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Student Vote | Voto Estudiantil

Bringing Democracy to Life in the Classroom

Many students don’t have access to the type of high-quality, experiential civic education, which makes civic learning meaningful and memorable. Student Vote is a dynamic learning experience that empowers students to engage in the democratic process by casting ballots for official candidates in a parallel election. The program aims to cultivate the habits of active and informed citizenship.

Shortlisted
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Overview

HundrED shortlisted this innovation

HundrED has shortlisted this innovation to one of its innovation collections. The information on this page has been checked by HundrED.

Web presence

2003

Established

1.5M

Children

3

Countries
Target group
Teachers
Updated
September 2024
Student Vote is designed to help educators prioritize an approach to citizenship education that makes civic learning meaningful and memorable through real-world connections to students’ lives and helps cultivate the habits of active and informed citizenship. The ultimate goal is to build a strong and inclusive democracy where all young people are ready, willing, and able to participate.

About the innovation

Why did you create this innovation?

Student Vote was born out of the need to teach kids about voting, foster their connection to the community, and eventually reverse the decline of voter turnout.

Research shows that voting is habitual. By practicing the habits of active and informed citizenship now, students will be more prepared to participate in their democracy when they reach adulthood.

What does your innovation look like in practice?

Student Vote turns real-life political events into teachable moments and creates a dynamic, immersive learning experience.

Through the activities, students:

-Delve into the principles of democracy and the vital responsibilities of citizenship.
-Explore the different levels of government
-Analyze how government impacts their life
-Discuss strategies for informed citizenship in the digital age
-Explore the political spectrum and diverse perspectives
-Review the electoral process and how candidates are chosen
-Discuss relevant political issues
-Gather, synthesize and analyze information about the parties and/or candidates, and
-Engage with the candidates directly through meetings or debates.

In the culminating activity, students take on roles of election officials and organize a vote, allowing students to cast ballots for the official candidates. The Student Vote results are shared publicly and with media for broadcast and publication — giving students a voice in the election.

How has it been spreading?

The first Student Vote took place in the 2003 Ontario provincial election. More than 300,000 students learned about government and democracy, and cast a Student Vote ballot.

Since 2003, CIVIX has organized 63 Student Vote elections in Canada, with over 8 million ballots cast. The largest election engaged 1.2 million students from 8,000 schools, with participation in all 338 electoral districts.
The success of Student Vote sparked interest internationally and the first program in Latin America took place in Colombia for the 2018 Presidential election. The program has grown exponentially in Colombia ever since, engaging 247,077 students from 15 provinces during 2023.
In 2022, Chile schools also embraced the program during the constitutional plebiscite, with 62,000 students from 350 schools.

If I want to try it, what should I do?

If you are an educator where Student Vote is being offered, you can sign up for free. Once registered, you’ll receive pedagogical resources, election supplies, support and training to deliver the program.

If you are an electoral agency or department of education that is interested in offering the program during your elections, please contact us. We’re keen to bring the program to more countries!

Implementation steps

Register Your School
The program is open to elementary and high schools and there is no cost to participate. Schools may offer Student Vote to one class, multiple classes or the whole school. Registration is available online or by calling the CIVIX team. The lead teacher becomes the ‘Student Vote Team Leader’ and coordinates the program within their school and in collaboration with other colleagues.
Receive materials and training
Registered schools are supplied with a variety of non-partisan learning materials, including lesson plans, videos, slides, online interactives and digital activity templates, as well as posters, electoral district maps and ballots, ballot boxes and voting screens for the coordination of the vote. Virtual or in-person training opportunities are offered to registered teachers to familiarize them with the pedagogical resources and support their delivery of the program.
Engage with the campaign
During the election campaign, teachers implement various learning activities using the materials provided. The activities are intended to inform students about democracy, government and the election process, facilitate research into the parties and candidates, and foster discussion about the election among students and their families.
Some schools coordinate events so that they can hear from the candidates directly or organize assemblies to help inform the student electorate about the election.
Coordinate Student Vote Day
Leading up to or on election day, schools coordinate a Student Vote Day where students vote for the candidates running in their electoral district or municipality. Students take on the roles of election officials to get a hands-on experience of the voting process. The ballots are counted by each school and the results are submitted to CIVIX.

Following the close of polls, the Student Vote results are shared publicly and distributed to the media for broadcast and publication.

Spread of the innovation

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