44-1 (04)
release dates: October 23-29
TM
TM
Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate
© 2004 The Mini Page Publishing Company Inc.
By BETTY DEBNAM
from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam © 2004 The Mini Page Publishing Company Inc.
How We Elect Our President
The Electoral Vote
On Nov. 2, voters will vote for the president
and vice president of the United States.
The candidates for president and vice
president from each party run as a team.
They are on the same “ticket.”
The Constitution sets down the rules for
electing a president. Each state is allotted
a certain number of votes. These votes are
called “electoral votes.” Today, the total
number of electoral votes for the whole
country is 538.
In most states the winning ticket wins
all of that state’s electoral votes.* This is
called “winner takes all.”
*In Maine and Nebraska, the electoral vote may be
split between the candidates.
Electoral votes for each state and the District of Columbia
Alabama . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Alaska . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Arizona . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Arkansas . . . . . . . . . . . 6
California . . . . . . . . . . 55
Colorado . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Connecticut . . . . . . . . . 7
Delaware . . . . . . . . . . . 3
District of Columbia . . 3
Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Hawaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Idaho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Indiana . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Iowa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Kansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Kentucky . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Louisiana . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Maine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Maryland . . . . . . . . . . 10
Massachusetts . . . . . 12
Michigan . . . . . . . . . . 17
Minnesota . . . . . . . . . 10
Mississippi. . . . . . . . . . 6
Missouri. . . . . . . . . . . 11
Montana . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Nebraska . . . . . . . . . . 5
Nevada. . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
New Hampshire . . . . . 4
New Jersey . . . . . . . . 15
New Mexico . . . . . . . . 5
New York . . . . . . . . . . 31
North Carolina. . . . . . 15
North Dakota. . . . . . . . 3
Ohio . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Write the number of votes for each state on
the map and in the boxes. After the election,
color in the states that voted for the
Republican ticket. Use another color to shade
in the states that voted for the Democratic
ticket.
Oklahoma . . . . . . . . . 7
Oregon . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Pennsylvania . . . . . 21
Rhode Island . . . . . . 4
South Carolina . . . . . 8
South Dakota . . . . . 3
Tennessee . . . . . . . 11
Texas . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Utah . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Vermont . . . . . . . . . . 3
Virginia . . . . . . . . . . 13
Washington . . . . . . 11
West Virginia . . . . . . 5
Wisconsin . . . . . . . . 10
Wyoming . . . . . . . . . 3
TOTAL . . . . . . . . . 538
NH
MA
RI
VT
CT
NJ
DE
MD
DC
270 ELECTORAL
VOTES ARE
NEEDED
TO WIN.
Site to see:
www.archives.gov/
federal_register/
electoral_college
This is how the states and the District of Columbia voted in the 2000 election. Compare how they vote in this year’s election.
AL . . . R
AK . . . R
AZ . . . R
AR . . . R
CA . . . D
CO. . . R
CT . . . D
DE . . . D
DC. . . D
FL . . . R
GA . . . R
HI . . . D
ID . . . R
IL. . . . D
IN . . . R
IA. . . . D
KS . . . R
KY . . . R
LA . . . R
ME . . D
MD . . D
MA . . D
MI . . . D
MN . . D
MS. . . R
MO . . R
MT. . . R
NE . . . R
NV . . . R
NH. . . R
NJ . . . D
NM . . D
NY . . . D
NC. . . R
ND. . . R
OH. . . R
OK. . . R
OR. . . D
PA . . . D
RI . . . D
SC . . . R
SD . . . R
TN . . . R
TX . . . R
UT . . . R WV . . R
VT . . . D WI . . . D
VA . . . R WY . . R
WA . . D
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44-2 (04); release dates: October 23-29
Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate
from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam © 2004 The Mini Page Publishing Company Inc.
Electing Your President
To better understand how
we elect our president, let’s
pretend that you are going
through the steps in your
school.
You will be using many of
the same steps that U.S.
voters do.
1. Decide how many
electoral votes
Every class
would start
with two
electoral
votes. Each
class would
also have electoral votes based on how
many students are in each classroom.
The classrooms with more students
would have more electoral votes.
2. Set up political parties
Students in each classroom
would decide whether
they were members of
the Republican or
Democratic party.
If some students don’t
want to belong to
either party, they
might start a third
party and call
themselves
Independents.
from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam © 2004 The Mini Page Publishing Company Inc.
Mini Spy . . .
3. Register voters
8. Candidates
campaign
Ask each voter to register
to vote in a special
notebook. They can
register only once.
They visit classrooms.
Their supporters make
posters and buttons.
4. Choose the candidates
9. Get ballots and
voting places
Students from each party who want to
run for president go to each classroom
to introduce themselves and ask their
party members to vote for them.
Create ballots for voters to mark. Set up
polling places. (You
might want to make
one out of a big
cardboard box.)
Select the date and
hours for voting.
5. Hold primary elections
Each party in each
classroom holds elections
to decide which candidate
they will support. Primary
elections are those held
before the main election.
10. Hold an election in
each classroom
Each voter must sign in to
make certain he or she is
registered to vote. The
voters vote. The candidate
who wins in that classroom
wins all of the electoral votes. This is
called “winner take all.”
6. Elect delegates
The political parties
in each room select
“delegates”
(students) to go to
the political
convention.
7. Hold political conventions
11. Hold an Electoral
College
Student delegates
from each political
party go to a meeting,
or convention, to vote
for the candidate they
want to run for
president. The winning candidate will
choose the person to run for vice
president with him or her on the ticket.
One
meaning of
“college” is
a meeting
of people
for a special purpose. Hold a special
meeting and count all of the electoral
votes coming in from the classrooms.
The candidate with the most votes wins!
TM
Mini Spy and her friends are going to vote. See if you can find:
• man in the moon • word MINI • strawberry • boomerang
• carrot
• kite • lips
• pencil
• tooth
• bell • key
• heart
• umbrella
• teapot
• olive • sock
• sailboat
• butterfly
• number 7
• ruler
• ladder
Brown
Basset ws
The Ned’s
Houn
TM
from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam © 2004 The Mini Page Publishing Company Inc.
Electoral Vote
TRY ’N
FIND
Words and names that remind us of the Electoral College are hidden
in the block below. Some words are hidden backward or diagonally,
and some letters are used more than once. See if you can find: VOTE,
ELECTORAL, CONSTITUTION, NOMINATE, CANDIDATES, DUTIES,
TEAM, DEMOCRATIC, REPUBLICAN, TICKET, MEMBERS,
CONGRESS, SEALED, ENVELOPE, PRESIDENT, WINNER.
D O N O M I N A T E A M Y S E
ENCOURAGE
YOUR PARENTS E R I S R E B M E M T D E E L
TO VOTE!
L F T N E D I S E R P O N I E
A D E M O C R A T I C Q V T C
E G L B S S E R G N O C E U T
S C A N D I D A T E S Z L D O
N O I T U T I T S N O C O J R
M N A C I L B U P E R Y P I A
T E K C I T W I N N E R E O L
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44-3 (04); release dates: October 23-29
Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate
TM
Go dot to dot and color our first president.
Rookie Cookie’s Recipe
Warm Apple Cider
You’ll need:
Chilly fall days are good days for sipping cider.
• 1 quart apple juice
• 5 whole cloves
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 4 cinnamon sticks
What to do:
1. Combine the apple juice, cloves and brown sugar in a
large pot.
2. Heat on medium heat for 10 minutes, then on low heat
for 15 minutes.
3. Remove the cloves.
4. Pour cider into four mugs and add a cinnamon stick to
each for stirring. Serves 4.
Note: You will need an adult to help with this recipe.
from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam © 2004 The Mini Page Publishing Company Inc.
Meet Holly Hunter
Holly Hunter was a star on the stage
at an early age. She won the lead role
as Helen Keller in her fifth-grade play
and has been acting ever since.
When she finished high school, Holly
studied drama at Carnegie Mellon
University in Pittsburgh, Pa. After college,
she met a playwright in a stalled
elevator in New York City. The playwright
ended up offering Holly parts in some of her plays.
Holly later moved to Los Angeles, where she got roles
in many films. She is the voice of “Elastigirl” in the
upcoming movie “The Incredibles.”
Holly, 46, grew up in Conyers, Ga. She is the youngest
of seven kids. She enjoys playing the piano.
from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam © 2004 The Mini Page Publishing Company Inc.
from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam © 2004 The Mini Page Publishing Company Inc.
from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam © 2004 The Mini Page Publishing Company Inc.
TM
Learn all about
each of the presidents…
• Full-page pictures
• Signatures
• Biographical information
• Dates of presidential terms
• Important achievements
• Stories about the many roles
of the president, the electoral
vote process, political terms,
and a visit to the White House!
All the following jokes have something in common. Can you
guess the common theme or category?
Stanley: What kind of music do
astronauts like to listen to?
Irene: Rock-et-roll!
86
George W. Bus
h
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Please send _________ copies of The Mini Page Book of Presidents (Item #7807-0) at $6.95
each, including postage and handling. (Bulk discount information available upon request.) Toll
free number 1-800-591-2097. www.smartwarehousing.com
Name: ____________________________________________________________________________________
Address: __________________________________________________________________________________
City: ___________________________________________________ State: ____________ Zip: ___________
June: Why don’t astronauts relate well to
other people?
Frances: They are not
down-to-earth!
Eric: Where do astronauts keep their
sandwiches?
Wally: In their launch-boxes!
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®
44-4 (04); release dates: October 23-29
Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate
from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam © 2004 The Mini Page Publishing Company Inc.
Polly Ticks’ Guide to …
How We Elect Our President
KIDS! YOU MIGHT
WANT TO READ THIS
WITH YOUR PARENTS
OR TEACHERS. THIS IS
KIND OF
COMPLICATED.
The Mini Page asked our
expert, Polly Ticks, to help us all
find out more about how our
president is elected.
art courtesy the Architect of the Capitol
The Electoral College
The Electoral College method of
electing our president was set up
by the Constitution more than
200 years ago. The writers had a
hard time deciding just how our
president and vice president
were to be chosen.
Voting is the most important
thing a citizen can do to help elect
our president.
But there is another step after
citizens vote. It is called the
Electoral College.
This is not a college with a
campus and students. Another
meaning for “college” is a group that
meets and has special duties.
The Electoral College has the
duty to elect the president of the
United States. The vote is based on
how the people in each state voted.
Electoral votes
We elect our president and
vice president by what we call
“electoral votes.” There are a
total of 538 of these votes.
This number is based on
the total number of
members of Congress.
Senators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Representatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435
From the District of Columbia . . . 3
Each state is allotted a
number of electoral votes equal
to the number of members it has
in the U.S. Congress.
For example: Maine has two
senators and two representatives, so
it has a total of four electoral votes.
The political party in each
state nominates a set of
electors equal to the
Maine
state’s number
of members of
Congress.
IF A STATE HAS FOUR
PEOPLE IN CONGRESS,
IT WOULD HAVE:
• four Republican
electors, who
would be expected
to vote for the
Republican ticket.
• four Democratic
electors, who
would be expected
to vote for the
Democratic ticket.
Republican
ticket
Democratic
ticket
Bush
Cheney
Kerry
Edwards
Other political parties and independent
candidates nominate a set of electors,
too.
Citizens 18 years and older vote
on the first Tuesday after the first
Monday in November. The winning
ticket in each state gets all of that
state’s electoral votes (except for
Maine and Nebraska).
Counting electoral votes
WE LOST THE STATE ...
WE HAD ONLY
200,000 VOTES.
WE WON THE
STATE ... WE HAD
300,000 VOTES.
We usually know who the winner
is on election night by counting the
electoral votes. However, there are
other steps to make it official.
In December, the winning electors,
STATE
or special voters from each
CAPITAL
state, meet in their
state capitals and
cast their votes.
These electoral votes are put into
sealed envelopes and sent to the
president of the
The President
U.S. Senate. On
of the U.S. Senate
Capitol Building
Jan. 6, he opens
Washington, D.C. 20510
the envelopes. He
reads the results before a meeting of
the U.S. Senate and House of
Representatives.
If there is a tie, or if no one gets as
many as 270 electoral votes, the House
of Representatives must decide who
will be president. Each state has
only one vote in this situation.
This has happened only twice in
our country’s history.
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Read all about
the Electoral
College
in
®
Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate
by Betty Debnam
Appearing in your
newspaper on ____________.
from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam
© 2004 The Mini Page Publishing Company Inc.
(Note to Editor: Above is cameraready, one column-by-41/4-inch ad
promoting Issue 44.)
release dates: October 23-29
44-5 (04)
from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam © 2004 The MIni Page Publishing Company Inc.
®
Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate
Standards Spotlight:
The Electoral Vote
TM
from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam © 2004 The Mini Page Publishing Company Inc.
Mini Page activities meet many state and national educational standards. Each
week we identify standards that relate to The Mini Page’s content and offer
activities that will help your students reach them.
Supersport: Priest Holmes
This week’s standards:
Height: 5-9
Birthdate: 10-7-73
Weight: 213
College: Texas
Put a football in Priest Holmes’ hands, and
then watch the fireworks. The Kansas City
Chiefs running back is one of the most explosive
players in pro football. He led the NFL in
touchdowns last season with 27, gained more
than 1,000 yards (1,420) for the third year in a
row, and caught 74 passes.
Holmes learned a lot about outmaneuvering opponents playing
chess, a game he teaches youth in Kansas City. He also improved
his strength by lifting the fender of a car and pulling the auto!
Some skeptics doubted Holmes would make it as a pro. He
wasn’t drafted after a respectable career at Texas, but signed as a
free agent with Baltimore eight years ago. Holmes worked hard
and became a superstar who shines on and off the football field.
• Students identify key ideals of the United States’ democratic republican form of government.
(Social Studies: Civic Ideals and Practices)
• Students understand the ideas, principles and practices of citizenship in a democratic
republic. (Social Studies: Civics)
Activities:
1. Use words and pictures from the newspaper to create an election collage. Look for names of
candidates, political parties, party and national symbols, and words about voting.
2. Look at the chart of states and their electoral votes in today’s Mini Page. Find: (a) the three
states that have the most electoral votes, (b) the states that have only three electoral votes,
and (c) the number of electoral votes your state has.
3. Look in the newspaper for an ad that supports a candidate for a local, state or national
position. Circle the words that tell why you should vote for that candidate.
4. Use resource books and the Internet to learn more about the Electoral College. Use these
questions to guide your research: Why did our country’s founders decide to have an Electoral
College? Why did the founders make December the month for electors’ voting and January
for the reading of the votes in Congress?
5. Many people today question the value of the Electoral College. They think we should elect
our president on the basis of the popular vote only. Write a paragraph defending the
Electoral College.
(standards by Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi)
(Note to Editor: Above is the Standards for Issue 44.)
(Note to Editor: Above is copy block for Page 3, Issue 44, to be
used in place of ad if desired.)
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