Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Participating in Elections
Elections are the building blocks of democracy, yet voter turnouts in U.S.
elections remain surprisingly low, especially among young Americans. In
Is Voting for Young People?, political scientist Martin Wattenberg argues,
“Many young people don’t vote simply because they don’t follow politics.”
When students learn how to participate in the electoral process, they are
more likely to become lifelong voters. The tools in this section are designed
to help your students get engaged in the election process now in the hope of
making them lifelong voters.
45
Excerpted from TCI's Doing Democracy Toolkit www.teachtci.com 800-497-6138
On a scale of 1
Does this resource to 5, how useful
Voting information have information on How will this information is this resource
resource elections in my area? help me prepare to vote? to me?
County elections
office
State Division of
Elections
Local party
headquarters
League of Women
Voters (lwv.org)
National Constitution
Center
(constitutioncenter.org)
Local newspaper
Candidate Characteristics
Personal story Age
Education Ability to compromise
Political philosophy Charisma
Gender Speaking ability
Stand on issues Preparation for job
Public record Character
Supporters Political insider/outsider
Physical appearance Party affiliation
Physical stamina Family characteristics
Step 3 Select five characteristics from the list on the preceding page to use in your evaluation.
Write your selections in the first column below.
Step 4 Collect relevant information regarding your chosen characteristics for both candidates.
Record it in the chart below. (If you run out of space, use a separate sheet of paper.)
Step 6 Identify the candidate you think would best represent you in public office. Explain why.
Include campaign memorabilia, such as a picture of you volunteering or a flyer or bumper sticker
from the campaign, in your journal.
November 1, 2008
Well, we find out the results of all our work today. I’m going to
be at the office well after the polls close tonight waiting to
hear whether we won. I don’t mind staying up . . . I wouldn’t be
able to sleep anyway.