English:Elections and Voting
Elections and Voting
Introduction
Elections are organized ways for people to make collective political choices. In many democracies, voters choose representatives such as members of a parliament, council, or other public bodies. In a referendum, voters decide directly on a public question. Voting is the act of expressing a choice, while an election is the wider process that includes rules, candidates or options, campaigning, voting, counting, and declaring results.
This aiMOOC is designed for Grades 7–8. You will explore how elections work, why the secret ballot matters, how different electoral systems can produce different results, how voting rights have changed over time, and how to evaluate election information critically. The course does not tell you which party, candidate, or voting system to support. Instead, it helps you ask informed questions and compare evidence.
The video above gives an example-focused introduction to elections in the United States. Use it as one country example rather than as a description of every election system.
Learning Goals
By the end of the course, you should be able to explain the difference between elections and voting, describe the purpose of a secret ballot, compare major families of electoral systems, identify basic stages of an election, explain why access and trustworthy administration matter, distinguish information from persuasion and misinformation, and apply these ideas to a classroom election or another decision-making situation.
Elections, Democracy, and Representation
In a democracy, political authority is connected to the people. Elections are one important way people choose representatives and hold public officials accountable. However, simply holding a vote does not by itself make an election democratic. The rights of voters and candidates, the fairness of the rules, access to reliable information, the privacy of the ballot, accurate counting, and peaceful ways to resolve disputes all matter.
Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that the authority of government should be based on the will of the people, expressed through periodic and genuine elections with universal and equal suffrage and a secret vote or an equivalent free voting procedure. Exact voting rules, ages, registration systems, and offices differ between countries and regions.
Representative and Direct Decisions
In a representative election, voters choose people who will make decisions in public office. In a direct vote, citizens decide a question themselves. A referendum is a common form of direct vote. Some political systems use both representative elections and referendums.
A useful question is: What exactly is being chosen? It may be one officeholder, several representatives, a political party list, or a yes-or-no decision on a public issue.
A Short History of Voting
Voting has taken many forms across history, but participation was often restricted. In ancient Athens, for example, some citizens participated directly in political decisions and juries, while women, enslaved people, resident foreigners, and many others were excluded from citizenship. Historical voting practices should therefore not be confused with modern ideas of universal suffrage.
The image shows bronze disks used by Athenian jurors around the fourth century BCE to cast a concealed decision. It is an example of an early method for keeping an individual choice from being obvious to others.
The Expansion of Suffrage
Suffrage means the right to vote. Over time, voting rights expanded in many countries through political movements, legal reforms, constitutional changes, and struggles against discrimination. The path was different in each place. Women's suffrage, the end of property restrictions, racial equality in voting rights, disability access, and changes in the voting age are all important parts of this history.
The map shows the decades in which women's suffrage was introduced in different parts of the world. When reading any historical map, check its legend, date, definitions, and notes because legal rights can change in stages and may not have applied equally to every group at first.
How an Election Works
Election procedures differ, but many elections include several common stages. Authorities define the offices or questions on the ballot and apply eligibility rules. Candidates or parties may register. Voters may need to register or appear on an official voter list. Campaigns present policies and arguments. Polling places or other approved voting methods allow voters to cast ballots. Election workers then secure, count, and report the votes according to law. There may also be recounts, audits, observation, or legal challenges when rules allow them.
This photograph shows a ballot box at a polling station during the 2022 French presidential election. Physical details such as ballot boxes, seals, voter lists, privacy screens, and counting procedures are part of a larger system of election administration.
The Secret Ballot
A secret ballot protects the privacy of a voter's choice. Privacy helps reduce pressure, intimidation, vote buying, and retaliation because other people should not be able to prove how someone voted. A voting booth is one practical tool for protecting secrecy.
Different jurisdictions use paper ballots, electronic devices, postal voting, early voting, or other lawful methods. Technology alone does not make a system secure or insecure. Good election administration depends on clear rules, testing, access controls, records, transparency, and ways to detect and correct problems.
Election Integrity and Access
Election integrity means that the election process follows laws and democratic principles in a way that people can verify and trust. Important questions include: Can eligible voters participate? Are ballots secret? Are votes counted as cast? Are the rules applied consistently? Can candidates compete under known rules? Are results reported transparently? Can disputes be reviewed through lawful procedures?
Access also matters. Polling places and voting information should be usable by eligible voters, including people with disabilities and people who may need language or other lawful assistance. The exact requirements depend on the laws of each jurisdiction.
Electoral Systems
An electoral system is the set of rules that turns votes into winners or seats. Countries use many systems, and no single system is used everywhere. International IDEA groups electoral systems into three broad families: plurality or majority systems, proportional representation systems, and mixed systems.
This world map compares broad types of electoral systems used for lower houses or single-chamber national legislatures. Maps of current political rules can become outdated, so always check the map date and a current official source before using it to describe a present-day country.
Plurality and Majority Systems
In a single-seat plurality contest, the candidate with more votes than any other candidate wins, even if that total is less than half of all votes. This is often called first-past-the-post.
A majority rule requires more than half of the relevant votes or another defined majority threshold. A two-round system may hold a second round if no candidate reaches the required threshold in the first round.
Proportional Representation
In proportional representation, parties or groups receive seats in a way designed to reflect their share of the vote more closely. Many proportional systems use multi-member districts or national party lists. Rules such as thresholds, district size, and the formula for allocating seats can change how proportional the final result is.
Mixed Systems
A mixed electoral system combines elements of plurality or majority elections with proportional representation. Some mixed systems use the proportional part to compensate for differences created by district results, while others run the two parts more independently.
Ranked Voting
In ranked voting, voters order candidates or options by preference instead of choosing only one. Ranked ballots can be counted in different ways, so the ballot style does not tell you the full rule by itself.
The TED-Ed video compares several voting methods. As you watch, notice that every method has goals and trade-offs. Ask what the method is trying to achieve, how easy it is to understand, and how different voter preferences affect the result.
Campaigns and Political Communication
During an election campaign, candidates and parties try to persuade voters. They may use manifestos, speeches, debates, interviews, posters, advertising, websites, and social media. Campaign messages can contain facts, interpretations, promises, emotional appeals, or criticism of opponents. Your job as a learner is to separate claims from evidence.
A campaign image can tell you who is trying to persuade whom, but it does not by itself prove that the campaign's claim is true. Ask who created the message, what they want the audience to think or do, what evidence is provided, and what important context might be missing.
Media Literacy During Elections
Election periods can produce a huge amount of information. Some is reliable, some is opinion, some is satire, and some is false or misleading. Misinformation is false or misleading information shared without requiring proof that the sharer meant to deceive. Disinformation is false or misleading information spread deliberately to deceive.
A practical checking routine is to pause before sharing, identify the original source, read beyond the headline, check the date and context, look for evidence, compare several credible and independent sources, and use official election information for practical details such as registration, polling places, or deadlines.
The UNESCO video focuses on media and information literacy in elections. Think about how edited video, false context, fake accounts, or AI-generated material could influence what voters believe.
Country Example: The United Kingdom
The following BBC News video explains how voting worked in the 2019 United Kingdom general election. Treat it as a specific example from one election and one electoral system, not as a universal model.
After watching, compare the example with another country or with your local election rules. Which parts are similar, and which parts are different?
Voter Turnout and Participation
Voter turnout is a measure of how many people cast ballots. Be careful when comparing turnout figures because one source may divide votes cast by registered voters while another may use the voting-eligible population. Always check the definition.
People can participate in civic life in many lawful ways besides voting, such as attending public meetings, contacting representatives, joining community organizations, researching public issues, volunteering, petitioning, or taking part in peaceful public discussion. Voting is important, but democratic participation is broader than election day.
A Classroom Election Model
You can study voting safely by running a neutral classroom election about a low-stakes topic such as choosing a class activity, selecting a book, or deciding between project themes. Agree on clear rules before the vote. Decide who is eligible, what choices appear on the ballot, whether the ballot is secret, how votes will be counted, how ties will be handled, and how results will be reported.
Try the same set of fictional voter preferences with two different electoral systems. If the winner changes, ask why. A different result does not automatically prove that one system is unfair; it shows that rules translate preferences into outcomes in different ways.
Interactive Tasks
Quiz: Test Your Knowledge
What is an electoral system? (A set of rules that turns votes into winners or seats) (!A speech given by a candidate) (!A building where lawmakers meet) (!A list of newspaper headlines)
What is the main purpose of a secret ballot? (To keep an individual voter's choice private) (!To prevent all recounts) (!To make every election electronic) (!To guarantee that one party wins)
What is a referendum? (A direct vote on a public question) (!A private meeting of campaign staff) (!A method for drawing district borders) (!A list of registered candidates)
What is a basic aim of proportional representation? (To make seat shares reflect vote shares more closely) (!To give every seat to the largest party) (!To remove all political parties from elections) (!To count only votes from one district)
In a single-seat plurality election, who wins? (The candidate with more votes than any other candidate) (!The candidate chosen by the oldest voter) (!The candidate with exactly half of all possible votes) (!The candidate with the longest campaign)
What does voter turnout measure? (How many people cast ballots under a stated definition) (!How many campaign posters were printed) (!How many candidates appeared on television) (!How long a polling station stayed open)
Which action is strongest when checking an election claim online? (Compare the claim with credible independent and official sources) (!Share the claim quickly before it disappears) (!Trust the claim because many people liked it) (!Assume a dramatic image explains the full story)
What is misinformation? (False or misleading information shared without requiring proof of intent to deceive) (!Any opinion that you disagree with) (!Every political advertisement) (!A correct report from an official source)
Why should you check the date on an electoral-system map? (Election laws and systems can change over time) (!Maps never include legends) (!Only old maps use country names) (!Election rules are identical in every country)
Which question best tests election integrity? (Were eligible votes cast and counted under clear lawful procedures) (!Did every voter support the same candidate) (!Did campaigns use the same slogan) (!Did all news stories have the same headline)
Memory Game
| Ballot | Tool used to record a voter's choice |
| Constituency | Area represented by an elected official |
| Turnout | Share of the defined voter group that cast ballots |
| Referendum | Direct vote on a public question |
| Manifesto | Published statement of a party's plans and policies |
| Observer | Person who monitors election procedures |
Drag and Drop
| Match the correct terms. | Topic |
|---|---|
| Secret ballot | Voting choice is kept private |
| Plurality system | Candidate with the highest vote total wins the contest |
| Proportional representation | Seats are allocated to reflect vote shares more closely |
| Ranked ballot | Voter orders choices by preference |
| Fact-checking | Claims are tested against reliable evidence |
Compare your matches with the explanations in the course, then give one real or fictional example for each idea.
Crossword Puzzle
| Ballot | What is used to record a voter's choice? |
| Suffrage | What word means the right to vote? |
| Campaign | What organized effort tries to persuade voters before an election? |
| Turnout | What term describes how many people cast ballots? |
| Referendum | What direct vote lets citizens decide a public question? |
| Candidate | What do you call a person seeking election to an office? |
LearningApps
Cloze Text
Open-Ended Tasks
Easy
- Election Vocabulary Poster: Create a one-page poster that explains six key terms from this course in clear language and includes one simple example for each term.
- Design a Secret Ballot: Make a neutral paper ballot for a classroom choice and explain three design decisions that protect privacy and reduce confusion.
- Media Message Detective: Choose a nonpartisan civic-information image or poster and label the source, audience, purpose, evidence, and persuasive techniques you notice.
- Family or Community Interview: Interview an adult about what they remember learning about elections at your age; summarize the interview without recording personal political preferences unless the person clearly agrees.
Standard
- Mock Election Project: Run a classroom election on a low-stakes topic, document the rules before voting, count the ballots transparently, and reflect on what made the process trustworthy.
- Voting Systems Experiment: Use the same fictional voter preferences with plurality voting and a ranked method, compare the results, and explain why the outcomes may differ.
- Election Information Comparison: Compare how two credible sources explain the same election process, noting agreements, differences, evidence, dates, and any missing context.
- Accessibility Audit: Evaluate a fictional or real public description of a polling place for barriers involving mobility, vision, hearing, language, or information access, then propose practical improvements.
Advanced
- Turnout Data Investigation: Find a reliable election dataset, identify exactly how turnout is defined, create a graph, and explain at least two reasons why comparisons across places or years may be difficult.
- Election Integrity Blueprint: Design a plan for a fictional school election that covers eligibility, ballot secrecy, secure handling, counting, observers, recounts, and dispute resolution.
- Civic Media Video: Produce a two-minute neutral explainer video showing how to verify a surprising election claim before sharing it online.
- Electoral System Debate: Research two electoral systems, present benefits and trade-offs of each with evidence, then recommend which system best fits a fictional community and justify your criteria.
Learning Assessment
- Rule Change Analysis: Explain how changing a fictional election from plurality voting to proportional representation could change incentives, representation, or results, and identify information you would need before predicting the outcome.
- Source Reliability Case: Given three fictional posts about a polling-place change, rank them by reliability and justify your ranking using source, evidence, date, and cross-checking.
- Secret Ballot Scenario: Analyze a case in which voters must show their completed ballots to a group leader and explain which democratic principle is threatened and how the process could be redesigned.
- Turnout Comparison: Compare two turnout percentages that use different denominators and explain why a direct comparison may be misleading.
- Election Design Challenge: Create rules for a fair classroom election and defend how your choices handle privacy, access, counting, ties, and challenges.
- Transfer Task: Apply election principles to a student council, club, cooperative, or online community and explain which rules should stay the same and which should change for that setting.
Evidence of Learning
- Knowledge: You can accurately explain elections, ballots, suffrage, referendums, turnout, campaigns, and major electoral-system families.
- Reasoning: You can compare election rules and explain how different procedures may shape outcomes without assuming that one method is always best.
- Media literacy: You can check sources, evidence, dates, context, and independent confirmation before accepting or sharing election claims.
- Practical skills: You can design a neutral ballot, plan a transparent count, interpret simple turnout data, and communicate election procedures clearly.
- Products: Your posters, reports, graphs, videos, mock-election records, and system comparisons show careful use of evidence.
- Transfer: You can apply ideas such as privacy, access, transparency, verification, and fair procedures to group decisions outside national politics.
OERs on the Topic
The English Wikipedia article below offers a broad overview of elections. Use its references and page history when you want to investigate a claim more deeply.
For further study, you can also use reliable international resources:
- International IDEA Electoral System Design Database: Compare electoral-system rules across countries and check current definitions.
- United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Read Article 21 about participation in government and genuine elections.
- UNESCO Media and Information Literacy: Explore skills for evaluating information, misinformation, and digital media.
- ACE Electoral Knowledge Network: Find detailed explanations of election administration, voter registration, voting operations, and results management.
Linked Learning Areas
Elections and voting connect civics, history, mathematics, media literacy, geography, ethics, and language learning. You use history to study changing voting rights, mathematics to interpret vote shares and turnout, media literacy to check claims, geography to understand districts and jurisdictions, and English skills to analyze arguments and communicate evidence.