Date post: | 18-Jan-2018 |
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The Voting Process
What is voting?
• The process of making a decision between two or more candidates
• A candidate is a person who is running for a position of power, such as president, senator, representative or sheriff
Constitutional Right
• Our right to vote is guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution • The U.S. Constitution is a set of laws and rules that
describe what kind of government we have • The U.S. Government must follow the rules set forth by
the U.S. Constitution as it is not above the law
Constitution
• The U.S. Constitution not only explains the rules that our government must follow, but it also defines what kind of government the U.S. will have
• The formal title of our governing system is a “republic”
The branches of our Government
• Our Constitution states that the government shall be divided into three branches (groups)
• The three branches are Judicial (Supreme Court), Legislative (Congress) and Executive (President)
How?
• Both the Executive (President) and Legislative (Congress) branches are voted into their offices by the American people
Our Representatives
• The President and Congress are considered representatives of the American People and are expected to run the U.S. according to what the people want
• If a person wants to become a member of Congress or President, they must run in an election
• The process of running for election is called campaigning
Campaigning!
• When a person decides that he/she wants to run for a position he/she will need to start a campaign
• The purpose of a campaign is to get the person’s name out in the public (the person running is also called an candidate)
• This is also the opportunity for the candidate to meet the people he/she wants to represent and explain what he/she will do in his/her position should he/she win
• Often, the candidate will also be running against another person, or even several other people
Election Day
• After campaigning is completed, there will be a day where everyone will vote for who they want to be elected into the office
• This is called Election Day and the process of voting is called an election
• People will vote using a ballot (this means their vote is secret, nobody will know who or what they voted for)
Winning… and losing
• After the election, the voting cards will be counted to see who got the most votes
• The winner of the election will be given the position that they were running for
• The loser wins nothing and does not get a position
How Do YOU Vote?
• To be able to vote, you must meet the qualifications which are:1. Must be a U.S. Citizen2. Must be 18 or older
WHY Vote?
• As an individual it can be hard to get your ideas heard, especially when there is so many people
• Instead of having each person voice their opinion, a Representative is assigned to a specific area- this is the person YOU vote for
• Their job is to make sure your concerns and ideas are being brought to discussion in the government
• A good representative will make sure his/her people’s needs are being met.
Different Ideas
• Sometimes people will have different ideas on how things should be done or run on the government level
• This is where voting becomes important. You will need to make sure you vote for the candidate (person) whose ideas and vision fits yours
• This is why we often see two or more candidates competing for the same position
VOTE!
In closing, the voting process can be summarized as the below:
1. A Government position is open 2. A person decides to run for the position, becoming a candidate3. He/she starts campaigning for the position, meeting the public,
explaining his/her vision/plan and getting their name out4. The public cast their ballot (secret vote) on Election day5. The results are announced and the winner is elected to the
government position