"The Power of a Vote" Voting Activity Developed by: Victor W. Geraci, Ph. D.

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Objective: To help students visualize the power of each vote in an election. Emphasizes the concepts of civic mindedness, cooperation, and decision-making.

Time: 15 minutes.

Content: Use this activity any time you take a class vote on an issue to help students visualize how each person/each vote counts. May also be used as an anticipatory set or closure to an activity.

Activity: Create a VOTING CHAIN or VOTING WALL GRAPH

• Materials needed: one red and one blue 1” X 5” strip of link paper or one red and one blue 2” X 2” block of paper.
• Cellophane tape to join the links together.
• Voting Chain: Each student should pick up one voting strip (Red or Blue) depending on vote preference and write their name on the link and take it to the student assigned to construct a chain of that color. The assigned chain engineers (one blue and one red) will build a chain of their color. Hang the links under a sign representing the voter stance taken and explain that each link/block equals one vote.
• Voting Wall Graph: Each student should pick up one voting strip (Red or Blue) depending on vote preference and write their name on the paper block and take it to the assigned student who will construct a horizontal/vertical wall bar graph of that color. The assigned chain engineers (one blue and one red) will build a graph of their color. Staple the blocks together next to sign representing the voter stance taken and explain that each link/block equals one vote.
• Possible discussion questions:
  1. Would the chain/block look different if any one person had not voted?
  2. What would happen if you could vote as many times as you wanted?
  3. What if some votes carried more power?
  4. What if only certain people could vote?
  5. What would happen if I could sell my vote to a candidate or group sponsoring a proposition?

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