ELECTIONS VOTE? WHY BOTHER? Democracy: Government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system. We have a tendency to love to complain about how things are run (whether it be school rules, parental rules, job rules, sporting rules). While there are always avenues to state your opinions and grievances regarding these aspects of your life, democratic elections regarding government is a forum for we the people to have a voice. VOTE? WHY BOTHER? CASE IN POINT It is the sole responsibility of an elected official to represent the people of their constituencies. If they do not do a good job of representing these people fairly, we have the opportunity to fire them. Their jobs depend on we the people voting them in. By voting, we are exercising our democratic right to have a voice. By not voting, we are showing that we do not care about the issues surrounding ourselves, our families, and our society. Those people who are trying to get our vote will pick up on this, and subsequently not focus as much on that demographic group in their campaign and platform. Traditionally, young voters (18-30 years old) have low voter turnouts. Older citizens have higher voter turnouts. As a political party looking to become elected, where do you think their platforms are going to focus on the most? Healthcare, Education, Post-Secondary Education, Job Growth, Infrastructure, Affordable Housing, Marijuana Legalization, Small Business Owners, Minimum Wage Rates, Job Creation, Affordable Drug Plans, Ambulatory Care. 1
WHY VOTE? MRHS VOTES 2015: STUDENT VOTE Plain and simple, we vote so we can be heard. We vote to reserve our right to complain. We vote to reserve our right to debate the issues. We vote to call our elected officials to task. We vote to hold our elected officials honest, transparent, and responsible. We vote because we should care about our own well being. We vote, because we live in a part of the world where we can do so without persecution. MRHS VOTES VOTING METHOD Our History 621 class has been designated as the official elections officers for the 2015 Federal Elections. As a class, we will work together to carefully organize, execute, and deliver this electoral process and then calculate the student vote tallies. We will have to work collaboratively, efficiently, and professionally to pull this off. Vote by Classroom (Stationary Voting Scenario) We will be inviting classes to our designated polling stations during A-Block on Friday, October 16. When students arrive at the polling station, designated elections officials instruct them where to line up in order to cast their ballot. This method of voting allows for an authentic experience of visiting a polling station. We will set up two polling stations: Munn s Landing School Lobby 2
POLLING STATION LAYOUT ROLE OF THE DESIGNATED ELECTION OFFICIALS (YOU) Poll Clerks checking off the List of Electors (Class Lists) Start VOTING BOOTHS Finish Poll Clerks Monitoring the Ballot boxes Deputy Returning Officers (DROs) These are the officials responsible for conducting the student election and counting the votes. They are the only election officials allowed to handle the ballots during the counting process. Poll Clerks These are the individuals who staff the polling station. They are responsible for crossing voters off the List of Electors, distributing ballots and collecting ballots. When the voting process is complete, the Poll Clerks assist the Deputy Returning Officers by totalling the ballots counted and filling in the vote tally sheet. ROLE OF THE DESIGNATED ELECTION OFFICIALS (YOU) Agents (Scrutineers) These are generally individuals appointed by a candidate to act as an observer of the election on polling day. In the case of the Student Vote Program, the Team Leader can appoint an agent for each party or candidate. Agents may also be present when ballots are counted, but they may not handle the ballots in any way. Student Vote Team Leader The official liaison between the school and CIVIX (The people from Student Vote) CAMPAIGN MATERIALS No campaign materials are permitted in the polling station or on those who work at the polls. This is to ensure a completely impartial environment. 3
SEALING THE BALLOT BOX Once the ballot box is folded together, the Deputy Returning Officer will show the inside of the empty box to the Poll Clerks and Agents so that all of the election officials present can verify the box is empty. The ballot box will be sealed using tape. The tape will be initialed by the Team Leader to show that she or he has authorized the ballot box for use. RECEIVING A BALLOT AT THE POLLING STATION When a voter requests a ballot at the poll, the Poll Clerk will fold a ballot into thirds, thereby concealing the side with the candidates names from observers. The Poll Clerk will verify that the ballot has been initialed by the Team Leader (or appointed DRO) and will hand the folded ballot to the voter. The voter will take the ballot behind a voting screen to unfold the ballot in private, mark the ballot as he or she chooses, and refold the ballot before leaving the voting booth. RECEIVING A BALLOT AT THE POLLING STATION The voter will take the marked ballot to the Poll Clerk monitoring the ballot box. Without unfolding the ballot, the Poll Clerk will verify that the Team Leader s initials are visible on the ballot. The Poll Clerk will return the verified ballot to the voter, who will put the ballot in the ballot box. In the event that the ballot is poorly printed or a voter tears a ballot or makes a mistake on their ballot, the voter may return the ballot and request a new one. The first ballot will be declared a cancelled ballot, and the DRO will write cancelled on the back of the ballot and keep it to the side. COUNTING THE BALLOTS The polls will be declared closed at a pre-determined and clearly advertised time, after which nobody may cast a vote. The Team Leader will verify that each ballot box is still sealed by the tape that he or she initialed before the polls opened ensuring that neither the box nor seal has been tampered with. The tape will be broken, and the DRO s and Poll Clerks will open the box and count the ballots. Agents may be present to observe that the process is completed fairly. 4
COUNTING THE BALLOTS The ballots will be sorted based on two distinct categories: 1)Ballots NOT placed in the ballot box will be separated and counted as such: CANCELLED A ballot that has been kept aside and never placed in a ballot box because it was mistakenly marked or torn and exchanged for a new ballot. The DRO writes cancelled on the back of the ballot. 2) Ballots placed in the ballot box will be separated and counted as such: VALID A ballot that has been properly marked for one candidate REJECTED A ballot that has not been marked properly and declared invalid by the DRO. STATEMENT OF THE POLL The Statement of the Poll is an accounting of the ballots. This accounting includes the number of valid ballots, rejected ballots and cancelled ballots. The Team Leader will verify the results and sign off on the form. This form will constitute the official results of our school s election. We will keep this statement for one month in case results need to be re-verified. PROPERLY MARKED BALLOT To be counted for a candidate, a ballot must clearly indicate the preference of the voter. A voter may mark their ballot in any way they choose in the circle next to the name of the candidate. Voter uses a checkmark Voter uses an X Voter uses another type of mark Voter shades the circle 5
REJECTED BALLOT OK, LET S GET TO WORK A ballot will not be counted towards any candidate when it does not clearly indicate whom the voter is selecting: Voter marks more than one candidate If the voter marks the ballot in any way that identifies who the voter is The voter leaves the ballot blank Jobs Student Vote Leader Mr. Kelly Deputy Returning Officers (4)Hannah, Patricia, Abby, Emily Poll Clerks (12) Bueller, Lyric, Jessica, Blair, Connor, Alexis, Alisha, Allie, Nicole, Gillian, Lydia, Dawn Jobs Gate Keepers (4) Tyson, Darcy, Tristan, Noah Voter Rounder-Up ers (4) Kyle, Ryan, Michael,Isaac Scrutineers (also responsible for setting up and tearing down polling stations) (4) Hailee, Koltan, Logan, Alex Utility: Leanna 6