• Instructions and materials to hold a mock election
• Student organizer template and discussion questions template
• Class and take-home activities including templates
• Assessment rubric
• Glossary of election terms

The following materials are included in this kit:

• Ballot template
• Voters list template
• ID slips template
• Results sheet template

You will also need to supply:

• Ballot box (example in appendix)
• Voting screen (example in appendix)
• Pencils or markers
• Two voting tables

• Voters (the whole class)
• Two or more candidates
• Two election officials
• A Returning Officer

B3. demonstrate an understanding of the roles and key responsibilities of citizens and of the different levels of government in Canada, including First Nations, Métis, and  Inuit governments.

B3.1 describe the major rights and responsibilities associated with citizenship in Canada (e.g. rights: equal protection under the law, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the right to vote; responsibilities: to respect the rights of others, to participate in the electoral process and political decision making, to improve their communities).

B3.9 describe some different ways in which citizens can take action to address social and environmental issues.

1. Print enough ID slips for each student.

2. Set up at least two voting stations with a ballot box, results sheet, voting screen, and marker. In the short activity, there are two voting locations with the same list of candidates. In the long activity, the class is divided into two electoral districts; each district will have its own voting location and list of candidates.

3. Assign students to one of the two voting locations for when they cast their vote at the end of the short activity or to an electoral district (long activity).

4. Enter the names of the students assigned to vote at each location, or in each electoral district, into the corresponding voters list templates and print one copy of each list. Place the list on the respective table with a pen.

1. If a student is going to be the Returning Officer, ask for a volunteer for that role first. If not, the teacher carries out these duties (refer to description of the role and responsibilities on page 3).

2. The Returning Officer chooses two student volunteers to help as election officials.

3. The Returning Officer distributes ID slips (see appendix) to students and has them fill out the slip. This is their ID to vote.

CANDIDATE SELECTION

In this activity, student voters will be divided between two voting locations (tables). There will be one set of candidates for the class, and each candidate puts together their own platform.

1. Pick a topic that students would have multiple perspectives on. This could be a headline story, a classroom or school decision, or a hypothetical decision that would impact the students. Some examples are:

a. Should students wear uniforms?

b. What province/territory do you think is the best in Canada and why?

c. Should kids be allowed to eat junk food?

2. Give students time to write down their position on the topic using the organizer, My perspective. They should try to make these reasons as convincing as possible. Encourage students to complete some basic research on the topic if class resources allow.

3. Explain to students that their perspective on the issue will act as their platform.

4. Ask the class for volunteers who believe strongly in their position to be candidates. Make sure you have at least two students willing to be candidates. The students should represent different arguments on the topic chosen in step one.

5. The candidates stand at the front of the class together. This is a mock political debate. Each candidate has one minute to convince the class to vote for their position.

6. Select a student to be the debate moderator. This student will time the candidate speeches and call on other students to ask questions.

7. After the debate, the class gets to ask the candidates about their position. Give students some time to brainstorm questions, working in partners or small groups using the worksheet, Formulating questions.

8. Set an agreed upon time with the class (e.g. 15 minutes) for the question period. The student moderator should make sure to give different students a chance to ask questions and monitor the time allowed for the debate.

Teacher Tip: During the debate, add the candidates’ names to the ballots (either digitally or manually). Divide the ballots between the election officials at the two voting stations. 

CANDIDATE SELECTION

In this activity, the class will be divided in half into two electoral districts (two separate areas of the classroom). Each electoral district will have its own set of candidates, chosen by  the party. Assign one election official to  each district.

1. Pick a topic that students would have multiple perspectives or opinions on. This could be a headline story, a classroom or school decision, a hypothetical decision that would impact the students.

a. Should schools have a uniform policy?

b. What province/territory do you think is the best in Canada and why?

c. Should kids be allowed to eat junk food?

Teacher Tip: These questions are designed to elicit varied positions and not just a Yes/No response. For example, question A could garner perspectives such as agreeing to a uniform policy, rejecting a uniform policy, agreeing to it under certain conditions such as student input, rejecting a uniform but agreeing to a dress  code, etc. 

2. Give students time to write down their position on the topic using My perspective in Appendix A. They should try to make these reasons as convincing as possible. Encourage students to complete some basic research on the topic if class resources allow. 3. As a whole class, identify several positions on the topic and post them in a visible location. Divide the class into groups. Assign a position to each of the groups except for one.

3. As a whole class, identify several positions on the topic and post them in a visible location. Divide the class into groups. Assign a position to each of the groups except for one.

4. Groups that have been assigned a position are political parties. The groups should work together to review the reasons listed on their My perspective organizers and discuss why their position is important. This is their platform that will be presented to the class.

5. The group that has not been assigned a position is a group of undecided voters. While the other groups are discussing their position and creating their platform, this group should discuss the issue from all angles. They do not need to reach an agreement on the issue. They can also start brainstorming questions for the candidates using Formulating questions in Part B of Appendix A.

6. Students in political parties should choose two members of their party to be the candidates. Each candidate will run in one of the electoral districts in the class.

Teacher Tip: Prepare two sets of ballots—one for each electoral district. Add the candidates’ names for one electoral district to the ballots and print enough for half the class, with a few extra. Give these ballots to the corresponding election official. Do the same for the second electoral district. This task can be completed by student volunteers or the teacher.

7. The candidates stand at the front of the class together for the debate. Each team of two has one to two minutes to share their platform and convince the class that their position is the best.

Teacher Tip: Remind students that the candidates should work hard to persuade the undecided voters. Explain to students that in a democracy, persuasion is used rather than coercion to get people to do what you want. 

You can also remind students that  taking part in public discussion and  debate on civic issues is an important democratic responsibility. 

8. Select a student to be the debate moderator. This student will time the candidate speeches and call on other students to ask questions.

9. After the debate, the class gets to ask the candidates about their position. Give students some time to brainstorm questions, working in partners or small groups using the worksheet, Formulating questions.

10. Set an agreed upon time with the class (e.g. 15 minutes) for the question period. The student moderator should make sure to give different students a chance to ask questions and monitor the time allowed for the debate.

Teacher Tip: During the debate, add the candidates’ names to the ballots (either digitally or manually). Divide the ballots between the electoral districts.

VOTING (SHORT AND LONG ACTIVITY)

For both the short and long activity, have the class vote on the platforms the candidates presented.

1. The candidates return to their seats following questions. The campaign is now finished, and voting begins.

2. The election officials take their seats at the voting stations.

3. Students line up for their assigned voting location with their ID slips.

4. One at a time, the students go to their assigned location and show their ID to the election official.

5. The election official checks that their name is on the voters list and runs a line through their name with a ruler and pen to strike them off the voters list. Being “struck off” the voters list means you have received your ballot to vote and cannot vote again in the election.

6. The election official then folds a ballot in half and gives it to the student.

7. The student takes the ballot and goes behind the voting screen to mark it in private. See below for the different ways students can mark their ballots.

8. The student folds the ballot, so no one can see how they voted, and takes it back to the election official, who directs them to put it in the ballot box.

RESULTS (SHORT AND LONG ACTIVITY)

Once all students have voted, including the election officials and Returning Officer,  the election officials will open the ballot box  to count the ballots. 

Make sure any leftover or cancelled ballots have been cleared from the table, so they are not accidentally counted.

1. On the results sheet, the election official will list the names of the candidates and record how many votes each candidate received.

2. If any ballots have been declined, the election official will record the number on the results sheet.

3. If any ballots have been marked incorrectly, or not marked at all, the election official will record the number of rejected or unmarked ballots in the results sheet. If a ballot isn’t marked properly, it is up to the election official to decide if it should be counted or rejected. Candidates have the option to challenge the official’s decision and make their case, but the final decision is up to the official.

4. The election official will give the results sheet and the ballots (back in the ballot box) to the Returning Officer.

5. The Returning Officer will announce the official results to the class.

Get students to speak with a voter in their life to learn more about their attitudes about voting.  A template is provided for them to fill in the responses.

Get to know a voter

Now that you have voted, talk to an adult you know (a family member, family friend,  coach or teacher) about what voting means to them.

• Do you vote? Why or why not?
• How do you decide who to vote for?
• How would you feel if you were no longer allowed to vote?
• Did you or someone you know ever have a hard time voting?
• Have you voted in another country besides Canada? How was it the same or different?

ADVANCE VOTING

Advance voting is a set number of days during the election period where you can vote in person before election day using a ballot with a list of candidates.

BALLOT

A ballot is a piece of paper that lists the candidates and their political parties (if applicable) who are running for office. To vote for a candidate, mark an “X” on the ballot in the white circle beside the name of the candidate of your choice. 

CANDIDATE

A candidate is a person running to be a Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP), who has been issued a Certificate of Nomination from a Returning Officer or the Chief Electoral Officer during the election period.

CHIEF ELECTORAL OFFICER

The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) is an Officer of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council to oversee provincial elections in Ontario.

DECLINED BALLOT

Ontario’s election law allows voters to decline their ballot. This is a public process and is done out loud. The election official will mark “declined” on the election documentation and the ballot will be placed in an envelope for declined ballots. Declined ballots will be counted and reported after the polls close on election night and included in the official results as “declined ballots”.

ELECTION DAY

An election period ends with election day, which is the last day to vote in an election.

ELECTION PERIOD

The election period begins the day the writ is issued and ends on election day.

ELECTOR

An elector is a person who is eligible to vote in an Ontario provincial election. To be eligible, you must be at least 18 years old, a Canadian citizen and a resident of Ontario.

ELECTORAL DISTRICT (ED)

A geographical area of the province defined in the Representation Act that is represented by a Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

MAJORITY GOVERNMENT

When the total number of government seats in the house exceeds the total number of opposition seats.

MARKED BALLOT

A marked ballot is one that has an X in one of the circles next to the candidates’ names. Marked ballots will be counted and reported after the polls close on election night and included in the official results as accepted ballots marked for candidate.

MINORITY GOVERNMENT

When the total number of opposition seats in the house exceeds the total number of government seats.

OFFICIAL TABULATION

During official tabulation, the Returning Officer compiles the results for each candidate from the results tabulated by election officials on election night. At the conclusion of the official tabulation, each Returning Officer declares the candidate with the most votes to be elected. Candidates or their designated representatives are invited to official tabulation to observe the proceedings.

PERMANENT REGISTER OF ELECTORS FOR ONTARIO

The Permanent Register of Electors for Ontario (PREO), more commonly known as the voters list, includes the names and addresses of people who are eligible to vote in Ontario. Information on the register is updated from a variety of sources including Elections Canada, other government agencies, and through direct updates from electors.

When an election is called, information from  the Permanent Register of Electors for Ontario  is used to create the voters list for each  electoral district.

POLITICAL PARTY

A political party is an organization that is registered with Elections Ontario and has run at least two candidates in an election.

REJECTED BALLOT

If a voter marks their ballot with initials or another identifying mark, or marks outside of one of the circles beside the candidates’ names, their ballot may be rejected. Rejected ballots will be counted and reported after the polls close on election night and included in the official results as “rejected ballots”.

RETURNING OFFICER

A Returning Officer is the election official who is appointed to administer an election in an electoral district by the Lieutenant Governor in Council (the Cabinet) upon the recommendation of the Chief Electoral Officer.

UNMARKED BALLOT

If a voter does not mark their ballot and places it in the ballot box, the ballot will be considered unmarked.

VOTER

A voter is an elector who accepts a ballot from an election official.

VOTERS LIST

The voters list is the common way of referring to the Permanent Register of Electors for Ontario.

VOTING LOCATION

A building or other facility selected by a Returning Officer to be a location where voting takes place.

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