voting and elections

General elections

Main elections were voters choose office holders

Presidential election time period

Every 4 yrs

Congressional elections

Every 2 yrs

Primary elections

Earlier elections where political parties select their officer candidates for the election

Special elections

Happen when a seat becomes vacant or an issue ends up happening

Who can vote

✔ Be a U.S. citizen

✔ Be 18 years old by Election Day

✔ Meet your state’s residency requirements

✔ Reg

Free and fair

✔ Votes must be cast without intimidation or fraud.

✔ Everyone eligible should have an equal chance to vote.

✔ Votes must be counted correctly.

Voter intimidation

• When people are threatened, harassed, or scared to stop them from voting.

Voter Suppression

• Actions that make it harder for certain groups to vote

• Often affects minorities, young voters, or low-income voters

Election Fraud

• Illegal actions that change election results

Gerrymandering

• When politicians draw voting district lines to favor one political party

General Election Day

• People vote on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

Name calling

Propaganda negative labels to describe opponents

Card stacking

• Showing only information that supports one side and hiding the rest.

Bandwagon

• Trying to convince people to vote a certain way because “everyone else is doing it.”

Glittering Generalities

• Using vague, feel-good words with no real meaning (freedom, hope, change).

Plain folks

• A propaganda technique.

• When a candidate acts like a “regular person” to gain trust.