Voting and Elections
From LiteracyTentWiki
Electing a U.S. President in Plain English
http://www.commoncraft.com/election
- A free online video explaining elections in plain English.
McCain on Education:
http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/issues/19ce50b5-daa8-4795-b92d-92bd0d985bca.htm
Obama on Education:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/imi8?source=sem-lb-google-iss-edu-search-swt&gclid=CILXwvbhmJYCFRdinAod90Yg6A
From ProLiteracy News, August 2008:
Elections and Voting in Your State
http://nonprofitvote.org/
- Nonprofit Vote is an online, state-specific voter participation resource for nonprofits who want to engage clients in voting and democracy. Scroll down to Elections and Voting in Your State.
A Nonprofit's Guide to Hosting a Candidate Forum
http://www.nonprofitvote.org/images/publications/hosting-a-candidate-forum-eng-1-8-08.pdf
- A step-by-step manual to planning, publicizing and hosting a nonpartisan candidate forum. A candidate event is a great way to engage adult learners in a local election, build clout for adult literacy, and learn more about the candidates. Invite the general public to your forum to increase public understanding of adult literacy and the democratic process.
A Nonprofit's Guide to Voter Registration
http://www.nonprofitvote.org/Download-document/14-A-Nonprofits-Guide-to-Voter-Registration.html
- This guide covers voter registration forms, the benefits of registering voters, registering voters in your office, and in the community. And it discusses the importance of being nonpartisan. Includes handy checklist.
The League of Women Voters
http://www.lwv.org
- Well known for providing factual, nonpartisan information on candidates and ballot issues, and for hosting citizen educational forums on public policy issues. When you visit the Web site, click on Projects, then Voter Information to find:
- Election Basics - What is a Primary?
- What is a Caucus?
- State information
- The Electoral College System
- Electing the President: A Guide to the Election Process
- Voter registration
- Polling place locator
- Voter information in Spanish.
Vote411.org
http://www.vote411.org/
- A project of the League of Women Voters, is a "one-stop-shop" for election-related, nonpartisan information on the following aspects of the election process:
- Absentee ballots
- Ballot measure information (where applicable)
- Early voting options (where applicable)
- Election dates
- Factual data on candidates in various federal, state and local races
- General information on such topics as how to watch debates with a critical eye
- ID requirements
- Polling place locations
- Registration deadlines
- Voter qualifications
- Voter registration forms
- Voting machines
Project Vote Smart Classroom
http://www.votesmart.org/
- Includes lessons, suggestions for teachers, Project Vote Smart Vocabulary, Introduction to the U.S. Government.
18 in 08: The Film
http://www.18in08.com/
- From Project Vote Smart, 18in08 is a nonpartisan documentary film and movement targeting 17 to 24-year-olds. Features interviews with influential politicians, figures from popular culture, political activists, media commentators, student leaders, and young people.
Easy Voter Guide [California only]
http://www.easyvoter.org/
- A quick guide to state elections, including elected offices, propositions, political parties and voting issues, and offers education tools about elections and voting in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean and Chinese. It is available for downloading in these five languages, plus Japanese, Tagalog, and Armenian.
The "Democracy in Action" issue of The Change Agent, which you can find online at www.nelrc.org/changeagent, includes articles by learners who express their alienation from the political system as well as learners who feel more engaged. The issue looks at democracy and political engagement as partly a matter of voting *and also* a matter of other kinds of civic engagement.
There are lots of student pieces, and they provide a good basis for discussion.
Some of the student writing has even been recorded, and students can listen to it online while they read along in the magazine — great for ESOL learners.
Also, look for "History of Voting Rights" activity (on the website under "In the Classroom"/"Extras"). It gets students up and out of their chairs and moving around the classroom as they "walk through" an exercise that demonstrates who had voting rights in this country and when.
The Voter Education, Registration, and Action campaign of 2008 (VERA 08) is a non-partisan effort aimed at adult learners and program staff in the New England states. Its goal is to educate adult learners about voting and the topical electoral issues, and mobilize them to vote in the 2008 elections. VERA is sponsored by the New England Literacy Resource Center (NELRC) at World Education.
Website: http://www.nelrc.org/VERA/
