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