Voting for Kids – Classroom Mock Election this Year!

Use this teaching resource in the classroom to learn about the electoral process and help your students prepare for Election Day in November.

Why is voting important for kids? Politics can be a tough topic, especially during an election year, but the right to vote is the foundation of democracy, and it is a critical concept to discuss with your students. Kids need to know that they will one day be able to have a voice in the government by choosing local and national leaders.

This set of templates has been designed to help you hold a mock election within your classroom. The download contains a set of five separate resources, as outlined below.

Mock Election Candidate Poster

• Ask volunteers from the class to be candidates for the election. (Ensure there is a maximum of 6 and a minimum of 2 candidates).
• Take photos of the students and attach each photo to the candidate poster template. (Print off multiple copies if necessary).
• Decide on a date for the election and record it on the poster.
• Display the poster(s) in the classroom so that students can see who their candidates are.

Class Election Interview Questions

• Print off a set of interview questions for each candidate.
• In front of the class, ask each candidate a set of questions and record their answers on the template.
• Display the posters in the classroom so that students can see each candidate’s response to the questions.

Class Election Campaign Poster

• Divide the class evenly into groups so that each candidate is represented by a group.
• In their group, ask the students to create a campaign slogan for their candidate.
• Provide each group with a copy of the campaign poster.
• Ask the students to record the name of their candidate, draw a picture to support the candidate’s campaign, and record the campaign slogan.
• Display the posters in the classroom so that students can see each candidate’s campaign slogan.

Class Election Campaign Flyer

• Divide the class evenly into groups so that each candidate is represented by a group.
• Provide each group with a copy of the campaign flyer.
• In their group, ask the students to create a campaign flyer for their candidate, explaining who the candidate is and the policies they want to introduce if they were elected.
• Display the posters in the classroom so that students can read about each candidate and their policies.

Class Election Ballot Paper

• On the day of your class election activity provide each student in the class with a ballot sheet.
• Ask the students to record the names of the class candidates in an agreed order from 1 to 6. (Change the number according to your class).
• Students then number the boxes from 1 to 6 in the order of their choice of candidate.
• Collect and count the ballot sheets to determine who ‘won’ the class election.

Multiple File Options for Your Convenience

This resource can be downloaded in four separate file options. These are:

• Full-color PDF
• Black-and-white PDF
• Full-color editable Google Slides
• Black-and-white editable Google Slides

Use the dropdown arrow next to the Download button to select your preferred file format.