Joseph R. Biden Named Winner of Nickelodeon’s Kids Pick the President “Kids’ Vote”

Nickelodeon’s “Kids’ Vote” Results Safeguarded Despite Bot-Driven Cheating Attempts

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HOLLYWOOD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The votes are in and kids have chosen Joseph R. Biden as the winner of Nickelodeon’s 2020 Kids Pick the President “Kids’ Vote.” Biden received 53% of the vote, followed by President Donald J. Trump with 47%. Almost 90,000 individuals cast their virtual ballot in Nick’s “Kids’ Vote” poll from Oct. 20 to Oct. 26. Kids Pick the President is an informal, non-scientific poll, with guidelines that allow for one vote to be counted per household device so that multiple children and individuals per residence may exercise their vote.

Nickelodeon statement on “Kids’ Vote” results: “Though kids are not of an age to vote, Kids Pick the President is a platform where their voices do count, and they deserve to be heard. And just as kids value honesty and fairness, so do we at Nickelodeon. Therefore, out of respect for kids everywhere and in the spirit of civic responsibility, we present the name of the winner based on votes cast fairly and within our stated guidelines of one vote counted per household device.”

Nickelodeon detected cheating on Wednesday, Oct. 21, when threads on online forums began discussing corrupting the Kids Pick the President site with fraudulent votes. Subsequently, more than 130,000 bot-generated votes were detected. Nickelodeon utilized a voter certification tool to identify these votes and to remove them, ensuring that only individually placed votes counted toward the total.

Nick’s Kids Pick the President “Kids’ Vote” initiative has been held for the last nine presidential election cycles and is designed to amplify kids’ voices and opinions and raise their awareness of the electoral process. Since the net’s inaugural “Kids’ Vote” in 1988, kids have correctly chosen the next U.S. president six out of the last eight elections.

The “Kids’ Vote” results were revealed in tonight’s Nick News: Kids Pick the President special, hosted by Keke Palmer. The special provided a thorough overview of the basics of voting; gave kids a platform to voice their concerns on the issues they care about most in the 2020 presidential election, such as COVID-19, racial equality and the environment; and featured child, adolescent and family psychologist Dr. Jen Harstein and youth activists, including: Zoë Jenkins, founder of a DEI initiative in her Lexington, Ky., high school; Mari Copeny (‘Little Miss Flint’), who continues to raise awareness about the ongoing water crisis in her hometown of Flint, Mich., and has expanded her efforts to communities across the nation dealing with toxic water; and Jerome Foster II, Founder and Executive Director of OneMillionOfUs, an international youth organization that mobilizes young voters to engage in the political process and to vote.

Nick News: Kids Pick the President also featured: a special performance by Young Dylan; appearances by Asher Angel, Tyra Banks, Joshua Bassett, Brie and Nikki Bella, Nicole Byer, Miranda Cosgrove, Stephen Curry, Skai Jackson, DJ Khaled, Liza Koshy, Peyton List, Jace Norman, Kel Mitchell, Usher, and Maddie Ziegler; plus cast members from Nick shows, including Side Hustle (Annie LeBlanc, Jayden Bartels), Danger Force (Terrence Little Gardenhigh, Dana Heath, Luca Luhan), Unfiltered (Gabrielle Nevaeh Green, Lex Lumpkin, Darci Lynne) and The Astronauts (Miya Cech).

Nick News: Kids Pick the President will encore each day leading into the election at the following times (ET/PT): Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 5 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 31, at 7 a.m., Sunday, Nov. 1, at 9 p.m., and Tuesday, Nov. 3 (election day), at 7 a.m. on Nickelodeon; Monday, Nov. 2, at 12 p.m. on TeenNick; and Thursday, Oct. 29, at 9 p.m. and Friday, Oct. 30, at 2 p.m. on Nicktoons. The telecast will also be available via Nickelodeon on Demand, the Nick App and Nickelodeon’s YouTube Channel beginning Wednesday, Oct. 28.

Nick News: Kids Pick the President is executive produced by Vice President of News Programming Magalie Laguerre-Wilkinson. Paul J. Medford, Vice President, Unscripted, Current Series, and Luke Wahl, Vice President, Digital Studios also serve as executive producers. Production of the special for Nickelodeon is overseen by Ashley Kaplan, Senior Vice President, Digital Studios.

Nickelodeon, now in its 41^st year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The brand includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, digital, location based experiences, publishing and feature films. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of ViacomCBS Inc. (Nasdaq: VIACA, VIAC).