ELECTION DAY ACTIVITIES
| Introducing the Elections | Who Can Vote? | Financing the Campaign | Office of the President | The Electoral College | Miscellaneous Activities |
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INTRODUCING
THE ELECTIONS IN THE CLASSROOM DISCUSS:
What do you remember about the last Presidential election? Election Day occurs every 4 years: the first
Tuesday after the first Monday of November. The race starts long before this day…. at least
a year in advance. 1.
Leading members of political parties “toss their hats into the
ring”. (They announce their plans to run for President.) 2.
Between February and June, Democratic and Republican organizations
in each state decide which candidate they’ll support. This decision is
made through primaries. 3.
In the summer, each state sends delegates to the national
convention of their party. The state delegates vote to nominate the
national party’s candidate. 4.
Each nominee tries to convince the voters that they are the best
candidate for the job. They give speeches, spend millions of dollars,
advertise, etc. 5.
On Election Day, Americans go to the polls to cast their vote. 6.
The media announces the winner usually before all the votes have
been counted. 7.
In December, the Electoral College votes and in January the
Electoral College vote is counted by Congress. It is only at this point
that the election is official. 8. Inauguration Day is January 20th: The new President is sworn in and takes the Office of President of the United States. (Note: Inauguration Day used to be on March 4 because Presidents could not travel quickly to Washington, D.C. It was changed to January 20th in 1933.) |
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In the early days of our nation, four
out of five people were not allowed to vote. Writers of the Constitution allowed
the states to determine who could vote. Most states allowed only white males
over 21 who own property to vote. Women, blacks, Indians and white males who
did not own property were not allowed to vote. Throughout the years, changes
(amendments) were made to the Constitution: 1868: (14th
Amendment) Any eligible 21 year old white male had the right to vote even if
he did not own property. 1870: (15th Amendment)
Any man of any minority or race over the age of 21 could vote. 1920: (19th
Amendment)
Women over 21 were allowed to vote. 1961: (23rd Amendment)
Citizens of the District of Columbia were allowed to vote. (DC is not a
state; early leaders established this federal district. There had been much
disagreement about which state would be the site for the nation’s
capital.) 1964: (24th
Amendment)
States could not require citizens to pay a poll tax to vote. (This had been
aimed at the poor and the minorities, to keep them from voting.) 1971: (26th Amendment) Lowered the voting age to 18. |
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Before
1860, it was considered undignified for Presidential Candidates to travel
around the country campaigning for themselves. They stayed at home while
supporters held rallies and parades to build support for their candidate. 1860: Stephen Douglas broke this
tradition (running against Lincoln). He was the first Presidential Candidate
to make a nation-wide trip. 1869: Transcontinental Railroad is completed. Now candidates
could travel much more easily. Other inventions changed the way
candidates campaigned: 1924: First time candidates used the
radio to make speeches. 1952: Airplanes and TV now took major role in the campaign. TODAY: Candidates usually spend every
day between Labor Day and Election Day campaigning. They crisscross the
country trying to convince voters that they are more trustworthy. They want to
persuade voters that their solutions to the nation’s problems are better
than their opponent’s. Candidates usually have different
ideas about how important issues should be handled, whether they be domestic
issues (such as unemployment, medical aid, taxes, etc.) or foreign policy
issues (nuclear weapons, treaties with other countries, and the role of the
military.) Today candidates hire political
advisors to plan a winning strategy, professional speechwriters to carefully
prepare the words that explain the candidate’s stand on certain issues and
write campaign slogans that will catch the public’s attention. They hire
political media experts who determine how to reach the greatest number of
voters through radio, TV and newspapers. Volunteers are the backbone of every campaign. They organize rallies, parades, fund raising events, etc. |
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In 1860 Lincoln
spent about $700 to finance his campaign. Today well over $300 million is
spent. Presidential
campaigns involve as many as 500 paid staff: managers, speechwriters, media
experts, fashion experts, secretaries, doctors, etc. in addition to the cost
of transportation, hotel, media advertising, attorneys and accountants. Presidential
campaigns involve as many as 500 paid staff: managers, speechwriters, media
experts, fashion experts, secretaries, doctors, etc. in addition to the cost
of transportation, hotel, media advertising, attorneys and accountants. ADVERTISING TV
commercials during a popular TV show could reach up 75 million people or
more. It sometimes costs as much as, or more than $250,000 for a 30 second
spot. Newspaper and magazine articles
usually give a more thorough coverage of the candidate’s views. Opinions
about the candidates are found on the Editorial Page of a newspaper. Candidates also produce websites, handbills, letters, posters, buttons, bumper stickers and billboards. |
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The
Constitutional Convention faced an important task: to write a constitution,
a document that would set forth the laws of the new nation. They didn’t
want a government that had one person that was too powerful, like in England
with the king. Their solution at last was to set up 3
separate branches of government: LEGISLATIVE:
Congress: Senate and House of Representatives---power to make laws. JUDICIAL:
power to explain the laws through a system of courts and judges. (Supreme
Court, highest court of the country) EXECUTIVE:
power to execute, carry out the laws that Congress makes. The head of the
Executive Branch is the President. The Constitution gives the President 3
types of responsibilities:
Also has the duty to appoint Cabinet members, ambassadors and federal judges (with the consent of Congress). THE
PRESIDENT’S CABINET
The Constitution lists only 3
qualifications a person needs in order to be President:
When the Constitution was first
written it stated that the President would serve 4-year terms. At that time
no limit was placed on the number of times a President could be elected. In
1951 an amendment was added to the Constitution that limited the President
to two terms. Each
new President takes office by repeating the oath that was written in the
Constitution over 200 years ago: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." |
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Voters
in the U.S. don’t actually vote for the President; they are voting for a
group of Electors. These electors have pledged to support a party’s
nominee for President. The members of the Constitutional
Convention in 1787 decided on this system of indirect election of the
President. They had long debates about how to make sure that the best
candidate would be chosen to be President. They finally agreed that electors
chosen by each state would elect the President. This way, ordinary citizens
in each state would have a say, but the final decision would be made by
people who were better informed about the candidate and the issues. This system of Presidential electors,
called the Electoral College, is still in effect today. The political
candidate that receives the most popular vote wins all that state’s
electoral votes. THE
ELECTORAL MAP To
win the Presidency, a nominee needs a majority of the electoral votes. TV
commentators on Election Night add up the number of electoral votes that
each state win represents. The Electoral College members cast
their state’s votes on the first Monday, after the 2nd
Wednesday in December. The President is officially elected when Congress
counts the Electoral Votes in January. A candidate needs a total of at least
270 electoral votes to win the election. Each state has as many electoral votes
as it has representatives in Congress. (A state will have no less than 3
electoral votes.) Each state has at least 2 senators and at least 1
representative in the House of Representatives. The number of
representatives depends on the size of the state’s population. Drawbacks to this system:
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*Interview a
senior citizen concerning which President that person admired the most and
why. Which presidential election has been the most exciting to them and why.
Record or videotape this senior citizen as he or she is relating this
experience about the presidential election.  This
can be done via an email activity with keypals. http://www.suelebeau.com/keypals.htm*In your opinion, should there be any restrictions on the right to vote? Explain. *Write an
Editorial, which reflects your opinion on the issue above. *Why do you
think the voting age was lowered to 18? What important event was happening at
the time the voting age was lowered? *Students
could illustrate or make posters about the amendments that deal with the
election of a President. *Begin a registration campaign in your school (at least a month prior to the actual election). Display signs in your school or in the business areas of your community urging adults to register to vote. Send for and distribute “Voter Registration Applications”. They may be obtained from the Commissioner of Registration. *Today
candidates rely on TV. This is a very costly way to campaign, but it reaches
more voters. Would we be better off saving money by going back to the
“old” way of campaigning? Explain. *Describe
what you think might be a typical day of campaigning today. *What are
some of the things a candidate might worry about? *Invent a
catchy slogan using your name and pretend you are running for president. *Develop
a list of questions that would be part of a survey that students would develop
to ask adults what they think are the most important issues of this campaign.
Conduct the survey over a specified period of time and graph the results. *In your
opinion, are candidates helped or hurt by the law limiting how much they can
spend on the campaign? Explain. *Think of a
favorite singer, actor, or athlete; would that person’s endorsement make you
want to support a candidate? Explain why or why not. *Collect ads
or newspaper photos of the candidates. Where are they photographed? Who are
they with? What were they wearing? What kind of impression were you given? How
does the ad or photo try to persuade you? Does it use endorsements? *Collect
newspaper articles and editorials abut the campaign. Display them on a
bulletin board or a “kiosk” in the classroom. Periodically, discuss the
issues of the candidates. *After
studying ad techniques have students create their own commercial in support of
a candidate. *Using
newspaper articles map out the trail on a US map of where candidates have been
from day to day. Document candidates, issues and
events: Have students create a timeline documenting the most important events leading up to the elections; or create a ‘candidate collage’ of headlines, photos, political cartoons, quotes, and campaign promises from newspapers, magazines and campaign materials. Have students include party symbols, political jargon, names of special-interest groups, and national and domestic issues
Track candidate travels: Encourage
students to track a candidate’s travels on a U.S. Map, using newspaper
articles. What states do candidates visit most often and why? Is there a
correlation between the number of visits to one state and the number of
electoral votes for that state? When do candidates plan their visits and why? Examine the issues: Using
articles about candidates and the election, underline all references to
campaign issues and investigate each candidate’s stand on the issues.
Explore such questions as: Are there
major differences of opinion or just differences in approach? Does the candidate criticize the opponent rather than address the issues? On what
issues do candidates take a strong position and why? Do
candidates hedge on certain issues because of special interest groups? Do their positions change when addressing different regions of the country? How
does one candidate’s beliefs about a given issue differ from another
candidate’s? Do
candidates offer specific solutions to a problem or speak in generalities? How do these
issues directly affect you, your family or your community? With whom
are you/or your family aligned? How do
reports about the same candidate or issue differ from newspaper to newspaper?
Using posterboard, develop a
classroom chart of such topics as candidates’ positions on issues,
individual student’s positions and the appeal of the candidates to special
interest groups. Debate the Issues: Host
a classroom debate on the pros and cons of an issue or candidate based on
newspaper coverage. Divide the classroom into sympathizers and
non-sympathizers. As the debate continues, students should move freely to
whichever side influences them most. Which issues and tactics were most
compelling? Least? What would convince the staunch opponents or supporters to
switch sides? Monitor Pre-election Press Coverage: Tally
the amount of coverage each candidate gets preceding the election, including
positive and negative articles, cartoons, advertisements, letters to the
editor and photographs. Which candidate received the most coverage (both
positive and negative)? The least? How did it affect public opinion? The
opinions of your family members? Which candidates did the newspaper endorse? Compare
newspaper articles with TV news and ads about the same candidate. Are the
images portrayed in each medium complementary or contradictory? Compare
coverage of the same candidate in different newspapers. Are the news reports
the same? Encourage
students to write letters to the editor or draw political cartoons about their
analysis of candidate press coverage.
Collect and Analyze Editorials Clip and
post newspaper editorials on a bulletin board. What is the difference between
an editorial and a newsarticle?
Analyze the
contents by highlighting the editor’s position, circling issues, underlining
the facts, placing X’s around negative comments, boxing opinions, and
starring solutions. Encourage
students to respond to editorials with their own letters to the editor.
Collect and Analyze Polls Collect and analyze polls and
surveys from various newspapers over several weeks and discuss their value and
purpose. Who was sampled? Were the questions leading or objective? What is the
relevance of polls to the outcome of the real election? How do polls differ or
reinforce each other? Have
students design a poll and question their schoolmates and family members. What
is the difference between an objective question and one that influences the
poll? What is scientific sampling? The public
often interprets polls as indicators of which candidate will win an election.
Is there any way an election winner can always be predicted? What is the
difference between a preliminary poll and an exit poll? Compare past polls and
actual election results. Which newspaper carried a headline declaring Thomas
Dewey the winner of the Presidency in 1948? Why? Who actually won? Suggest that
students compile their findings and write a newsarticle about polls and how
they are used.
*Why do you
think the Constitution requires a person to have reached the age of 35 before
becoming President? Do you think age is important? *Why do you
think the Constitution now limits the number of terms a President can serve?
(Older, more advanced students may be able to research under what circumstance
this amendment came about.) *Make a
mobile of the 3 branches of government. *Writing
Activity: You could not be a candidate now, but let’s suppose that 30 years
have gone by and your are running for president. Write about why you have
decided to run and explain what you would do for our country if you were to
become president. *Memorize
the Presidential Oath (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0878064.html)
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