AUGUSTA — More than 72,000 parents and students from 270 schools will take part in a Student-Parent Mock Election to be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3, at Bangor Auditorium, said Secretary of State William Diamond on Tuesday.

Several candidates will be present, and Gov. John R. McKernan will speak at 6 p.m.

Maine schools will report voting results of hundreds of students from as far away as Fort Kent.

The mock election is an educational exercise for grades three through 12, although it is not restricted to children in those grades. Students and parents may vote as part of the project, but the mock election results are not intended to predict or to be associated with the actual election slated for Nov. 8.

Ross Perot won the mock election in 1992 with 44 percent of the vote. Bill Clinton won 36 percent and George Bush finished last with 19 percent. In the actual election, Perot received 30.44 percent of the vote; Clinton 38.77 percent and Bush 30.34 percent.

The Maine version of the National Student-Parent Mock Election is organized by Secretary of State Diamond and others involved in its presentation include the Maine Parent Teachers Association and the League of Women Voters of Maine.

Sponsors are the Bangor Daily News and television stations WLBZ and WCSH.

Diamond said he was pleased with the level of participation during a nonpresidential election year, which shows how much Maine teachers and students like the program.