At a glance
In this activity, students
- take part in a quick open-voting process to understand why a secret ballot is important;
- take on the roles of political party members or election officers;
- run an election on a community or school issue they care about and vote for a candidate; and
- reflect on what they learned about their role in the simulation and what makes elections fair.
Big Idea: Our democracy depends on each of us taking part in federal elections. There are many ways to do this. Here are a few of them:
- Vote for a candidate
- Join a political party
- Work as an election officer
- Run as a candidate
- Volunteer to help a campaign
Subjects: This activity is designed for a social studies, politics, civics or citizenship class.
Level: Elementary and secondary
Time needed: 60 minutes. For younger students and language learners, we recommend at least 90 minutes.