voter Registration Day.

Near the mock election was a tricked-out trailer where passers-by could step into a photo booth and record 15-second videos of themselves asking questions they want presidential hopefuls to answer.

Called the Campaign Camper, the trailer is a collaboration between CNN and Facebook that’s stopping in about a dozen states before Oct. 13, when it will be in Las Vegas for the first Democratic presidential debate sponsored by, you guessed it, CNN.

The videos will be posted on CNN.com and Facebook, and some may be aired at upcoming debates.

“I like the idea of communicating with the candidates, and the candidates being able to get questions directly from the people,” said Sam Cooper, a 20-year-old ASU junior, who noted that the model is similar to that of the U.K. Labor Party’s leader, who has begun "crowdsourcing" his questions for the prime minister rather than coming up with topics on his own.

Students are “feeling the Bern”

Cooper was one of multiple students participating in the event who spoke about their support for Sanders, who won with 63 percent of the votes.

“I think the difference between him and any of the other candidates, not just (in his party) but in general, is he’s open,” Cooper said. “(He) really wants to represent the people.”

Another supporter was Matt Davis, a 22-year-old sophomore who said the biggest issues he’s paying attention to are education and student-loan debt, which he has.

“People don’t know, but it’s a hard burden, especially when ... you’re the one that makes it to college, and you’re carrying your family on your back,” Davis said. “If you fall in debt, then they’re gonna fall in debt, and it’s a cycle. We wanna climb out of the hole of debt and move forward.”

‘What’s their stance on education?’

Junior Gabrielle Colageo, 22, also emphasized education but is unsure about Sanders. She recorded a video asking the candidates what they’re doing to help students.

“I know a lot of things are more like foreign policy and immigration -- those are really big ones," she said. "But I feel like education should really be a major thing that they bring up, as well, since every year, college is becoming more and more expensive, when really they should be finding a way to make it more affordable for students."

How to actually vote for a presidential candidate

The Arizona Secretary of State’s Office hosted the mock election to encourage students to register to vote and to participate in the upcoming presidential-preference, or primary, election in March.

The agency also plans to host mock primaries at the University of Arizona, Northern Arizona University, Maricopa Community Colleges and Eastern Arizona College, though those do not have official dates yet.

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