This November 7th, Election Day won’t be complete without a vote in your classroom. You might even choose to have an early election, then vote again in November and compare the results. What might your students learn about the candidates to make them change their votes? We’ve created a PDF ballot for you to download and use in your classroom. It lists Democrat, Republican, Reform, Green, Libertarian, Natural Law, Socialist, and Constitution presidential candidates. There is also room for a write-in candidate. Below the candidates, students can choose their top three voting issues, again with room to write in an optional issue. Something you want to leave off the ballot? Just use a little white-out or cover with a piece of paper before making copies. The ballots are 2-up on a standard 8.5×11 inch sheet, so you can just cut the finished copies in half. Click here for the Decision 2000 Presidential Ballot PDF.
RELATED LINKS:
The American President is a PBS series with accompanying website. The site features games, a student magazine, and a breakdown of the programs, complete with lesson plans.
The Democracy Network is sponsored by the League of Women Voters Education Fund & Grassroots.com, this site focuses on the candidates and the issues they value. They also have coverage of elections by state.
Center for Responsive Politics aims to tell you all about the money in politics. The big spending corporations, the candidates they support, and much more.
THE CANDIDATES:
Gore-Lieberman
Bush-Cheney
Buchanan-Foster
Nader-LaDuke
Harry Browne
Hagelin-Goldhaber