Seniors, Get Ready to Vote!
By Mary Graffis
12th grade Civics teacher
The upcoming primary is the first election in which many of our Clemente seniors will be able to vote. This is a rite of passage being an American!
This week in Civics class, we have been exploring an IB outcome around students being able to use research methods to collect and record appropriate, varied and relevant information. In order to do so, we have been looking at different plans or policies that each candidate is proposing. So far, we have examined policies and plans from Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.
While exploring these well-known candidates, we had the questions of: who else is running, what is a primary and how does the primary work? Student picked either a Democrat or Republican to research, and investigated their stance on health care, environment, immigration, economy/job market. Students used various text types such as advertisements, videos and news documents to facilitate their research. Once students have gathered their research, students will develop a claim on whether their candidate should make it to the primary election or not. As a whole class, we will decide who may have the best shot of making it into the primary. This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to gain knowledge of our election process and who is running before they head to the polls.
Tips for first time voters:
- First time voters can be skewed by all the political material online, so it is important to weigh which are valid sources.
- People can register in a tag agency, state election website or at a county election board.
- It’s important to remember that when registered voters go to cast their ballots, they will need to have an acceptable form of identification with them at the polls.
- Voters can go the traditional route and vote in person on election day, or they can vote early.