How to Make a Ballot Box to Teach about Voting
What is voting? When a group needs to make a decision, it is usually done by voting to see what the majority chooses. This is done by everyone casting a vote for their choice, and then having the votes counted to see which choice the majority desires. In America, adults vote for president every four years on Election Day. Currently, all US citizens, eighteen years or older, are allowed to vote.
Materials:
- Empty cereal or cracker box
- Construction paper
- Tape, glue sticks
- Markers
- Scissors
- Index cards
- Hole punch
- Recycle an empty cereal or cracker box. Clean out all the crumbs, and remove any liner bags.
- Have an adult carefully cut an opening in the middle of the top of the box, wide enough for an index card to fit through.
- Cover the box with construction paper, leaving one end and the slit open. Cover the open end with a flap of paper so that you can close and open the box. Secure the construction paper with tape or glue.
- With markers, write the word VOTE on the top of the box, and decorate as desired with stars, flags, or other patriotic symbols.
- Prepare index card ballots by writing a list of the names of the candidates on each card, leaving a 1-inch margin beside each name. You may choose to have a silly election, using ice cream flavors, stuffed animals, or book titles as candidates.
- Place the ballot box in a prominent area, and stack the ballots beside it along with the hole punch.
- Voters each get an index card and use the hole punch to punch the card beside their choice. Then, each voter places his card secretly into the ballot box.
- Once all votes are cast, have the election “official” remove the cards. Create a tally sheet to record the results, and discuss how the winner is decided by the most votes. You can even set up a math problem to figure out how many more votes the winner received.
Resources for Election Day
- Duck for President Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin
- So You Want to Be President? Judith St. George and David Small
- The Day Gogo Went to Vote Elinor Batezat Sisulu
- The Ballot Box Battle Emily Arnold McCully
- If You Lived When Women Won Their Rights Anne Kamma
- Elizabeth Leads the Way: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right to Vote Tanya Lee Stone
- You Want Women to Vote, Lizzie Stanton? Jean Fritz
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