Two N. Fulton high schools cast votes in a nationwide mock election

Mock election voting started at both high schools Monday, and those teens will join more than 50,000 other VOTES students nationwide to decide whether Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton should become the 45th president.

The presidential race isn't the only item up for debate. Students also get to sound off on an issues poll, which gauges how they view often controversial topics such as immigration reform, universal background checks for gun purchases, taxation on high-wage earners and ongoing U.S. involvement in the Middle East.

Obviously, many of these students cannot vote — but they will by 2020. That is why their participation in the election process right now is vital, said Jim Shea, a history teacher at Northfield Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts and a co-founder of the VOTES project.

“What better way is there to teach (students) to be thoughtful, engaged, and informed citizens in the future?” he said.

Shea launched the VOTES project in 1988 as a way to take a subject like politics and put a fun spin on it. The project's first test run came that fall, right on the cusp of the presidential race between George H. W. Bush and Michael Dukakis.

Since then, participating VOTES schools have elected the correct candidate in six of the past seven elections -- the 2004 election is the one exception.

“The hands-on mock election experience allows teens to be active participants in learning about the political process rather than merely passive observers," Shea said.

Voting continues for both Chattahoochee and Alpharetta high schools until Nov. 1. From there, state-by-state results will livestream from Northfield Mount Hermon School on Nov. 6, two days before Election Day.