Voting and Election Day
Voting is an important topic to teach every kid about. If you live in the United States then this article will teach you about our current election. It will also have ways to teach kids how the process works, about presidents and about our government. 
Our Voting Booth
My Background
Even though I have lived in the United States for the majority of my life I first moved here when I was three. I did not become a citizen until nineteen years after that. There is a lot of paperwork involved and it is a process with multiple steps. Sadly, depending on which country you are coming from, you sometimes have to renounce your old citizenship as well instead of being able to become a dual citizen.
If you speak to many people they can attest to the fact that the process of becoming a citizen is a lengthy one. Towards the end there is also an oral test that you must study for as well with civics questions. Because of this many people who come to the United States from other countries learn a lot about the government.
When I was in high school I was really interested in learning about the United States government and history. Because of this I was in A.P. US History I and II. We had fun learning about all of the political drama throughout the history of the United States. Being in Model UN and Model Congress was also an immersive way to learn more about legislature. I have fond memories of a sleepover at our high school for one of the elections during the counting of the electoral votes in 2004.
Once I was old enough to vote in 2008 I could still not vote in the election since I was not yet a citizen. At the time I was living in Philadelphia. It was still fun to be a part of the general excitement around the election. Luckily by the time the next presidential election came around I had now become a citizen and was ready to vote. I really appreciated that I was finally able to do this. Many people take voting for granted and I think it is important to teach your kids how important it is to vote.
2024 Election Fast Facts
This is the 60th United States election.
The winner will become the 47th president of the United States.
There are 435 seats open in the House of Representatives and 34 seats are being contested in the Senate.
For the Senate race 51 seats are needed for a party to control the Senate.
Election Day is on November 5th, 2024.
The electors will cast their votes on December 17th, 2024.
January 6th, 2025 is when the electoral votes will be counted by Congress.
January 20th, 2025 at noon is when the next president will be inaugurated.
There are also many local elections and ballot measures being voted on during this election.
2024 Presidential Election Candidates
Each state has different election laws. The process for qualifying for a third party candidate varies so third party nominees are only on ballots for some of the states.
Kamala D. Harris with Tim Walz - Democratic Party
Donald J. Trump with J.D. Vance - Republican Party
Jill Stein with Rudolph Ware - Green Party
Rachele Fruit with Margaret Trowe - Socialist Workers
Chase Oliver with Mike Ter Maat - Libertarian Party
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. with Nicole Shanahan - Independent (withdrawn from election but name still on ballots in states that are not battlegrounds)
Cornel West with Melina Abdullah - Independent
Randall A. Terry with Stephen E. Broden - U.S. Constitution Party
Joseph Kishore with Jerry White - Socialist Equality
Claudia De La Cruz with Karina Garcia - Socialism and Liberation
Who can run for president?
The U.S. Constitution states that a candidate for presidency must be at least 35 years old, have lived in the country for at least 14 years and be a natural-born citizen. A person running who meets these qualifications can declare their candidacy. They can register with the Federal Election Commission once they have raised or spent $5,000 on their campaign. Each state also has different rules for third party candidates to appear on a ballot.
How does the Electoral College work?
The Electoral College is a system by which the president and vice president of the United States are chosen. States appoint electors to cast votes for the president and vice president. States get one vote for each Senator (2) and one for each member of the House of Representatives (the number of members varies by state population). After casting a vote the number of votes in a state are tallied. For Washington D.C. and 48 of the states the candidate with the most votes is given all of the electoral votes for the state. Maine and Nebraska use the Congressional District Method in order to split their electoral votes. Winners of each congressional district get one electoral vote. The winner in the statewide vote receives the last two electoral votes.
A candidate needs at least 270 out of the 538 electoral votes in order to win. Projected winners are often announced on Election night. Electors meet in their states on the first Tuesday after the second Wednesday in December. They will then cast their votes. These votes are generally for the candidates chosen for the state or else they are deemed faithless electors.
If no candidate wins a majority of the electoral vote the vote then passes to the House of Representatives for the presidential candidate. Each state gets one vote for a candidate. This has only happened in 1800 when Thomas Jefferson won and in 1824 with John Quincy Adams. When there is no majority for the electoral votes the vote passes to the Senate for the vice presidential candidate. Each senator can cast their own vote for one of the two vice presidential candidates with the most electoral votes.
What is the popular vote?
During an election you see the results of the popular vote. The popular vote is the total number of votes cast by citizens for an election. It does not determine the winner of an election for a president or vice president. These elections are determined by the Electoral College. Presidents in the past who have lost the popular vote but still won an election were John Quincy Adams in 1824, Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876, Benjamin Harrison in 1888, George W. Bush in 2000 and Donald Trump in 2016. The popular vote does play a critical role in elections for congressional offices, state and local elections.
Printable Resource I am using for this Election
After looking for awhile for a good resource for the election for my kids this year I decided to make my own! Purchase this 5 page resource for only $2 here: Election Worksheet Set.
Election Day for Toddlers
I first started teaching my kids about election day and voting when they were two years old. When they were two and three we started by doing oral votes on whether we wanted milk or juice to drink. The kids really enjoyed doing this. We also did coloring sheets related to the United States, voting or elections. We also discussed reasons why they would make good candidates.
Who would you vote for?
Which would you rather drink?
Election Day for Preschoolers
As the kids got older we expanded. We turned their food truck into a voting booth. We used the whiteboard to list what we were voting on. The kids turned tissue boxes into ballot boxes. We had very serious elections such as voting on whether we wanted to eat goldfish, pretzels or chips. Now the kids were at an age where we could start talking about candidates who were running.
Froot Loops got no love this year.
There were 2 heated elections this year.
Teaching Kids about the Presidents
We loved this board book. While targeted towards babies I think it would actually be helpful up to age seven since it discusses the presidents in order as well as some facts about some of them. I have also found this book about the states helpful. It goes over some important facts about each of them and is a good introduction.
We also set up a folder about the United States so that the kids could learn more about the country in general.
Teaching Older Kids about Elections and Presidents
As your kids get older, tell them about early voting, mail in ballots, primaries and debates. Some other topics you can introduce are things like the electoral college and the popular vote. One fun math activity is having your kids add up the electoral votes as they come in.
Head to the National Archives to see the results of Electoral College Votes in past elections: United States Presidential Election Results. This can be a good resource to look at when talking to kids about past elections.
If you have an older child that you are teaching about past presidents be sure to listen to the Presidents song by the Animaniacs. I had memorized this in high school. It actually helped me remember the order of the United States Presidents. This had been helpful for one of my A.P. US History tests. It also has easy chords to play on the guitar but it is pretty fast-paced.
Be sure to discuss candidates from different parties. While the two-party system dominates the political landscape, there are still candidates running from other parties as well. Delve into learning about the platforms of all the candidates.
Discuss candidates for other things and not just candidates for presidential elections. Votes for Members of the Senate and House of Representatives can have long lasting repercussions. Local elections can have a huge impact on your day to day life.
Start delving into deeper topics such as the history behind the electoral college. Discuss whether they think the electoral college or the popular vote should be how the presidential race is decided. The only way that the electoral college can be changed is by an amendment to the Constitution. A main pro for the popular vote is that this way more people will feel their vote matters. This would potentially result in greater voter turnout in states that traditionally only go in one direction. This approach could also be more fair to third party candidates. On the other hand, a pro for keeping the Electoral College system is that it gives states with a lower population enough of a say in the election.
Plan a trip to Washington D.C.! If interested in a tour of the White House be sure to submit a request 7 to 30 days prior to your visit.
Involve your child in the voting process. Take them to see you vote! Check on state rules to see what ages are allowed. It is always easy to take them if you are mailing in your ballot.
Topics to teach your Kids related to Elections
Voting
Election Vocabulary (For example: Polling Place, Ballots, Debates)
Facts about the Current Election
Candidate Names, Parties and Platforms
Candidates for each office
Electoral College and the Popular Vote
Names of Presidents and past presidential elections
States of the United States
My Favorite Printable Resources
This is the worksheet set I made that I am using with my kids for this election: Election Worksheet Set.
If you have an account on Teachers Pay Teachers you can also get these worksheet sets below we have liked in the past:
For younger kids we liked this Emergent Reader by Kindergarten Smorgasbord: Election Day Reader. This tells kids about the current presidential candidates and what we are doing on Election Day.
Our favorite resource was this Election Unit Freebie from Teachers Pay Teachers that was made by Friends We Will Be: Election Unit Freebie. It included a Voter Registration card, paper for you to explain why you would be a good presidential candidate, ballot snack selection and more.
If your kids are a little older they would enjoy making this Free USA Lapbook from Starlight Treasures.
My Favorite Online Resources
I read Time for Kids a lot as a kid. The great thing about it is that it is geared towards different ages. Some articles can be viewed online and you can select the grade level of your child to view an article that they could understand. This is an example of an article they currently have up that is designated for kids in third grade to sixth grade: Election 2024 Preview.
This website is a good resource for elections: USA.gov Voting and Elections.
This is a great way to find and contact your elected officials on their site: Elected Officials.
Sources I used for this article: History.com, USA.gov and Time for Kids.
Have a great Election Day! Even though it can be a time of political tension it is important to remember that voting is still a privilege.