what is an election? mr. brumfield lawnton elementary school central dauphin school district

What is an Election?

Mr. Brumfield

Lawnton Elementary School

Central Dauphin School District

What Do We Already Know About Elections?

The Presidential Election

• This November the United States will hold an election to choose the new President of the United States.

• Our school will hold a mock election to see who we would elect President as well.

• Before we are ready for a mock election, we need to understand a few things about elections.

Here are some essential questions that we need to answer before our mock election:

– What are the main roles of our government?– Why do we have elections?– Who is eligible to vote?– Who can run for President?– What are the two main American political

parties?– Who is running for President in the upcoming

election?– How do I know which candidate to vote for?– How does an election work?

What Do We Need to Know?

What Are The Roles of Government?

The government’s job is to organize and run our cities, states, and our country.

The government has to protect the citizens.

The government makes and enforces the laws.

The government also needs to solve disagreements or arguments between citizens, states, and groups.


The government follows the rules of the Constitution, which gives the citizens their rights and the government its power.

The government is separated into different branches or groups.

Do you know how many branches there are in government?

There are three branches of government.


Executive

LegislativeJudicial

Enforces Laws

Makes Laws

Judges Laws


United Streaming Enrichment: The Three Branches of Government

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In which branch of government is the President?

What are his jobs and responsibilities?

What Are The Roles of Government?In which branch of government is the

President?What are his jobs and responsibilities?





Review What You Learned:How many branches of government are there?What branch of government is the Presidency?What are three duties of the President?

Why do We Have Elections?

Think-Pair-Share with your neighbor:

• Why might we have elections in America?

Why do We Have Elections?

• When the United States was founded, or started, the rules to govern our country were written in the Constitution.

• The 55 founding fathers of our country decided that our country would be a representative democracy.

• Instead of having a king or queen, the citizens of our country would hold the power through voting.

United Streaming Enrichmenthttp://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=919E04BF-414

1-45BB-92E4-A7294B049F96&blnFromSearch=1

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http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=919E04BF-4141-45BB-92E4-A7294B049F96&blnFromSearch=1

Why Do We Have Elections?

• Now you explain to me, why do we hold elections?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Who is Eligible to Vote?• Let’s brainstorm ideas to this question.

Who can vote in the United States?

Who can vote in an election?

Who is Eligible to Vote?• http://www.co.dane.wi.us/COCLERK/whovote.ht

m

http://www.co.dane.wi.us/COCLERK/whovote.htm

http://www.co.dane.wi.us/COCLERK/whovote.htm

Who Can Run for President?

Can anybody run for the job of our nation’s leader?


The US Constitution places these qualifications on a candidate for President:

1. Must be at least 35 years of age.

2. Must be a natural born US Citizen.

Who Can Run For President• It might not be as easy as it sounds to run for

the Presidency.

• Let’s visit a website and read the opinions of one newspaper journalist.

http://www.dailyping.com/archive/2000/09/08/

An Important Thing to Keep in Mind:

What is the difference between a fact and an opinion?

http://www.dailyping.com/archive/2000/09/08/


Let’s summarize what we have learned:

1.

2.

What are the two constitutional requirements to be President?

1.

2.

What are two important challenges that candidates face while running for President?

Who is Running for President

in the Upcoming Election?

• We have already learned that because of the difficulty in raising the money and votes needed for a successful campaign, there are usually only two main Presidential candidates.

• These candidates represent the two oldest and

largest political groups or parties in the United States.

Let’s see how much you might know about the two political parties and Presidential candidates.

• What are the names of the two main parties?

• Who is the Presidential candidate from each group?

Who is Running for President in the Upcoming Election?

• Now that you know the names of the two main groups and their candidates, let’s see how many of you know your parents’ political party:

• We will poll the class and create a tally chart of your responses:

Republican Party:

Democratic Party:


• You might see the political parties represented by symbols.

• The Democratic Party is symbolized by the donkey.

• The Republican Party is symbolized by the elephant.

• A person wanting to run for President must first win a primary election, where they are chosen to run as the candidate of their political party.

• If the candidate wins his party’s primary election, he is ready to run for President.

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Senator John McCain

Senator John McCain• Here is a simple biographical sketch of John

McCain taken from Scholastic News.– Born: August 29th, 1936

– Family: The Senator’s wife is named Cindy and he has four sons and three daughters.

– Hobbies: The Senator enjoys hiking and watching sports.

– Current Job: John McCain is an elected Senator from Arizona. He has been a Senator for 11 years. As a Senator, John McCain speaks for the citizens of Arizona. He creates and votes for or against laws for the United States.

– Interesting Note: John McCain was a soldier in the Vietnam War. He was a prisoner of war for 6 years.

Senator John McCain• Let’s watch a personal interview with

Senator John McCain.

– http://www.johnmccain.com/Undecided/whymccain.htm

http://www.johnmccain.com/Undecided/whymccain.htm

http://www.johnmccain.com/Undecided/whymccain.htm

• For a more detailed biography, visit the following link to learn more about the republican candidate:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCain


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCain

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCain

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/71/FaithOfMyFathers.jpg


Senator Barack Obama

Senator Barack Obama• Here is a simple biographical sketch of Barack

Obama taken from Scholastic News.– Born: August 4th, 1961

– Family: The Senator’s wife is named Michelle and he has two daughters.

– Hobbies: The Senator enjoys reading with his children and playing basketball.

– Current Job: Barack Obama is an elected Senator from Illinois. He has been a Senator for 3 years. As a Senator, Barack Obama speaks for the citizens of Illinois. He creates and votes for or against laws for the United States.

– Interesting Note: Barack Obama wrote two memoirs of his life.

Senator Barack Obama

• Let’s learn more about Senator Obama.

– http://www.barackobama.com/learn/meet_barack.php

http://www.barackobama.com/learn/meet_barack.php

http://www.barackobama.com/learn/meet_barack.php

• For a more detailed biography, visit the following link to learn more about the democractic candidate:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_obama


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_obama

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_obama

Comparing CandidatesBased on Biographical

InformationSenator McCain Senator ObamaBoth

How Do I Know Who To Vote For?

• As good citizens and informed voters, we need to choose a candidate based on more information than just their biography and background.

What are some qualities we need in a President?

How Do I Know Who To Vote For?

Here are some things we should learn about each candidate before we vote:

– Does the candidate have good character?– Does the candidate have enough

experience to prove he or she will do a good job?

– Are the issues or problems that are important to you, important to the candidate too?

– What does the candidate plan to do if elected?

Who Should I Vote For?

Let’s learn more about the Republican Candidate by visiting some websites. As well look online, find how the candidate plans to address:

• Education (schools and students in the United States)

• The Economy (jobs and money in the US)

• Foreign Policy (our relationship with other countries)

• Taxes (the money each citizen owes to the government)

Senator John McCainwww.ask.com

http://www.ask.com/

Learning About Our CandidatesRepublican Senator John

McCainViews and Plans for Education Views and Plans for the Economy

Views and Plans for TaxesViews and Plans for Foreign Policy

Who Should I Vote For?Let’s learn more about the Democratic Candidate by visiting some websites. As well look online, find how the candidate plans to address:

• Education (schools and students in the United States)

• The Economy (jobs and money in the US)• Foreign Policy (our relationship with other

countries)• Taxes (the money each citizen owes to the

government)

Senator Barack Obamawww.ask.com

http://www.ask.com/

Learning About Our CandidatesDemocratic Senator Barack

ObamaViews and Plans for Education Views and Plans for the Economy

Views and Plans for TaxesViews and Plans for Foreign Policy

• Describe how a citizen can become a well informed voter?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How Do I Know Which Candidate to Vote for?

How Does an Election Work?

• Tell me what you know about the election process.

How does an election work?


• First a candidate wins the primary election to run as a Republican or a Democrat.

• On the first Tuesday in November, citizens cast their ballots (votes) for the candidate they support.

These votes are called the popular votes.

What does the word popular mean to you?Classroom Definition:

• http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=3BF17B4A-9D44-442B-A0A3-606C7BC0E396&blnFromSearch=1





• After the popular votes are counted, the votes are sent to the Electoral College.

• The Electoral College is a group of people from each state whom the citizens have chosen to speak for them.

• The Electoral College casts the electoral vote.

• Whatever candidate wins the Electoral vote becomes the next President.

The idea of two sets of votes to find the President is confusing, but the Electoral College was described in the Constitution and the Constitution sets the rules for our government.

• http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=3BF17B4A-9D44-442B-A0A3-606C7BC0E396&blnFromSearch=1





Here are some questions to think about:

1. How many times does a Presidential candidate go through an election in a voting year?


Was your response similar to this answer?

A candidate goes through 3 elections.

• Primary Election for the Political Party• Popular Election from the Citizens• Electoral Election from the Electoral College



2. Is it possible for a Presidential candidate to win the popular vote by citizens, but lose the electoral vote from the electoral college?



2. It is possible to win the popular vote but to lose the Presidency.The electoral vote decides the President.



3. If the electoral vote decides on the next President, why is the popular vote still important?



3. The people in the Electoral College are chosen by citizens. The Electors almost always vote the same way as the citizens they represent.



4. If a candidate wins the Electoral College vote on January 6th, when do they become the new President?



4. The winning candidate becomes the new President on January 20th.

The ceremony is called an inauguration.

Time for the Mock Election

• Now that we understand the need for an election and how the Presidential election works, we will be conducting a mock election for our school.

• Each student and teacher can vote for the candidate of their choice.

• We will count the popular votes and compare these to the actual popular vote on November 2nd.


• There are some rules and guidelines we need to consider before beginning:

–First, how can we make sure the voters are all well informed about the candidates?

Brainstormed Ideas:



–Second, how can we run the election so that everyone can vote in privacy?Brainstormed Ideas:



–Third, how we will announce the mock election winner to the voters?Brainstormed Ideas:



–Last, how might our results compare with the results of the popular vote & electoral vote?

Brainstormed Ideas:

Election Word Splash

Use the following words to write a summary describing how a Presidential Election works:

• Representative Democracy• Political parties• Well Informed Voters• Popular Vote• Electoral College

How well can we answer these essential questions?

– What are the main roles of our government?– Why do we have elections?– Who is eligible to vote?– Who can run for President?– What are the two main American political

parties?– Who is running for President in the upcoming

election?– How do I know which candidate to vote for?– How does an election work?

Did We Learn What We Needed to Know?

what is an election? mr. brumfield lawnton elementary school central dauphin school district

Documents

roles of government

branch of government

united states

main roles

mock election

upcoming election

election work

new president