YOUTHVOTE CURRICULUM
Curriculum Overview:
The YouthVote curriculum moves in a four‐year cycle, mirroring the election cycle of national, state, and
local elections. Each year there are three lessons (except for Curriculum B, an off‐election year without any
significant local election races), and each year there is a different focus depending on the elections of that year.
One constant is the election for the Student Delegate to the School Board, which takes place every April.
The curriculum leads students through a process to help them make sound choices in voting. It asks
students to think about their own lives, and their own opinions on issues as a way to engage them with voting.
Using student‐centered small group activities, the curriculum covers a description of the three largest parties in
the United States, the history of voting rights, registering to vote, issues in San Francisco and at their own school,
the duties of local officials, and the candidates and propositions on the ballot for that particular year.
YouthVote Four‐Year Cycle
2008‐2009: Curriculum A
Day 1‐Oct: Board of Supervisors and Board of Education Elections
Day 2‐Oct: Presidential Election Day 3‐April: Student Delegate Election
2009‐2010: Curriculum B
Day 1‐Oct: Local Propositions
Day 2‐April: Student Delegate Election
2010‐2011: Curriculum C
Day 1‐Oct: Board of Supervisors and Board of Education Elections
Day 2‐Oct: Governor Elections
Day 3‐April: Student Delegate Election
2011‐2012: Year Curriculum D
Day 1‐Oct: Mayoral Elections
Day 2‐Jan: Presidential Primaries
Day 3‐April: Student Delegate Election
*2012‐2013: Begin New Cycle
1
Table of Contents
YouthVote Lessons Page #’s
2008‐2009: Curriculum A
Day 1‐Oct: Board of Supervisors and Board of Education Elections
3‐7
Day 2‐Oct: Presidential Election
8‐12
Day 3‐April: Student Delegate Election 13‐24
2009‐2010: Curriculum B
Day 1‐Oct: Local Propositions
25‐26
Day 2‐April: Student Delegate Election
27‐38
2010‐2011: Curriculum C
Day 1‐Oct: Board of Supervisors and Board of Education Elections
39‐43
Day 2‐Oct: Governor Elections
44‐48
Day 3‐April: Student Delegate Election
49‐60
2011‐2012: Year Curriculum D
Day 1‐Oct: Mayoral Elections
61‐65
Day 2‐Jan: Presidential Primaries
66‐69
Day 3‐April: Student Delegate Election
70‐81
2
2008‐2009: Curriculum A‐Focus on Board of Supervisors,
Board of Education, Presidential, and Student Delegate Elections
Day 1‐Oct: Local Elections
Objectives:
•
Students will understand the duties of the Board of Supervisors and the Board of Education
•
Students will generate their own priorities for San Francisco and listen to their classmates’
priorities
•
Student will use these priorities to determine the best candidates for the Board of
Supervisors
California History‐Social Science Content Standards:
•
12.6 Students evaluate issues regarding campaigns for national, state, and local elective
offices
Materials: YouthVote Election Pamphlet, student copies of “Issues in San Francisco”
Activities:
I. Sort on San Francisco Issues (35 min)
1. have students examine “San Francisco Issues” handout
2. students should circle the three most important issues and underline the three least
important issues facing San Francisco
3. after students have chosen individually, split the class into small groups of four and have
them to come to a group consensus, choosing their three most and three least important
issues as a group
4. when they are done, have each group write their choices on the board
5. each group should presents their choices to the whole class
6. lead a class discussion asking:
z
Which issues did you choose as the most important? Which ones were the least
important? Why?
•
What are the criteria you are using in prioritizing issues?
•
How well is our city government currently addressing some of these issues?
3
II. Explanation of Youth Vote Timeline (5 min)
•
Explain to students that for the upcoming election, they will get an opportunity to
participate in YouthVote, a San Francisco‐wide high school mock version of the
election to train them in the voting process. The results will be presented at a press
conference to let adults know what young people think
•
In October, there will be a YouthVote election covering the actual local, state, and
congressional elections
•
In April, there will be a YouthVote election covering local and state propositions as
well as your Student Delegate to the School Board in San Francisco
III. Duties of Local Officials (10 min)
1. Use handout “Duties of Local Officials” to review the duties of the Board of
Supervisors and the Board of Education
Homework:
1. Read more about the candidates for the Board of Supervisors and the Board of Education in the
YouthVote pamphlet. Choose who you think are the three best candidates for Board of
Supervisors and the three best candidates for the Board of Education. Explain why you chose
these candidates and what their positions are on the issues you care about.
4
ISSUES IN SAN FRANCISCO
1) Read the list below.
2) Circle the three most important issues in your school and/or school district
3) Underline the three least important issues in your school and/or school district
4) Fill out the back, explaining your reasoning.
Gun violence
Hate crimes
Homelessness
Affordable housing
Gentrification
Juvenile justice
Lack of afterschool programs
drugs
Public transportation
Immigrant rights
Health Care
Police brutality
Lack of jobs
Corrupt government officials
Failing schools
Graffiti
If there are other issues you see not included in the list, please feel free to write in your own.
_______________________
________________________
5
Write down each issue you picked and explain why you chose it.
Most Important Issues:
1)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
2)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
3)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
Least Important Issues:
1)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
2)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
3)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
6
Duties of Local Officials
Board of Supervisors
-establishes city policies
-adopts ordinances
-adopts resolutions
-members are elected from
eleven single member districts
The Mayor
-authors the City budget
-appoints people to positions in the city government
-signs bills into law
-appoints Commissioners to more than 50 citizendriven Commissions that oversee City departments.
Board of Education
-develops annual budget
-establishes school district policies
-acts as a two-way communications link
between residents and Superintendent
7
Day 2‐Oct: Presidential Election
Objectives:
•
Students will understand the platforms of the presidential candidates
•
Students will work cooperatively in a small group
•
Students will practice note taking skills
•
Students will practice public speaking skills
California History‐Social Science Content Standards:
•
12.6 Students evaluate issues regarding campaigns for national, state, and local elective
offices
Materials: YouthVote Election Pamphlet, one copy of “Group Roles” handout per small group of four,
blank white paper for poster making, note cards, student copies of “Notes from Mock Debates” handout
Activities:
I. Journal Entry (5 min)
1. What do you think are the qualities a good president needs? Which presidential
candidate do you think best meets your criteria?
2. Optional or for Block classes: Share out responses.
II. Mock Presidential Debate (45 min)
1. Break students into groups of four.
2. Assign each group one of the presidential candidates in the pamphlet
3. Pass out the handout “Group Roles” and have the groups assign themselves a role:
i. Candidate‐this person will role play as the candidate in a mock
debate in front of the class
ii. Poster Designer‐this person, with input from the group, will design a
poster to represent the candidate, which will displayed during the
mock debate
iii. Speech Writer‐this person will work with the Candidate to write
down on note cards, their three top national issues and what they
would do about them as president
iv. Bio Writer‐this person will write a short bio for the candidate on a
note card, that the candidate will use to introduce themselves
8
4. If you have a short block (50 min), then you will need to start with 25 minutes left in
the class to ensure all the candidates get a chance to speak. If you have a Block
class, then you can give the students more time to prep and tell them to come up
with three questions that they can ask any of the other candidates.
5. The format of the debate is:
i. Bio’s
‐go around and have each of the candidates introduce themselves,
including their political party
ii. Speeches
‐go around and have each candidate give their speech that outlines
their three top national priorities and their solutions if elected president
‐give each candidate an opportunity to ask another candidate(s) a
question
6. Students who are watching the debate should take notes using the “Notes from
Mock Presidential Debates” handout.
7. If time permits, debrief the activity. Possible discussion questions could be:
ƒ
Which candidate has the best solutions to the issues?
ƒ
Which candidates represent your interests the most?
ƒ
How much does political experience matter to you?
ƒ
Why do you think only two parties‐‐the Democrats and Republicans‐‐get
major media attention? Do they get this attention because no one is
interested in the other parties or could there be some type of conspiracy?
ƒ
Does anyone think the other non‐major party candidates have anything
interesting to say?
Homework:
1. Read more about the presidential candidates inside the YouthVote Handbook and choose the
presidential candidate you think will do the best job as president of our nation. Write a speech
from the point of view of this candidate addressed to other high school students. The speech
should not only explain the candidates’ main points, but also explain why other some of the
other candidates’ solutions will not be as effective.
9
And/or
2. Read the rest of the pamphlet, deciding on who or what you will vote in favor of during the
upcoming YouthVote election. Pick one of these political races, either a proposition race or a
political office race and write a response explaining which side you will vote on and why.
10
Group Roles
Candidate-this person will role play as the candidate in a mock debate in front of the
class
Poster Designer-this person, with input from the group, will design a poster to represent
the candidate, which will displayed during the mock debate
Speech Writer-this person will work with the Candidate to write down on note cards,
their three top national issues and what they would do about them as president
Bio Writer-this person will write a short bio for the candidate on a note card, that the
candidates will use to introduce themselves
Group Roles
Candidate-this person will role play as the candidate in a mock debate in front of the
class
Poster Designer-this person, with input from the group, will design a poster to represent
the candidate, which will displayed during the mock debate
Speech Writer-this person will work with the Candidate to write down on note cards,
their three top national issues and what they would do about them as president
Bio Writer-this person will write a short bio for the candidate on a note card, that the
candidates will use to introduce themselves
11
Notes from Mock Debates
Candidates
Three main priorities
Solutions
12
Day 3‐April: Student Delegate Election
Objectives
•
Students will understand how the right to vote has been historically often denied and fought
for
•
Students will understand contemporary controversial voting issues
•
Students will register to vote
•
Students will generate their own priorities for school improvement and listen to their
classmates’ priorities
•
Student will use these priorities to determine the best candidate to fill the office of student
delegate to the School Board
California History‐Social Science Content Standards:
•
11.10 Students analyze the development of federal civil rights and voting rights.
o
6. Analyze the passage and effects of civil rights and voting rights legislation (e.g., 1964
Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act of 1965) and the Twenty‐Fourth Amendment, with an
emphasis on equality of access to education and to the political process.
o
7. Analyze the women's rights movement from the era of Elizabeth Stanton and Susan
Anthony and the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the movement launched in
the 1960s, including differing perspectives on the roles of women.
•
12.6 Students evaluate issues regarding campaigns for national, state, and local elective offices.
o
6. Analyze trends in voter turnout; the causes and effects of reapportionment and
redistricting, with special attention to spatial districting and the rights of minorities; and
the function of the Electoral College.
Materials: student copies of “Anticipation Guide”, one copy or student copies of “History of Voting
Rights”, student copies of “Voter Registration Application”, copy of “Voter Registration Instructions”,
student copies of “School Issues”, student copies of YouthVote Pamphlet
Activities:
I. History of Voting‐Anticipation Guide (20 min)
1. Students should answer True or False for each statement
13
2. After students finish filling out guide, reveal the answers to the anticipation guide, using the
handout “History of Voting Rights” to explain the answers and the evidence for answers
3. Optional or for Block classes:
•
pass out handout “History of Voting Rights” and allow students to find answers and
the evidence for answers in pairs. Then review as a class.
II. Registering to Vote (10 min)
1. Pass out copies of the Voter Registration Application (for juniors and sophomore, you may
decide to either have them do this anyway so they will understand the process or skip it to
spend more time on the next activity)
2. Have students fill out the application
3. Use the “Registering to Vote Instructions” to assist the students in filling out the application
4. You may either ask the students to mail it in themselves or collect them all and mail them it
in for them (the latter might be a better idea)
III. Sort on School Issues (15 min)
7. have students examine “School Issues” handout
8. students should circle the three most important issues and underline the three least
important issues facing their school and/or the school district
9. Optional or for Block Classes:
•
after students have chosen individually, split the class into small groups of four and
have them to come to a group consensus, choosing their three most and three least
important issues as a group
•
when they are done, have each group write their choices on the board
•
each group should presents their choices to the whole class
10. lead a class discussion asking:
•
Which issues did you choose as the most important? Which ones were the least
important? Why?
•
What are the criteria you are using in prioritizing issues?
•
How well is our school or school district currently addressing some of these issues?
IV. Voting for Student Delegate to the School Board (5min)
1. Explain main functions of School Board:
a. develops annual budget
14
b. establishes school district policies
c. acts as a two‐way communications link between residents and Superintendent
2. Explain background on student delegate:
a. currently two student delegates to the School Board
b. through YouthVote new student delegates will be chosen for the 2008‐2009 school
year
Homework:
1. Read about the candidates for student delegate to the School Board inside the YouthVote pamphlet.
Keeping in mind the issues you deemed at most important during the sort activity, choose the student
delegate candidate that will do the best job for your school and the entire school district, writing a
response explaining why you chose this candidate
2. Read the rest of the pamphlet, deciding on who or what you will vote in favor of during the upcoming
YouthVote election. Pick one of these political races, either a proposition race or a political office race
and write a response explaining which side you will vote on and why.
15
Anticipation Guide
Read the following statements below. For each circle (T)rue or (F)alse.
1. From the founding of the United States, all white men could vote.
T
F
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
2. After the Fifteenth Amendment, African Americans could finally vote without barriers.
T
F
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
3. The modern movement for women to have the right to vote can be traced back to the
Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. It took over seventy more years of activism before
women gained the right to vote.
T
F
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
4. At one point, an eighteen-year-olds could not vote, but were being sent to the Vietnam
War.
T
F
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
5. Once Native Americans became citizens in 1924, they did not face voting
discrimination because many whites felt guilty about how cruelly Native Americans had
been treated in the past.
T
F
16
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
6. Asian Americans were included in the Fifteenth Amendment that stated non-white men
could vote.
T
F
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
7. Although the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo gave Mexican-Americans citizenship
and the right to vote, in practice, states passed laws to keep Mexican-Americans from
voting and whites used force to keep them from voting.
T
F
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
8. People with disabilities never needed any legislation to ensure they had equal access to
voting.
T
F
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
9. There is a group of U.S. citizens still denied the right to vote.
T
F
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
10. The presidential elections of 2000 and 2004 generated controversy in terms of the
voting process.
T
F
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
17
History of Voting Rights
Only Free White Men with Property Can Vote
There is no right to vote in the United States Constitution, so each state's standards have evolved
separately unless federal laws were passed that applied to every state. When this country was
founded, only white men with property were routinely permitted to vote (although freed African
Americans could vote in four states). White working men, almost all women, and all other people of
color were denied the franchise.
By the time of the Civil War, most white men were allowed to vote, whether or not they owned property,
thanks to the efforts of those who championed the cause of frontiersmen and white immigrants (who
had to wait 14 years for citizenship and the right to vote, in some cases). Literacy tests, poll taxes, and
even religious tests were used in various places, and most white women, people of color, and Native
Americans still could not vote.
African American Men Get the Vote
In 1866, the 14th Amendment to the federal Constitution was passed, guaranteeing citizenship to the
former slaves and changing them in the eyes of the law from 3/5 of a person to whole persons. Then,
in 1869, the 15th Amendment guaranteed the right to vote to black men, with most women of all races
still unable to vote.
1869 also marked the beginning of "Black Codes," or state laws that restricted the freedoms of African
Americans. Among the freedoms restricted was the freedom to exercise the right to vote. Literacy tests,
poll taxes, hiding the locations of the polls, economic pressures, threats of physical violence, and other
strategies to suppress the African American vote were either found in the Black Codes or flowed from
them.
While strategies such as these are no longer legal, some have argued that the misallocation of voting
machines in 2004 so that whites in Republican-leaning districts had short lines and minorities in
Democratic-leaning districts were forced to miss work to wait in long lines was equivalent to placing a
new poll tax on African American and other minority and poor voters.
Women Get the Vote
Initiatives to promote voting for women have been traced back to the 1770s, but the modern movement
for a vote for women traces its beginning to the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, when supporters of a
Constitutional Amendment to allow women to vote came together. While their movement was slowed
during the Civil War years, the two major suffragist organizations united after the war and pushed
forward with a movement that culminated, after many difficult years, in the Nineteenth Amendment in
1920.
Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Latinos Get the Vote
18
Some Native Americans became American citizens if they gave up their tribal affiliations in 1887, but
many did not become United States citizens until 1924. Many Western states, however, continued to
deny the right to vote through property requirements, economic pressures, hiding the polls, and
condoning of physical violence against those who voted.
Asian Pacific Americans were considered "aliens ineligible for citizenship" since 1790, and interim
changes to naturalization and immigration laws in 1943, 1946, and 1952 give the franchise to some but
not all immigrant Asian Pacific Americans. Nevertheless, because citizenship is a precondition of
voting, immigrant Asian Pacific Americans did not vote in large numbers until after 1965, when the
immigration and naturalization laws were changed.
Asian Pacific Americans born on American soil were American citizens and had the right to vote. When
77,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry were put in American concentration camps during World War
II, however, their right to vote was not allowed.
For Mexican Americans, those in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas were supposed
to get voting rights along with American citizenship in 1848, when the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo
ended the Mexican American war. Property requirements and literacy requirements were imposed in
those states to keep them from voting, and violence and intimidation were used against anyone who
dared to exercise the franchise.
The Sons of America organized in 1921 to fight for equality and the right to vote, but all Mexican
Americans did not receive the right to vote until 1975.
The Movements of the 1960s and 70s
The federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, enacted thanks to the pressures of Dr. Martin Luther King and a
powerful civil rights movement, banned literacy tests and provided federal enforcement of voting
registration and other rights in several Southern states and Alaska.
Five years later, the Voting Rights Act of 1970 provided language assistance to minority voters who did
not speak English fluently. Asian Pacific Americans and Latinos were major beneficiaries of this
legislation.
Young People
A third voting rights movement was the movement in the 1960s to require the voting age to be lowered
to eighteen from twenty-one. This movement was given far greater impetus by the Vietnam War, as it
was noted that most of the young men who were being drafted to fight in it were too young to have any
voice in the selection of the leaders who were sending them to fight. This, too, had previously been a
state issue, as several states, notably Georgia, Kentucky, and Hawaii, had already allowed voting at a
younger age than twenty-one. The Twenty-sixth Amendment, ratified in 1971, required all states to set
their voting age at no higher than eighteen.
Current Issues
19
Thanks to a movement led by differently-abled Americans and their supporters, the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 was passed. It provided for ballot and poll access for those with disabilities.
Enforcement of the Voting Rights Act and other laws continued.
In 2004, a record number of Americans, 5.3 million, were denied the vote because of criminal records.
One in eight black men were unable to vote because of a felony conviction. By federal law, voter rules
are mainly set by the states. As a result, even in presidential elections, former prisoners can vote in
some states but not others.
Only two states, Maine and Vermont, have no restrictions, even permitting inmates to vote. At the other
extreme, three states, Florida, Kentucky and Virginia, still have lifetime bans on voting by felons.
California, New York, and New Jersey, like most states, do not allow current inmates or parolees to
vote.
Also, after the 2000 election, the nation was confronted with over a million ballots never being counted,
and numerous allegations of fraud in Florida and elsewhere. The courts forced the recount in Florida to
stop, and it was only months later (right after the September 11 attacks, so few were listening)that
recounters hired by major news organizations found that if all the valid, machine-rejected votes had
been counted, the man occupying the White House would have lost the election.
In the 2004 election, the struggle continued, as challenges were raised to unfair voting practices in
Ohio and other states. The use of electronic voting machines that leave no paper trail, massive
removals of alleged felons from voter rolls, misallocation of voting machines so that minority districts
have disproportionately fewer machines, and other issues were still prevalent. The Government
Accountability Office started an investigation, and several states started recounts.
Adapted using following sources:
-http://www.iwantmyvote.com/recount/history/
-http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/29/us/29brfs-JAIL.html
20
If You Were Given this Application in a State Agency or Public Office
If you have been given this application in a State agency or public office, it is your choice to use the
application or not.
If you decide to use this application to register to vote, you can fill it out and leave it with the State agency
or public office. The application will be submitted for you. Or, you can take it with you to mail to the
address listed under your State in the State Instructions. You also may take it with you to deliver in
person to your local voter registration office.
Application Instructions
Registration Deadline — 15 days before the election
Before filling out the body of the form, please answer the questions on the top of the form as to whether
you are a United States citizen and whether you will be 18 years old on or before election day. If you
answer no to either of these questions, you may not use this form to register to vote. However, state
specific instructions may provide additional information on eligibility to register to vote prior to age 18.
Box 1 — Name
Put in this box your full name in this order — Last, First, Middle. Do not use nicknames or initials.
Note: If this application is for a change of name, please tell us in Box A (on the bottom half of the form)
your full name before you changed it.
Box 2 — Home Address
Put in this box your home address (legal address). Do not put your mailing address here if it is different
from your home address. Do not use a post office box or rural route without a box number. Refer to statespecific instructions for rules regarding use of route numbers.
Note: If you were registered before but this is the first time you are registering from the address in Box 2,
please tell us in Box B (on the bottom half of the form) the address where you were registered before.
Please give us as much of the address as you can remember.
Also Note: If you live in a rural area but do not have a street address, or if you have no address, please
show where you live using the map in Box C (at the bottom of the form).
Box 3 — Mailing Address
If you get your mail at an address that is different from the address in Box 2, put your mailing address in
this box.
Note: If you have no address in Box 2, you must write in Box 3 an address where you can be reached by
mail.
Box 4 — Date of Birth
Put in this box your date of birth in this order — Month, Day, Year. Be careful not to use today’s date!
Box 5 — Telephone Number
Most States ask for your telephone number in case there are questions about your application. However,
you do not have to fill in this box.
Box 6 — ID Number
When you register to vote, you must provide your California driver’s license or California identification
card number, if you have one. If you do not have a driver’s license or ID card, you must provide the last
four digits of your Social Security Number (SSN). If you do not include this information, you will be
required to provide identification when you vote.
Box 7 — Choice of Party
Please enter the name of the political party with which you wish to register. If you do not wish to register
with any party, enter “Decline to State” in the space provided.
California law allows voters who “decline to state” an affiliation with a qualified political party or who
affiliate with a nonqualified political party to vote in the primary election of any qualified political party
that files a notice with the Secretary of State allowing them to do so. You can call 1-800-345-VOTE or visit
www.ss.ca.gov to learn which political parties are allowing nonaffiliated voters to participate in their
primary election.
Box 8 — Race or Ethnic Group
21
Leave blank.
Box 9 — Signature
To register in California you must:
• be a citizen of the United States
• be a resident of California
• be at least 18 years of age at the time of the next election
• not be imprisoned or on parole for the conviction of a felony
• not currently be judged mentally incompetent by a court of law
Signature is required. If you meet the requirements listed above, please sign and date the registration
card in the space provided.
Attention: Proof of Voter Identification
(Pursuant to the Help America Vote Act of 2002)
Voting in person:
• A first-time voter who registers by mail must present to the appropriate state or local election official:
1) a current and valid photo identification; or
2)a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that
shows the name and address of the voter.
Voting by mail:
• A first-time voter who registers by mail must submit a COPY of one of the following documents with his
or her absentee ballot:
1) current and valid photo identification; OR
2) current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that
shows the name and address of the voter.
For Those Who Register by Mail:
Persons who register to vote by mail and submit a driver’s license number that the state or local election
official can match with an existing state identification record will not be required to provide identification
when they vote. Additionally, voters will not be required to provide identification when they vote if they
are: (i) provided the right to vote otherwise than in person under the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly
and Handicapped Act; or (ii) entitled to vote otherwise than in person under any other Federal law.
These identification requirements only apply to elections in which there is a federal office on the ballot. If
you do not provide proof of identification, you may cast a provisional ballot.
Mailing address:
Secretary of State
Elections Division
1500 11th Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
22
SCHOOL ISSUES
1) Read the list below.
2) Circle the three most important issues in your school and/or school district
3) Underline the three least important issues in your school and/or school district
4) Fill out the back, explaining your reasoning.
sexual harassment
homophobia
lack of computers
gun violence
school violence
lack of school spirit
curriculum that isn’t relevant
too much pressure to take tests
not enough choices for good high schools
not enough adults
low counselor to student ratio
not enough academic support
overcrowded classrooms
funding for sport programs
too many students dropping out
ineffective school leadership
graffiti
lack of good choices during school lunch
not enough funding for art or music classes
too many school rules
disruptive students
old textbooks
students can talk too
too many inexperienced teachers
23
students placed in non-college track courses
If there are other issues you see not included in the list, please feel free to write in your own.
_______________________
________________________
Write down each issue you picked and explain why you chose it.
Most Important Issues:
1)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
2)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
3)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
Least Important Issues:
1)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
2)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
3)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
24
Year Two 2009‐2010: Curriculum B‐Focus on
Propositions and Student Delegate Election
Day 1‐Oct: Local Elections
Objectives:
•
Students will understand what a proposition is
•
Students will learn about current propositions, arguments for and against
•
Students will learn group work skills
California History‐Social Science Content Standards:
•
12.6 Students evaluate issues regarding campaigns for national, state, and local elective
offices
Materials: YouthVote Election Pamphlet
Activities:
I.
Journal (10 min)
1. Imagine you could propose a new law and the voters in San Francisco could vote on it,
what would you propose? Why?
2. Share out as class.
II. Explanation of Youth Vote Timeline (5 min)
•
Explain to students that for the upcoming election, they will get an opportunity to
participate in YouthVote, a San Francisco‐wide high school mock version of the
election to train them in the voting process. The results will be presented at a press
conference to let adults know what young people think
•
In October, there will be a YouthVote election covering the actual local, state, and
congressional elections
25
•
In April, there will be a YouthVote election covering local and state propositions as
well as your Student Delegate to the School Board in San Francisco
III. Proposition (5 min)
a. Explain to students what propositions are.
‐appear on the ballot when enough registered voters sign a petition in favor of
putting it on the ballot
‐form of direct democracy
IV. Reviewing Propositions (30 min)
1. Hand out copies of the YouthVote Pamphlet
2. Break students up into smaller groups.
3. Assign each group a proposition and a position on that proposition.
4. Students will work in groups to understand their position on a proposition
5. Each group will prepare a short presentation for the class.
6. Students should be expected to take notes on the presentations, which will help them with
their homework
Homework:
1. Read more about the propositions on your own. Use your notes and explain which propositions
you are for and which propositions you are against. Be sure to cite the pamphlet.
26
Day 2‐April: Student Delegate Election
Objectives
•
Students will understand how the right to vote has been historically often denied and fought
for
•
Students will understand contemporary controversial voting issues
•
Students will register to vote
•
Students will generate their own priorities for school improvement and listen to their
classmates’ priorities
•
Student will use these priorities to determine the best candidate to fill the office of student
delegate to the School Board
California History‐Social Science Content Standards:
•
11.10 Students analyze the development of federal civil rights and voting rights.
o
6. Analyze the passage and effects of civil rights and voting rights legislation (e.g., 1964
Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act of 1965) and the Twenty‐Fourth Amendment, with an
emphasis on equality of access to education and to the political process.
o
7. Analyze the women's rights movement from the era of Elizabeth Stanton and Susan
Anthony and the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the movement launched in
the 1960s, including differing perspectives on the roles of women.
•
12.6 Students evaluate issues regarding campaigns for national, state, and local elective offices.
o
6. Analyze trends in voter turnout; the causes and effects of reapportionment and
redistricting, with special attention to spatial districting and the rights of minorities; and
the function of the Electoral College.
27
Materials: student copies of “Anticipation Guide”, one copy or student copies of “History of Voting
Rights”, student copies of “Voter Registration Application”, copy of “Voter Registration Instructions”,
student copies of “School Issues”, student copies of YouthVote Pamphlet
Activities:
I. History of Voting‐Anticipation Guide (20 min)
1. Students should answer True or False for each statement
2. After students finish filling out guide, reveal the answers to the anticipation guide, using the
handout “History of Voting Rights” to explain the answers and the evidence for answers
3. Optional or for Block classes:
•
pass out handout “History of Voting Rights” and allow students to find answers and
the evidence for answers in pairs. Then review as a class.
II. Registering to Vote (10 min)
1. Pass out copies of the Voter Registration Application (for juniors and sophomore, you may
decide to either have them do this anyway so they will understand the process or skip it to
spend more time on the next activity)
2. Have students fill out the application
3. Use the “Registering to Vote Instructions” to assist the students in filling out the application
4. You may either ask the students to mail it in themselves or collect them all and mail them it
in for them (the latter might be a better idea)
III. Sort on School Issues (15 min)
1. have students examine “School Issues” handout
2. students should circle the three most important issues and underline the three least
important issues facing their school and/or the school district
3. Optional or for Block Classes:
•
after students have chosen individually, split the class into small groups of four and
have them to come to a group consensus, choosing their three most and three least
important issues as a group
•
when they are done, have each group write their choices on the board
•
each group should presents their choices to the whole class
4. lead a class discussion asking:
28
•
Which issues did you choose as the most important? Which ones were the least
important? Why?
•
What are the criteria you are using in prioritizing issues?
•
How well is our school or school district currently addressing some of these issues?
IV. Voting for Student Delegate to the School Board (5min)
1. Explain main functions of School Board:
a. develops annual budget
b. establishes school district policies
c. acts as a two‐way communications link between residents and Superintendent
2. Explain background on student delegate:
a. currently two student delegates to the School Board
b. through YouthVote new student delegates will be chosen for the 2008‐2009 school
year
Homework:
1. Read about the candidates for student delegate to the School Board inside the YouthVote pamphlet.
Keeping in mind the issues you deemed at most important during the sort activity, choose the student
delegate candidate that will do the best job for your school and the entire school district, writing a
response explaining why you chose this candidate
2. Read the rest of the pamphlet, deciding on who or what you will vote in favor of during the upcoming
YouthVote election. Pick one of these political races, either a proposition race or a political office race
and write a response explaining which side you will vote on and why.
29
Anticipation Guide
Read the following statements below. For each circle (T)rue or (F)alse.
1. From the founding of the United States, all white men could vote.
T
F
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
2. After the Fifteenth Amendment, African Americans could finally vote without barriers.
T
F
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
3. The modern movement for women to have the right to vote can be traced back to the
Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. It took over seventy more years of activism before
women gained the right to vote.
T
F
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
4. At one point, an eighteen-year-olds could not vote, but were being sent to the Vietnam
War.
T
F
30
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
5. Once Native Americans became citizens in 1924, they did not face voting
discrimination because many whites felt guilty about how cruelly Native Americans had
been treated in the past.
T
F
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
6. Asian Americans were included in the Fifteenth Amendment that stated non-white men
could vote.
T
F
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
7. Although the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo gave Mexican-Americans citizenship
and the right to vote, in practice, states passed laws to keep Mexican-Americans from
voting and whites used force to keep them from voting.
T
F
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
8. People with disabilities never needed any legislation to ensure they had equal access to
voting.
T
F
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
9. There is a group of U.S. citizens still denied the right to vote.
T
F
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
31
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
10. The presidential elections of 2000 and 2004 generated controversy in terms of the
voting process.
T
F
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
History of Voting Rights
Only Free White Men with Property Can Vote
There is no right to vote in the United States Constitution, so each state's standards have evolved
separately unless federal laws were passed that applied to every state. When this country was
founded, only white men with property were routinely permitted to vote (although freed African
Americans could vote in four states). White working men, almost all women, and all other people of
color were denied the franchise.
By the time of the Civil War, most white men were allowed to vote, whether or not they owned property,
thanks to the efforts of those who championed the cause of frontiersmen and white immigrants (who
had to wait 14 years for citizenship and the right to vote, in some cases). Literacy tests, poll taxes, and
even religious tests were used in various places, and most white women, people of color, and Native
Americans still could not vote.
African American Men Get the Vote
In 1866, the 14th Amendment to the federal Constitution was passed, guaranteeing citizenship to the
former slaves and changing them in the eyes of the law from 3/5 of a person to whole persons. Then,
in 1869, the 15th Amendment guaranteed the right to vote to black men, with most women of all races
still unable to vote.
1869 also marked the beginning of "Black Codes," or state laws that restricted the freedoms of African
Americans. Among the freedoms restricted was the freedom to exercise the right to vote. Literacy tests,
poll taxes, hiding the locations of the polls, economic pressures, threats of physical violence, and other
strategies to suppress the African American vote were either found in the Black Codes or flowed from
them.
While strategies such as these are no longer legal, some have argued that the misallocation of voting
machines in 2004 so that whites in Republican-leaning districts had short lines and minorities in
Democratic-leaning districts were forced to miss work to wait in long lines was equivalent to placing a
new poll tax on African American and other minority and poor voters.
32
Women Get the Vote
Initiatives to promote voting for women have been traced back to the 1770s, but the modern movement
for a vote for women traces its beginning to the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, when supporters of a
Constitutional Amendment to allow women to vote came together. While their movement was slowed
during the Civil War years, the two major suffragist organizations united after the war and pushed
forward with a movement that culminated, after many difficult years, in the Nineteenth Amendment in
1920.
Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Latinos Get the Vote
Some Native Americans became American citizens if they gave up their tribal affiliations in 1887, but
many did not become United States citizens until 1924. Many Western states, however, continued to
deny the right to vote through property requirements, economic pressures, hiding the polls, and
condoning of physical violence against those who voted.
Asian Pacific Americans were considered "aliens ineligible for citizenship" since 1790, and interim
changes to naturalization and immigration laws in 1943, 1946, and 1952 give the franchise to some but
not all immigrant Asian Pacific Americans. Nevertheless, because citizenship is a precondition of
voting, immigrant Asian Pacific Americans did not vote in large numbers until after 1965, when the
immigration and naturalization laws were changed.
Asian Pacific Americans born on American soil were American citizens and had the right to vote. When
77,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry were put in American concentration camps during World War
II, however, their right to vote was not allowed.
For Mexican Americans, those in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas were supposed
to get voting rights along with American citizenship in 1848, when the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo
ended the Mexican American war. Property requirements and literacy requirements were imposed in
those states to keep them from voting, and violence and intimidation were used against anyone who
dared to exercise the franchise.
The Sons of America organized in 1921 to fight for equality and the right to vote, but all Mexican
Americans did not receive the right to vote until 1975.
The Movements of the 1960s and 70s
The federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, enacted thanks to the pressures of Dr. Martin Luther King and a
powerful civil rights movement, banned literacy tests and provided federal enforcement of voting
registration and other rights in several Southern states and Alaska.
Five years later, the Voting Rights Act of 1970 provided language assistance to minority voters who did
not speak English fluently. Asian Pacific Americans and Latinos were major beneficiaries of this
legislation.
Young People
33
A third voting rights movement was the movement in the 1960s to require the voting age to be lowered
to eighteen from twenty-one. This movement was given far greater impetus by the Vietnam War, as it
was noted that most of the young men who were being drafted to fight in it were too young to have any
voice in the selection of the leaders who were sending them to fight. This, too, had previously been a
state issue, as several states, notably Georgia, Kentucky, and Hawaii, had already allowed voting at a
younger age than twenty-one. The Twenty-sixth Amendment, ratified in 1971, required all states to set
their voting age at no higher than eighteen.
Current Issues
Thanks to a movement led by differently-abled Americans and their supporters, the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 was passed. It provided for ballot and poll access for those with disabilities.
Enforcement of the Voting Rights Act and other laws continued.
In 2004, a record number of Americans, 5.3 million, were denied the vote because of criminal records.
One in eight black men were unable to vote because of a felony conviction. By federal law, voter rules
are mainly set by the states. As a result, even in presidential elections, former prisoners can vote in
some states but not others.
Only two states, Maine and Vermont, have no restrictions, even permitting inmates to vote. At the other
extreme, three states, Florida, Kentucky and Virginia, still have lifetime bans on voting by felons.
California, New York, and New Jersey, like most states, do not allow current inmates or parolees to
vote.
Also, after the 2000 election, the nation was confronted with over a million ballots never being counted,
and numerous allegations of fraud in Florida and elsewhere. The courts forced the recount in Florida to
stop, and it was only months later (right after the September 11 attacks, so few were listening)that
recounters hired by major news organizations found that if all the valid, machine-rejected votes had
been counted, the man occupying the White House would have lost the election.
In the 2004 election, the struggle continued, as challenges were raised to unfair voting practices in
Ohio and other states. The use of electronic voting machines that leave no paper trail, massive
removals of alleged felons from voter rolls, misallocation of voting machines so that minority districts
have disproportionately fewer machines, and other issues were still prevalent. The Government
Accountability Office started an investigation, and several states started recounts.
34
Adapted using following sources:
-http://www.iwantmyvote.com/recount/history/
-http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/29/us/29brfs-JAIL.html
If You Were Given this Application in a State Agency or Public Office
If you have been given this application in a State agency or public office, it is your choice to use the
application or not.
If you decide to use this application to register to vote, you can fill it out and leave it with the State agency
or public office. The application will be submitted for you. Or, you can take it with you to mail to the
address listed under your State in the State Instructions. You also may take it with you to deliver in
person to your local voter registration office.
Application Instructions
Registration Deadline — 15 days before the election
Before filling out the body of the form, please answer the questions on the top of the form as to whether
you are a United States citizen and whether you will be 18 years old on or before election day. If you
answer no to either of these questions, you may not use this form to register to vote. However, state
specific instructions may provide additional information on eligibility to register to vote prior to age 18.
Box 1 — Name
Put in this box your full name in this order — Last, First, Middle. Do not use nicknames or initials.
Note: If this application is for a change of name, please tell us in Box A (on the bottom half of the form)
your full name before you changed it.
Box 2 — Home Address
Put in this box your home address (legal address). Do not put your mailing address here if it is different
from your home address. Do not use a post office box or rural route without a box number. Refer to statespecific instructions for rules regarding use of route numbers.
Note: If you were registered before but this is the first time you are registering from the address in Box 2,
please tell us in Box B (on the bottom half of the form) the address where you were registered before.
Please give us as much of the address as you can remember.
Also Note: If you live in a rural area but do not have a street address, or if you have no address, please
show where you live using the map in Box C (at the bottom of the form).
Box 3 — Mailing Address
If you get your mail at an address that is different from the address in Box 2, put your mailing address in
this box.
Note: If you have no address in Box 2, you must write in Box 3 an address where you can be reached by
mail.
Box 4 — Date of Birth
Put in this box your date of birth in this order — Month, Day, Year. Be careful not to use today’s date!
Box 5 — Telephone Number
Most States ask for your telephone number in case there are questions about your application. However,
you do not have to fill in this box.
Box 6 — ID Number
35
When you register to vote, you must provide your California driver’s license or California identification
card number, if you have one. If you do not have a driver’s license or ID card, you must provide the last
four digits of your Social Security Number (SSN). If you do not include this information, you will be
required to provide identification when you vote.
Box 7 — Choice of Party
Please enter the name of the political party with which you wish to register. If you do not wish to register
with any party, enter “Decline to State” in the space provided.
California law allows voters who “decline to state” an affiliation with a qualified political party or who
affiliate with a nonqualified political party to vote in the primary election of any qualified political party
that files a notice with the Secretary of State allowing them to do so. You can call 1-800-345-VOTE or visit
www.ss.ca.gov to learn which political parties are allowing nonaffiliated voters to participate in their
primary election.
Box 8 — Race or Ethnic Group
Leave blank.
Box 9 — Signature
To register in California you must:
• be a citizen of the United States
• be a resident of California
• be at least 18 years of age at the time of the next election
• not be imprisoned or on parole for the conviction of a felony
• not currently be judged mentally incompetent by a court of law
Signature is required. If you meet the requirements listed above, please sign and date the registration
card in the space provided.
Attention: Proof of Voter Identification
(Pursuant to the Help America Vote Act of 2002)
Voting in person:
• A first-time voter who registers by mail must present to the appropriate state or local election official:
1) a current and valid photo identification; or
2)a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that
shows the name and address of the voter.
Voting by mail:
• A first-time voter who registers by mail must submit a COPY of one of the following documents with his
or her absentee ballot:
1) current and valid photo identification; OR
2) current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that
shows the name and address of the voter.
For Those Who Register by Mail:
Persons who register to vote by mail and submit a driver’s license number that the state or local election
official can match with an existing state identification record will not be required to provide identification
when they vote. Additionally, voters will not be required to provide identification when they vote if they
are: (i) provided the right to vote otherwise than in person under the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly
and Handicapped Act; or (ii) entitled to vote otherwise than in person under any other Federal law.
These identification requirements only apply to elections in which there is a federal office on the ballot. If
you do not provide proof of identification, you may cast a provisional ballot.
Mailing address:
Secretary of State
Elections Division
1500 11th Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
36
SCHOOL ISSUES
1) Read the list below.
2) Circle the three most important issues in your school and/or school district
3) Underline the three least important issues in your school and/or school district
4) Fill out the back, explaining your reasoning.
sexual harassment
homophobia
lack of computers
gun violence
school violence
lack of school spirit
curriculum that isn’t relevant
too much pressure to take tests
not enough choices for good high schools
not enough adults
low counselor to student ratio
too many school rules
disruptive students
old textbooks
not enough academic support
students can talk too
37
overcrowded classrooms
funding for sport programs
too many students dropping out
ineffective school leadership
graffiti
lack of good choices during school lunch
not enough funding for art or music classes
too many inexperienced teachers
students placed in non-college track courses
If there are other issues you see not included in the list, please feel free to write in your own.
_______________________
________________________
Write down each issue you picked and explain why you chose it.
Most Important Issues:
1)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
2)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
3)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
Least Important Issues:
38
1)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
2)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
3)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
Year Three 2010‐2011: Curriculum C‐Focus on Elections for
Board of Supervisors, Board of Education, and Governor
Day 1‐Oct: Local Elections
Objectives:
•
Students will understand the duties of the Board of Supervisors and the Board of Education
•
Students will generate their own priorities for San Francisco and listen to their classmates’
priorities
•
Student will use these priorities to determine the best candidates for the Board of
Supervisors
California History‐Social Science Content Standards:
•
12.6 Students evaluate issues regarding campaigns for national, state, and local elective
offices
Materials: YouthVote Election Pamphlet, student copies of “Issues in San Francisco”
Activities:
39
I. Sort on San Francisco Issues (35 min)
1. have students examine “San Francisco Issues” handout
2. students should circle the three most important issues and underline the three least
important issues facing San Francisco
3. after students have chosen individually, split the class into small groups of four and have
them to come to a group consensus, choosing their three most and three least important
issues as a group
4. when they are done, have each group write their choices on the board
5. each group should presents their choices to the whole class
6. lead a class discussion asking:
z
Which issues did you choose as the most important? Which ones were the least
important? Why?
•
What are the criteria you are using in prioritizing issues?
•
How well is our city government currently addressing some of these issues?
II. Explanation of Youth Vote Timeline (5 min)
•
Explain to students that for the upcoming election, they will get an opportunity to
participate in YouthVote, a San Francisco‐wide high school mock version of the
election to train them in the voting process. The results will be presented at a press
conference to let adults know what young people think
•
In October, there will be a YouthVote election covering the actual local, state, and
congressional elections
•
In April, there will be a YouthVote election covering local and state propositions as
well as your Student Delegate to the School Board in San Francisco
III. Duties of Local Officials (10 min)
1. Use handout “Duties of Local Officials” to review the duties of the Board of
Supervisors and the Board of Education
Homework:
1. Read more about the candidates for the Board of Supervisors and the Board of Education in the
YouthVote pamphlet. Choose who you think are the three best candidates for Board of
40
Supervisors and the three best candidates for the Board of Education. Explain why you chose
these candidates and what their positions are on the issues you care about.
ISSUES IN SAN FRANCISCO
1) Read the list below.
2) Circle the three most important issues in your school and/or school district
3) Underline the three least important issues in your school and/or school district
4) Fill out the back, explaining your reasoning.
Gun violence
Hate crimes
Homelessness
Affordable housing
Gentrification
Juvenile justice
Lack of afterschool programs
drugs
Public transportation
Immigrant rights
41
Health Care
Police brutality
Lack of jobs
Corrupt government officials
Failing schools
Graffiti
If there are other issues you see not included in the list, please feel free to write in your own.
_______________________
________________________
Write down each issue you picked and explain why you chose it.
Most Important Issues:
1)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
2)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
3)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
Least Important Issues:
42
1)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
2)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
3)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
Duties of Local Officials
Board of Supervisors
-establishes city policies
-adopts ordinances
-adopts resolutions
-members are elected from
eleven single member districts
The Mayor
43
-authors the City budget
-appoints people to positions in the city government
-signs bills into law
-appoints Commissioners to more than 50 citizendriven Commissions that oversee City departments.
Board of Education
-develops annual budget
-establishes school district policies
-acts as a two-way communications link
between residents and Superintendent
Day 2‐Oct: Governor
Objectives:
•
Students will understand the platforms of the candidates for governor
•
Students will work cooperatively in a small group
•
Students will practice note taking skills
•
Students will practice public speaking skills
California History‐Social Science Content Standards:
•
12.6 Students evaluate issues regarding campaigns for national, state, and local elective
offices
Materials: YouthVote Election Pamphlet, one copy of “Group Roles” handout per small group of four,
blank white paper for poster making, note cards, student copies of “Notes from Mock Debate” handout
I. Journal Entry (5 min)
1. What do you think are the qualities a good governor needs? Which candidate for
governor do you think best meets your criteria?
2. Optional or for Block classes: Share out responses.
44
II. Mock Governor Debate (45 min)
1. Break students into groups of four.
2. Assign each group one of the presidential candidates in the pamphlet
3. Pass out the handout “Group Roles” and have the groups assign themselves a role:
i. Candidate‐this person will role play as the candidate in a mock
debate in front of the class
ii. Poster Designer‐this person, with input from the group, will design a
poster to represent the candidate, which will displayed during the
mock debate
iii. Speech Writer‐this person will work with the Candidate to write
down on note cards, their three top national issues and what they
would do about them as president
iv. Bio Writer‐this person will write a short bio for the candidate on a
note card, that the candidate will use to introduce themselves
4. If you have a short block (50 min), then you will need to start with 25 minutes left in
the class to ensure all the candidates get a chance to speak. If you have a Block
class, then you can give the students more time to prep and tell them to come up
with three questions that they can ask any of the other candidates.
5. The format of the debate is:
i. Bio’s
‐go around and have each of the candidates introduce themselves,
including their political party
ii. Speeches
‐go around and have each candidate give their speech that outlines
their three top national priorities and their solutions if elected president
‐give each candidate an opportunity to ask another candidate(s) a
question
6. Students who are watching the debate should take notes using the “Notes from
Mock Governor Debates” handout.
45
7. If time permits, debrief the activity. Possible discussion questions could be:
ƒ
Which candidate has the best solutions to the issues?
ƒ
Which candidates represent your interests the most?
ƒ
How much does political experience matter to you?
ƒ
Do you think it is good that only two parties, the Democrats and Republican
get major media attention? Do they get this attention because no one is
interested in the other parties or could there be some type of conspiracy?
ƒ
Does anyone think the other non‐major party candidates have anything
interesting to say?
Homework:
1. Read more about the candidates for governor inside the YouthVote pamphlet and choose the
candidate you think will do the best job as governor of California. Write a speech from the point
of view of this candidate addressed to other high school students. The speech should not only
explain the candidates’ main points, but also explain why other some of the other candidates’
solutions will not be as effective.
And/or
2. Read the rest of the pamphlet, deciding on who or what you will vote in favor of during the
upcoming YouthVote election. Pick one of these political races, either a proposition race or a
political office race and write a response explaining which side you will vote on and why.
46
Group Roles
Candidate-this person will role play as the candidate in a mock debate in front of the
class
Poster Designer-this person, with input from the group, will design a poster to represent
the candidate, which will displayed during the mock debate
Speech Writer-this person will work with the Candidate to write down on note cards,
their three top national issues and what they would do about them as president
Bio Writer-this person will write a short bio for the candidate on a note card, that the
candidates will use to introduce themselves
Group Roles
47
Candidate-this person will role play as the candidate in a mock debate in front of the
class
Poster Designer-this person, with input from the group, will design a poster to represent
the candidate, which will displayed during the mock debate
Speech Writer-this person will work with the Candidate to write down on note cards,
their three top national issues and what they would do about them as president
Bio Writer-this person will write a short bio for the candidate on a note card, that the
candidates will use to introduce themselves
Notes from Mock Debates
Candidates
Three main priorities
Solutions
48
Day 3‐April: Student Delegate Election
Objectives
•
Students will understand how the right to vote has been historically often denied and fought
for
•
Students will understand contemporary controversial voting issues
•
Students will register to vote
•
Students will generate their own priorities for school improvement and listen to their
classmates’ priorities
•
Student will use these priorities to determine the best candidate to fill the office of student
delegate to the School Board
California History‐Social Science Content Standards:
•
11.10 Students analyze the development of federal civil rights and voting rights.
49
o
6. Analyze the passage and effects of civil rights and voting rights legislation (e.g., 1964
Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act of 1965) and the Twenty‐Fourth Amendment, with an
emphasis on equality of access to education and to the political process.
o
7. Analyze the women's rights movement from the era of Elizabeth Stanton and Susan
Anthony and the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the movement launched in
the 1960s, including differing perspectives on the roles of women.
•
12.6 Students evaluate issues regarding campaigns for national, state, and local elective offices.
o
6. Analyze trends in voter turnout; the causes and effects of reapportionment and
redistricting, with special attention to spatial districting and the rights of minorities; and
the function of the Electoral College.
Materials: student copies of “Anticipation Guide”, one copy or student copies of “History of Voting
Rights”, student copies of “Voter Registration Application”, copy of “Voter Registration Instructions”,
student copies of “School Issues”, student copies of YouthVote Pamphlet
Activities:
I. History of Voting‐Anticipation Guide (20 min)
1. Students should answer True or False for each statement
2. After students finish filling out guide, reveal the answers to the anticipation guide, using the
handout “History of Voting Rights” to explain the answers and the evidence for answers
3. Optional or for Block classes:
•
pass out handout “History of Voting Rights” and allow students to find answers and
the evidence for answers in pairs. Then review as a class.
II. Registering to Vote (10 min)
1. Pass out copies of the Voter Registration Application (for juniors and sophomore, you may
decide to either have them do this anyway so they will understand the process or skip it to
spend more time on the next activity)
2. Have students fill out the application
3. Use the “Registering to Vote Instructions” to assist the students in filling out the application
4. You may either ask the students to mail it in themselves or collect them all and mail them it
in for them (the latter might be a better idea)
III. Sort on School Issues (15 min)
50
1. have students examine “School Issues” handout
2. students should circle the three most important issues and underline the three least
important issues facing their school and/or the school district
3. Optional or for Block Classes:
•
after students have chosen individually, split the class into small groups of four and
have them to come to a group consensus, choosing their three most and three least
important issues as a group
•
when they are done, have each group write their choices on the board
•
each group should presents their choices to the whole class
4. lead a class discussion asking:
•
Which issues did you choose as the most important? Which ones were the least
important? Why?
•
What are the criteria you are using in prioritizing issues?
•
How well is our school or school district currently addressing some of these issues?
IV. Voting for Student Delegate to the School Board (5min)
1. Explain main functions of School Board:
a. develops annual budget
b. establishes school district policies
c. acts as a two‐way communications link between residents and Superintendent
2. Explain background on student delegate:
a. currently two student delegates to the School Board
b. through YouthVote new student delegates will be chosen for the 2008‐2009 school
year
Homework:
1. Read about the candidates for student delegate to the School Board inside the YouthVote pamphlet.
Keeping in mind the issues you deemed at most important during the sort activity, choose the student
delegate candidate that will do the best job for your school and the entire school district, writing a
response explaining why you chose this candidate
51
2. Read the rest of the pamphlet, deciding on who or what you will vote in favor of during the upcoming
YouthVote election. Pick one of these political races, either a proposition race or a political office race
and write a response explaining which side you will vote on and why.
Anticipation Guide
Read the following statements below. For each circle (T)rue or (F)alse.
1. From the founding of the United States, all white men could vote.
T
F
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
2. After the Fifteenth Amendment, African Americans could finally vote without barriers.
T
F
52
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
3. The modern movement for women to have the right to vote can be traced back to the
Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. It took over seventy more years of activism before
women gained the right to vote.
T
F
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
4. At one point, an eighteen-year-olds could not vote, but were being sent to the Vietnam
War.
T
F
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
5. Once Native Americans became citizens in 1924, they did not face voting
discrimination because many whites felt guilty about how cruelly Native Americans had
been treated in the past.
T
F
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
6. Asian Americans were included in the Fifteenth Amendment that stated non-white men
could vote.
T
F
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
7. Although the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo gave Mexican-Americans citizenship
and the right to vote, in practice, states passed laws to keep Mexican-Americans from
voting and whites used force to keep them from voting.
T
F
53
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
8. People with disabilities never needed any legislation to ensure they had equal access to
voting.
T
F
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
9. There is a group of U.S. citizens still denied the right to vote.
T
F
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
10. The presidential elections of 2000 and 2004 generated controversy in terms of the
voting process.
T
F
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
History of Voting Rights
Only Free White Men with Property Can Vote
There is no right to vote in the United States Constitution, so each state's standards have evolved
separately unless federal laws were passed that applied to every state. When this country was
founded, only white men with property were routinely permitted to vote (although freed African
Americans could vote in four states). White working men, almost all women, and all other people of
color were denied the franchise.
By the time of the Civil War, most white men were allowed to vote, whether or not they owned property,
thanks to the efforts of those who championed the cause of frontiersmen and white immigrants (who
had to wait 14 years for citizenship and the right to vote, in some cases). Literacy tests, poll taxes, and
even religious tests were used in various places, and most white women, people of color, and Native
Americans still could not vote.
54
African American Men Get the Vote
In 1866, the 14th Amendment to the federal Constitution was passed, guaranteeing citizenship to the
former slaves and changing them in the eyes of the law from 3/5 of a person to whole persons. Then,
in 1869, the 15th Amendment guaranteed the right to vote to black men, with most women of all races
still unable to vote.
1869 also marked the beginning of "Black Codes," or state laws that restricted the freedoms of African
Americans. Among the freedoms restricted was the freedom to exercise the right to vote. Literacy tests,
poll taxes, hiding the locations of the polls, economic pressures, threats of physical violence, and other
strategies to suppress the African American vote were either found in the Black Codes or flowed from
them.
While strategies such as these are no longer legal, some have argued that the misallocation of voting
machines in 2004 so that whites in Republican-leaning districts had short lines and minorities in
Democratic-leaning districts were forced to miss work to wait in long lines was equivalent to placing a
new poll tax on African American and other minority and poor voters.
Women Get the Vote
Initiatives to promote voting for women have been traced back to the 1770s, but the modern movement
for a vote for women traces its beginning to the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, when supporters of a
Constitutional Amendment to allow women to vote came together. While their movement was slowed
during the Civil War years, the two major suffragist organizations united after the war and pushed
forward with a movement that culminated, after many difficult years, in the Nineteenth Amendment in
1920.
Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Latinos Get the Vote
Some Native Americans became American citizens if they gave up their tribal affiliations in 1887, but
many did not become United States citizens until 1924. Many Western states, however, continued to
deny the right to vote through property requirements, economic pressures, hiding the polls, and
condoning of physical violence against those who voted.
Asian Pacific Americans were considered "aliens ineligible for citizenship" since 1790, and interim
changes to naturalization and immigration laws in 1943, 1946, and 1952 give the franchise to some but
not all immigrant Asian Pacific Americans. Nevertheless, because citizenship is a precondition of
voting, immigrant Asian Pacific Americans did not vote in large numbers until after 1965, when the
immigration and naturalization laws were changed.
Asian Pacific Americans born on American soil were American citizens and had the right to vote. When
77,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry were put in American concentration camps during World War
II, however, their right to vote was not allowed.
For Mexican Americans, those in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas were supposed
to get voting rights along with American citizenship in 1848, when the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo
55
ended the Mexican American war. Property requirements and literacy requirements were imposed in
those states to keep them from voting, and violence and intimidation were used against anyone who
dared to exercise the franchise.
The Sons of America organized in 1921 to fight for equality and the right to vote, but all Mexican
Americans did not receive the right to vote until 1975.
The Movements of the 1960s and 70s
The federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, enacted thanks to the pressures of Dr. Martin Luther King and a
powerful civil rights movement, banned literacy tests and provided federal enforcement of voting
registration and other rights in several Southern states and Alaska.
Five years later, the Voting Rights Act of 1970 provided language assistance to minority voters who did
not speak English fluently. Asian Pacific Americans and Latinos were major beneficiaries of this
legislation.
Young People
A third voting rights movement was the movement in the 1960s to require the voting age to be lowered
to eighteen from twenty-one. This movement was given far greater impetus by the Vietnam War, as it
was noted that most of the young men who were being drafted to fight in it were too young to have any
voice in the selection of the leaders who were sending them to fight. This, too, had previously been a
state issue, as several states, notably Georgia, Kentucky, and Hawaii, had already allowed voting at a
younger age than twenty-one. The Twenty-sixth Amendment, ratified in 1971, required all states to set
their voting age at no higher than eighteen.
Current Issues
Thanks to a movement led by differently-abled Americans and their supporters, the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 was passed. It provided for ballot and poll access for those with disabilities.
Enforcement of the Voting Rights Act and other laws continued.
In 2004, a record number of Americans, 5.3 million, were denied the vote because of criminal records.
One in eight black men were unable to vote because of a felony conviction. By federal law, voter rules
are mainly set by the states. As a result, even in presidential elections, former prisoners can vote in
some states but not others.
Only two states, Maine and Vermont, have no restrictions, even permitting inmates to vote. At the other
extreme, three states, Florida, Kentucky and Virginia, still have lifetime bans on voting by felons.
California, New York, and New Jersey, like most states, do not allow current inmates or parolees to
vote.
56
Also, after the 2000 election, the nation was confronted with over a million ballots never being counted,
and numerous allegations of fraud in Florida and elsewhere. The courts forced the recount in Florida to
stop, and it was only months later (right after the September 11 attacks, so few were listening)that
recounters hired by major news organizations found that if all the valid, machine-rejected votes had
been counted, the man occupying the White House would have lost the election.
In the 2004 election, the struggle continued, as challenges were raised to unfair voting practices in
Ohio and other states. The use of electronic voting machines that leave no paper trail, massive
removals of alleged felons from voter rolls, misallocation of voting machines so that minority districts
have disproportionately fewer machines, and other issues were still prevalent. The Government
Accountability Office started an investigation, and several states started recounts.
Adapted using following sources:
-http://www.iwantmyvote.com/recount/history/
-http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/29/us/29brfs-JAIL.html
If You Were Given this Application in a State Agency or Public Office
If you have been given this application in a State agency or public office, it is your choice to use the
application or not.
If you decide to use this application to register to vote, you can fill it out and leave it with the State agency
or public office. The application will be submitted for you. Or, you can take it with you to mail to the
address listed under your State in the State Instructions. You also may take it with you to deliver in
person to your local voter registration office.
Application Instructions
Registration Deadline — 15 days before the election
Before filling out the body of the form, please answer the questions on the top of the form as to whether
you are a United States citizen and whether you will be 18 years old on or before election day. If you
answer no to either of these questions, you may not use this form to register to vote. However, state
specific instructions may provide additional information on eligibility to register to vote prior to age 18.
Box 1 — Name
Put in this box your full name in this order — Last, First, Middle. Do not use nicknames or initials.
57
Note: If this application is for a change of name, please tell us in Box A (on the bottom half of the form)
your full name before you changed it.
Box 2 — Home Address
Put in this box your home address (legal address). Do not put your mailing address here if it is different
from your home address. Do not use a post office box or rural route without a box number. Refer to statespecific instructions for rules regarding use of route numbers.
Note: If you were registered before but this is the first time you are registering from the address in Box 2,
please tell us in Box B (on the bottom half of the form) the address where you were registered before.
Please give us as much of the address as you can remember.
Also Note: If you live in a rural area but do not have a street address, or if you have no address, please
show where you live using the map in Box C (at the bottom of the form).
Box 3 — Mailing Address
If you get your mail at an address that is different from the address in Box 2, put your mailing address in
this box.
Note: If you have no address in Box 2, you must write in Box 3 an address where you can be reached by
mail.
Box 4 — Date of Birth
Put in this box your date of birth in this order — Month, Day, Year. Be careful not to use today’s date!
Box 5 — Telephone Number
Most States ask for your telephone number in case there are questions about your application. However,
you do not have to fill in this box.
Box 6 — ID Number
When you register to vote, you must provide your California driver’s license or California identification
card number, if you have one. If you do not have a driver’s license or ID card, you must provide the last
four digits of your Social Security Number (SSN). If you do not include this information, you will be
required to provide identification when you vote.
Box 7 — Choice of Party
Please enter the name of the political party with which you wish to register. If you do not wish to register
with any party, enter “Decline to State” in the space provided.
California law allows voters who “decline to state” an affiliation with a qualified political party or who
affiliate with a nonqualified political party to vote in the primary election of any qualified political party
that files a notice with the Secretary of State allowing them to do so. You can call 1-800-345-VOTE or visit
www.ss.ca.gov to learn which political parties are allowing nonaffiliated voters to participate in their
primary election.
Box 8 — Race or Ethnic Group
Leave blank.
Box 9 — Signature
To register in California you must:
• be a citizen of the United States
• be a resident of California
• be at least 18 years of age at the time of the next election
• not be imprisoned or on parole for the conviction of a felony
• not currently be judged mentally incompetent by a court of law
Signature is required. If you meet the requirements listed above, please sign and date the registration
card in the space provided.
Attention: Proof of Voter Identification
(Pursuant to the Help America Vote Act of 2002)
Voting in person:
• A first-time voter who registers by mail must present to the appropriate state or local election official:
1) a current and valid photo identification; or
58
2)a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that
shows the name and address of the voter.
Voting by mail:
• A first-time voter who registers by mail must submit a COPY of one of the following documents with his
or her absentee ballot:
1) current and valid photo identification; OR
2) current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that
shows the name and address of the voter.
For Those Who Register by Mail:
Persons who register to vote by mail and submit a driver’s license number that the state or local election
official can match with an existing state identification record will not be required to provide identification
when they vote. Additionally, voters will not be required to provide identification when they vote if they
are: (i) provided the right to vote otherwise than in person under the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly
and Handicapped Act; or (ii) entitled to vote otherwise than in person under any other Federal law.
These identification requirements only apply to elections in which there is a federal office on the ballot. If
you do not provide proof of identification, you may cast a provisional ballot.
Mailing address:
Secretary of State
Elections Division
1500 11th Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
SCHOOL ISSUES
1) Read the list below.
2) Circle the three most important issues in your school and/or school district
3) Underline the three least important issues in your school and/or school district
59
4) Fill out the back, explaining your reasoning.
sexual harassment
homophobia
lack of computers
gun violence
school violence
lack of school spirit
curriculum that isn’t relevant
too much pressure to take tests
not enough choices for good high schools
not enough adults
low counselor to student ratio
not enough academic support
overcrowded classrooms
funding for sport programs
too many students dropping out
ineffective school leadership
graffiti
lack of good choices during school lunch
not enough funding for art or music classes
too many school rules
disruptive students
old textbooks
students can talk too
too many inexperienced teachers
students placed in non-college track courses
If there are other issues you see not included in the list, please feel free to write in your own.
_______________________
________________________
Write down each issue you picked and explain why you chose it.
Most Important Issues:
60
1)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
2)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
3)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
Least Important Issues:
1)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
2)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
3)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
Year Four 2011‐2012: Curriculum D: Focus on
Mayoral Election and Presidential Primaries
61
Day 1‐Oct: Mayoral Election
Objectives:
•
Students will understand the platforms of the mayoral candidates
•
Students will work cooperatively in a small group
•
Students will practice note taking skills
•
Students will practice public speaking skills
California History‐Social Science Content Standards:
•
12.6 Students evaluate issues regarding campaigns for national, state, and local elective
offices
Materials: YouthVote Election Pamphlet, one copy of “Group Roles” handout per small group of four,
blank white paper for poster making, note cards, student copies of “Notes from Mock Debate” handout
I.
Journal Entry (5 min)
1. What do you think are the qualities a good mayor needs? Which candidate for mayor
do you think best meets your criteria?
2. Optional or for Block classes: Share out responses.
II. Explanation of Youth Vote Timeline (5 min)
•
Explain to students that for the upcoming election, they will get an opportunity to
participate in YouthVote, a San Francisco‐wide high school mock version of the
election to train them in the voting process. The results will be presented at a press
conference to let adults know what young people think
•
In October, there will be a YouthVote election covering the actual local, state, and
congressional elections
•
In January, there will be a YouteVote election covering the presidential primaries
•
In April, there will be a YouthVote election covering local and state propositions as
well as your Student Delegate to the School Board in San Francisco
III. Mock Mayoral Debate (40 min)
1. Break students into groups of four.
2. Assign each group one of the mayoral candidates in the pamphlet
3. Pass out the handout “Group Roles” and have the groups assign themselves a role:
62
i. Candidate‐this person will role play as the candidate in a mock
debate in front of the class
ii. Poster Designer‐this person, with input from the group, will design a
poster to represent the candidate, which will displayed during the
mock debate
iii. Speech Writer‐this person will work with the Candidate to write
down on note cards, their three top national issues and what they
would do about them as president
iv. Bio Writer‐this person will write a short bio for the candidate on a
note card, that the candidate will use to introduce themselves
4. If you have a short block (50 min), then you will need to start with 25 minutes left in
the class to ensure all the candidates get a chance to speak. If you have a Block
class, then you can give the students more time to prep and tell them to come up
with three questions that they can ask any of the other candidates.
5. The format of the debate is:
i. Bio’s
‐go around and have each of the candidates introduce themselves,
including their political party
ii. Speeches
‐go around and have each candidate give their speech that outlines
their three top national priorities and their solutions if elected president
‐give each candidate an opportunity to ask another candidate(s) a
question
6. Students who are watching the debate should take notes using the “Notes from
Mock Debate” handout.
7. If time permits, debrief the activity. Possible discussion questions could be:
ƒ
Which candidate has the best solutions to the issues?
ƒ
Which candidates represent your interests the most?
ƒ
How much does political experience matter to you?
63
ƒ
Why do you think only two parties‐‐the Democrats and Republicans‐‐get
major media attention? Do they get this attention because no one is
interested in the other parties or could there be some type of conspiracy?
ƒ
Does anyone think the other non‐major party candidates have anything
interesting to say?
Homework:
1. Read more about the candidates for mayor inside the YouthVote pamphlet and choose the
candidate you think will do the best job as mayor of San Francisco. Write a speech from the
point of view of this candidate addressed to other high school students. The speech should not
only explain the candidates’ main points, but also explain why other some of the other
candidates’ solutions will not be as effective.
And/or
2. Read the rest of the pamphlet, deciding on who or what you will vote in favor of during the
upcoming YouthVote election. Pick one of these political races, either a proposition race or a
political office race and write a response explaining which side you will vote on and why.
Group Roles
64
Candidate-this person will role play as the candidate in a mock debate in front of the
class
Poster Designer-this person, with input from the group, will design a poster to represent
the candidate, which will displayed during the mock debate
Speech Writer-this person will work with the Candidate to write down on note cards,
their three top national issues and what they would do about them as president
Bio Writer-this person will write a short bio for the candidate on a note card, that the
candidates will use to introduce themselves
Group Roles
Candidate-this person will role play as the candidate in a mock debate in front of the
class
Poster Designer-this person, with input from the group, will design a poster to represent
the candidate, which will displayed during the mock debate
Speech Writer-this person will work with the Candidate to write down on note cards,
their three top national issues and what they would do about them as president
Bio Writer-this person will write a short bio for the candidate on a note card, that the
candidates will use to introduce themselves
Notes from Mock Debates
65
Candidates
Three main priorities
Solutions
Day 2‐Jan: Presidential Primaries
Objectives:
66
•
Students will understand the key differences between the Democratic, Republican, and the
Green Party
•
Students will consider which political party represents their interests most
•
Students will evaluate the presidential candidates
California History‐Social Science Content Standards:
•
12.6 Students evaluate issues regarding campaigns for national, state, and local elective offices.
o
1. Analyze the origin, development, and role of political parties, noting those occasional
periods in which there was only one major party or were more than two major parties.
Materials: “Description of Political Parties” handout, “Four Corners” signs
Activities:
I.
Journal Entry (5 min)
1. If you were president, what issue in the U.S. would you deal with first? What would you
do about it?
II.
Description of Political Parties (10 min)
1. Present the “Description of Political Parties” handout either as an overhead
transparency or by copying it onto the board then having students take down notes or make
enough copies for all students
2. Discuss with students which party they think best represents their interests
a. Possible Questions:
ƒ
Which party do you think will do the best job in leading our
country? Why?
ƒ
Since the Green Party typically gets less votes, does this mean
voters should not “waste a vote” on them?
ƒ
Is it fair for the rich to be taxed more?
III. Four Corners (30 min)
67
1. Tape four signs on each of the four corners of the room: “Strongly Agree,” “Agree,” “Disagree,”
and “Strongly Disagree”.
2. Read the statements below. They represent one of the three political parties: Republican,
Democratic, or Green Party. There are some individual exceptions, but the statements are generally
espoused by one of the parties. Read each one at a time to the class, and have students go to the
corner with the sign that best represents their own individual opinion to each statement.
1. After students have moved to their corner, you may ask students to share out why they chose
their particular corner
2. Before reading the next statement you may ask students to guess which party agrees with which
statement
Statements
•
Individuals in our society should be economically responsible for their own actions
and decisions. (Republican)
•
Current undocumented workers should be given amnesty and offered a clear path
to gaining citizenship. (Green)
•
Universities should be allowed to use race as a factor in admissions to ensure the
diversity of their campus. (Democrat)
•
An effective way to improve our economy is to give corporations tax breaks so they
will have more money to spend on hiring more workers. (Republican)
•
People who make less money should get taxed a lower percentage than those who
make more money. (Democrat and Green)
•
Our country needs a graduated supplemental income, or negative income tax, that
would maintain all individual adult incomes above the poverty level, regardless of
employment or martial status. (Green)
Sources:
Democrats:
ƒ
http://www.democrats.org/
ƒ
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_(United_States)
Republicans:
68
ƒ
http://www.gop.com/
ƒ
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_(United_States)
Green Party
ƒ
http://www.gp.org/index.php
ƒ
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Party_(United_States)
Homework:
1) Pick the political party that you would to like to register as
2) Pick the strongest candidate for your party. Write a response explaining your reasoning for picking
the candidate.
69
DESCRIPTION OF U.S. POLITICAL PARTIES
REPUBLICIAN PARTY
• supports lower taxes
• argues individual
responsibility and not
more government
programs are the best
way to solve economic
issues (i.e.,
unemployment,
homelessness,
affordable housing)
• most oppose abortion
• most oppose same-sex
marriage
• a majority of their
presidential candidates
believe the Iraq War is
succeeding
DEMOCRATIC PARTY
• argues for higher taxes
on the rich than the
poor and middle-class
• argues government
should play a very active
role in solving economic
issues
• most are “pro-choice” in
the abortion debate
• some support and some
oppose same-sex
marriage
• vocal critics of Bush’s
handling of the Iraq War
• some who supported it
before have called their
decision a mistake
GREEN PARTY
• argues the Republican
and Democratic Parties
don’t work for ordinary
people, but major
corporations
• to solve economic
issues, we need major
changes in our
economy (i.e.,
redistribution of
wealth, employee
ownership)
• values include:
diversity, ecological
wisdom, and feminism
• supports “pro-choice”
and same-sex marriage
• opposed the Iraq war
from beginning
70
Day 3‐April: Student Delegate Election
Objectives
•
Students will understand how the right to vote has been historically often denied and fought
for
•
Students will understand contemporary controversial voting issues
•
Students will register to vote
•
Students will generate their own priorities for school improvement and listen to their
classmates’ priorities
•
Student will use these priorities to determine the best candidate to fill the office of student
delegate to the School Board
California History‐Social Science Content Standards:
•
11.10 Students analyze the development of federal civil rights and voting rights.
o
6. Analyze the passage and effects of civil rights and voting rights legislation (e.g., 1964
Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act of 1965) and the Twenty‐Fourth Amendment, with an
emphasis on equality of access to education and to the political process.
o
7. Analyze the women's rights movement from the era of Elizabeth Stanton and Susan
Anthony and the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the movement launched in
the 1960s, including differing perspectives on the roles of women.
•
12.6 Students evaluate issues regarding campaigns for national, state, and local elective offices.
o
6. Analyze trends in voter turnout; the causes and effects of reapportionment and
redistricting, with special attention to spatial districting and the rights of minorities; and
the function of the Electoral College.
Materials: student copies of “Anticipation Guide”, one copy or student copies of “History of Voting
Rights”, student copies of “Voter Registration Application”, copy of “Voter Registration Instructions”,
student copies of “School Issues”, student copies of YouthVote Pamphlet
Activities:
I. History of Voting‐Anticipation Guide (20 min)
4. Students should answer True or False for each statement
71
5. After students finish filling out guide, reveal the answers to the anticipation guide, using the
handout “History of Voting Rights” to explain the answers and the evidence for answers
6. Optional or for Block classes:
•
pass out handout “History of Voting Rights” and allow students to find answers and
the evidence for answers in pairs. Then review as a class.
II. Registering to Vote (10 min)
5. Pass out copies of the Voter Registration Application (for juniors and sophomore, you may
decide to either have them do this anyway so they will understand the process or skip it to
spend more time on the next activity)
6. Have students fill out the application
7. Use the “Registering to Vote Instructions” to assist the students in filling out the application
8. You may either ask the students to mail it in themselves or collect them all and mail them it
in for them (the latter might be a better idea)
III. Sort on School Issues (15 min)
5. have students examine “School Issues” handout
6. students should circle the three most important issues and underline the three least
important issues facing their school and/or the school district
7. Optional or for Block Classes:
•
after students have chosen individually, split the class into small groups of four and
have them to come to a group consensus, choosing their three most and three least
important issues as a group
•
when they are done, have each group write their choices on the board
•
each group should presents their choices to the whole class
8. lead a class discussion asking:
•
Which issues did you choose as the most important? Which ones were the least
important? Why?
•
What are the criteria you are using in prioritizing issues?
•
How well is our school or school district currently addressing some of these issues?
IV. Voting for Student Delegate to the School Board (5min)
3. Explain main functions of School Board:
a. develops annual budget
72
b. establishes school district policies
c. acts as a two‐way communications link between residents and Superintendent
4. Explain background on student delegate:
a. currently two student delegates to the School Board
b. through YouthVote new student delegates will be chosen for the 2008‐2009 school
year
Homework:
1. Read about the candidates for student delegate to the School Board inside the YouthVote pamphlet.
Keeping in mind the issues you deemed at most important during the sort activity, choose the student
delegate candidate that will do the best job for your school and the entire school district, writing a
response explaining why you chose this candidate
2. Read the rest of the pamphlet, deciding on who or what you will vote in favor of during the upcoming
YouthVote election. Pick one of these political races, either a proposition race or a political office race
and write a response explaining which side you will vote on and why.
73
Anticipation Guide
Read the following statements below. For each circle (T)rue or (F)alse.
1. From the founding of the United States, all white men could vote.
T
F
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
2. After the Fifteenth Amendment, African Americans could finally vote without barriers.
T
F
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
3. The modern movement for women to have the right to vote can be traced back to the
Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. It took over seventy more years of activism before
women gained the right to vote.
T
F
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
4. At one point, an eighteen-year-olds could not vote, but were being sent to the Vietnam
War.
T
F
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
5. Once Native Americans became citizens in 1924, they did not face voting
discrimination because many whites felt guilty about how cruelly Native Americans had
been treated in the past.
T
F
74
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
6. Asian Americans were included in the Fifteenth Amendment that stated non-white men
could vote.
T
F
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
7. Although the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo gave Mexican-Americans citizenship
and the right to vote, in practice, states passed laws to keep Mexican-Americans from
voting and whites used force to keep them from voting.
T
F
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
8. People with disabilities never needed any legislation to ensure they had equal access to
voting.
T
F
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
9. There is a group of U.S. citizens still denied the right to vote.
T
F
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
10. The presidential elections of 2000 and 2004 generated controversy in terms of the
voting process.
T
F
Evidence:________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
75
History of Voting Rights
Only Free White Men with Property Can Vote
There is no right to vote in the United States Constitution, so each state's standards have evolved
separately unless federal laws were passed that applied to every state. When this country was
founded, only white men with property were routinely permitted to vote (although freed African
Americans could vote in four states). White working men, almost all women, and all other people of
color were denied the franchise.
By the time of the Civil War, most white men were allowed to vote, whether or not they owned property,
thanks to the efforts of those who championed the cause of frontiersmen and white immigrants (who
had to wait 14 years for citizenship and the right to vote, in some cases). Literacy tests, poll taxes, and
even religious tests were used in various places, and most white women, people of color, and Native
Americans still could not vote.
African American Men Get the Vote
In 1866, the 14th Amendment to the federal Constitution was passed, guaranteeing citizenship to the
former slaves and changing them in the eyes of the law from 3/5 of a person to whole persons. Then,
in 1869, the 15th Amendment guaranteed the right to vote to black men, with most women of all races
still unable to vote.
1869 also marked the beginning of "Black Codes," or state laws that restricted the freedoms of African
Americans. Among the freedoms restricted was the freedom to exercise the right to vote. Literacy tests,
poll taxes, hiding the locations of the polls, economic pressures, threats of physical violence, and other
strategies to suppress the African American vote were either found in the Black Codes or flowed from
them.
While strategies such as these are no longer legal, some have argued that the misallocation of voting
machines in 2004 so that whites in Republican-leaning districts had short lines and minorities in
Democratic-leaning districts were forced to miss work to wait in long lines was equivalent to placing a
new poll tax on African American and other minority and poor voters.
Women Get the Vote
Initiatives to promote voting for women have been traced back to the 1770s, but the modern movement
for a vote for women traces its beginning to the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, when supporters of a
Constitutional Amendment to allow women to vote came together. While their movement was slowed
during the Civil War years, the two major suffragist organizations united after the war and pushed
forward with a movement that culminated, after many difficult years, in the Nineteenth Amendment in
1920.
Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Latinos Get the Vote
76
Some Native Americans became American citizens if they gave up their tribal affiliations in 1887, but
many did not become United States citizens until 1924. Many Western states, however, continued to
deny the right to vote through property requirements, economic pressures, hiding the polls, and
condoning of physical violence against those who voted.
Asian Pacific Americans were considered "aliens ineligible for citizenship" since 1790, and interim
changes to naturalization and immigration laws in 1943, 1946, and 1952 give the franchise to some but
not all immigrant Asian Pacific Americans. Nevertheless, because citizenship is a precondition of
voting, immigrant Asian Pacific Americans did not vote in large numbers until after 1965, when the
immigration and naturalization laws were changed.
Asian Pacific Americans born on American soil were American citizens and had the right to vote. When
77,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry were put in American concentration camps during World War
II, however, their right to vote was not allowed.
For Mexican Americans, those in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas were supposed
to get voting rights along with American citizenship in 1848, when the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo
ended the Mexican American war. Property requirements and literacy requirements were imposed in
those states to keep them from voting, and violence and intimidation were used against anyone who
dared to exercise the franchise.
The Sons of America organized in 1921 to fight for equality and the right to vote, but all Mexican
Americans did not receive the right to vote until 1975.
The Movements of the 1960s and 70s
The federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, enacted thanks to the pressures of Dr. Martin Luther King and a
powerful civil rights movement, banned literacy tests and provided federal enforcement of voting
registration and other rights in several Southern states and Alaska.
Five years later, the Voting Rights Act of 1970 provided language assistance to minority voters who did
not speak English fluently. Asian Pacific Americans and Latinos were major beneficiaries of this
legislation.
Young People
A third voting rights movement was the movement in the 1960s to require the voting age to be lowered
to eighteen from twenty-one. This movement was given far greater impetus by the Vietnam War, as it
was noted that most of the young men who were being drafted to fight in it were too young to have any
voice in the selection of the leaders who were sending them to fight. This, too, had previously been a
state issue, as several states, notably Georgia, Kentucky, and Hawaii, had already allowed voting at a
younger age than twenty-one. The Twenty-sixth Amendment, ratified in 1971, required all states to set
their voting age at no higher than eighteen.
Current Issues
77
Thanks to a movement led by differently-abled Americans and their supporters, the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 was passed. It provided for ballot and poll access for those with disabilities.
Enforcement of the Voting Rights Act and other laws continued.
In 2004, a record number of Americans, 5.3 million, were denied the vote because of criminal records.
One in eight black men were unable to vote because of a felony conviction. By federal law, voter rules
are mainly set by the states. As a result, even in presidential elections, former prisoners can vote in
some states but not others.
Only two states, Maine and Vermont, have no restrictions, even permitting inmates to vote. At the other
extreme, three states, Florida, Kentucky and Virginia, still have lifetime bans on voting by felons.
California, New York, and New Jersey, like most states, do not allow current inmates or parolees to
vote.
Also, after the 2000 election, the nation was confronted with over a million ballots never being counted,
and numerous allegations of fraud in Florida and elsewhere. The courts forced the recount in Florida to
stop, and it was only months later (right after the September 11 attacks, so few were listening)that
recounters hired by major news organizations found that if all the valid, machine-rejected votes had
been counted, the man occupying the White House would have lost the election.
In the 2004 election, the struggle continued, as challenges were raised to unfair voting practices in
Ohio and other states. The use of electronic voting machines that leave no paper trail, massive
removals of alleged felons from voter rolls, misallocation of voting machines so that minority districts
have disproportionately fewer machines, and other issues were still prevalent. The Government
Accountability Office started an investigation, and several states started recounts.
Adapted using following sources:
-http://www.iwantmyvote.com/recount/history/
-http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/29/us/29brfs-JAIL.html
78
If You Were Given this Application in a State Agency or Public Office
If you have been given this application in a State agency or public office, it is your choice to use the
application or not.
If you decide to use this application to register to vote, you can fill it out and leave it with the State agency
or public office. The application will be submitted for you. Or, you can take it with you to mail to the
address listed under your State in the State Instructions. You also may take it with you to deliver in
person to your local voter registration office.
Application Instructions
Registration Deadline — 15 days before the election
Before filling out the body of the form, please answer the questions on the top of the form as to whether
you are a United States citizen and whether you will be 18 years old on or before election day. If you
answer no to either of these questions, you may not use this form to register to vote. However, state
specific instructions may provide additional information on eligibility to register to vote prior to age 18.
Box 1 — Name
Put in this box your full name in this order — Last, First, Middle. Do not use nicknames or initials.
Note: If this application is for a change of name, please tell us in Box A (on the bottom half of the form)
your full name before you changed it.
Box 2 — Home Address
Put in this box your home address (legal address). Do not put your mailing address here if it is different
from your home address. Do not use a post office box or rural route without a box number. Refer to statespecific instructions for rules regarding use of route numbers.
Note: If you were registered before but this is the first time you are registering from the address in Box 2,
please tell us in Box B (on the bottom half of the form) the address where you were registered before.
Please give us as much of the address as you can remember.
Also Note: If you live in a rural area but do not have a street address, or if you have no address, please
show where you live using the map in Box C (at the bottom of the form).
Box 3 — Mailing Address
If you get your mail at an address that is different from the address in Box 2, put your mailing address in
this box.
Note: If you have no address in Box 2, you must write in Box 3 an address where you can be reached by
mail.
Box 4 — Date of Birth
Put in this box your date of birth in this order — Month, Day, Year. Be careful not to use today’s date!
Box 5 — Telephone Number
Most States ask for your telephone number in case there are questions about your application. However,
you do not have to fill in this box.
Box 6 — ID Number
When you register to vote, you must provide your California driver’s license or California identification
card number, if you have one. If you do not have a driver’s license or ID card, you must provide the last
four digits of your Social Security Number (SSN). If you do not include this information, you will be
required to provide identification when you vote.
Box 7 — Choice of Party
Please enter the name of the political party with which you wish to register. If you do not wish to register
with any party, enter “Decline to State” in the space provided.
California law allows voters who “decline to state” an affiliation with a qualified political party or who
affiliate with a nonqualified political party to vote in the primary election of any qualified political party
that files a notice with the Secretary of State allowing them to do so. You can call 1-800-345-VOTE or visit
www.ss.ca.gov to learn which political parties are allowing nonaffiliated voters to participate in their
primary election.
Box 8 — Race or Ethnic Group
79
Leave blank.
Box 9 — Signature
To register in California you must:
• be a citizen of the United States
• be a resident of California
• be at least 18 years of age at the time of the next election
• not be imprisoned or on parole for the conviction of a felony
• not currently be judged mentally incompetent by a court of law
Signature is required. If you meet the requirements listed above, please sign and date the registration
card in the space provided.
Attention: Proof of Voter Identification
(Pursuant to the Help America Vote Act of 2002)
Voting in person:
• A first-time voter who registers by mail must present to the appropriate state or local election official:
1) a current and valid photo identification; or
2)a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that
shows the name and address of the voter.
Voting by mail:
• A first-time voter who registers by mail must submit a COPY of one of the following documents with his
or her absentee ballot:
1) current and valid photo identification; OR
2) current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that
shows the name and address of the voter.
For Those Who Register by Mail:
Persons who register to vote by mail and submit a driver’s license number that the state or local election
official can match with an existing state identification record will not be required to provide identification
when they vote. Additionally, voters will not be required to provide identification when they vote if they
are: (i) provided the right to vote otherwise than in person under the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly
and Handicapped Act; or (ii) entitled to vote otherwise than in person under any other Federal law.
These identification requirements only apply to elections in which there is a federal office on the ballot. If
you do not provide proof of identification, you may cast a provisional ballot.
Mailing address:
Secretary of State
Elections Division
1500 11th Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
80
SCHOOL ISSUES
1) Read the list below.
2) Circle the three most important issues in your school and/or school district
3) Underline the three least important issues in your school and/or school district
4) Fill out the back, explaining your reasoning.
sexual harassment
homophobia
lack of computers
gun violence
school violence
lack of school spirit
curriculum that isn’t relevant
too much pressure to take tests
not enough choices for good high schools
not enough adults
low counselor to student ratio
not enough academic support
overcrowded classrooms
funding for sport programs
too many students dropping out
ineffective school leadership
graffiti
lack of good choices during school lunch
not enough funding for art or music classes
too many school rules
disruptive students
old textbooks
students can talk too
too many inexperienced teachers
81
students placed in non-college track courses
If there are other issues you see not included in the list, please feel free to write in your own.
_______________________
________________________
Write down each issue you picked and explain why you chose it.
Most Important Issues:
1)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
2)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
3)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
Least Important Issues:
1)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
2)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
3)
Why?________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________.
82
83