Election 2012 - Middle and High School

Election 2012

Grades 6-12

www.generationnation.org | facebook.com/generationnation | twitter.com/gennation

Election vocabulary
 Vote
– Make a decision
 Candidate
– A person running for office
 Office
– An elected role in government
 Referendum
– A public vote on a question, policy or issue
 Electoral College
– Constitutional process by which the President is elected by
state representatives, or Electors


Political parties
Groups of people who have similar ideas

Major US political parties
• Democrats www.democrats.org
• Republicans www.gop.com
• Libertarians www.lp.org

Some government offices are nonpartisan
• The individual candidates can have political ideas but
don’t officially run as members of a political party
• Includes school board and judges

On the ballot
President
Governor
US House of Representatives
Mecklenburg ballot
– County Commission
– Student referendum
– Optional online ballot is available containing ALL offices on adult ballot


President
President
– 4-year term
Role
– Makes decisions
– Works with Congress
– Works with other countries
– Follows and enforces U.S. laws
– Leads the military
– Represents the United States


Candidates

Barack Obama (D) Mitt Romney (R) Gary Johnson (L)


Governor
 Governor
– 4-year terms
 Role
– Reports to the General Assembly on the business of North
Carolina
– Recommends a budget to the General Assembly and
administers a balanced budget
– Leads the state’s military forces (except when forces are
called into action by the US)
– Names state officers, such as judges
– Signs North Carolina laws


Candidates

Walter Dalton (D) Pat McCrory (R) Barbara Howe (L)


U.S. House of Representatives
 Representative
– 2-year terms
 Role includes:
– Represents North Carolina residents in Congress
– Makes decisions
– Works with the Senate to create and approve legislation
– Initiates revenue bills, including taxes
– Can impeach officials
– Elects the President in the event of an electoral deadlock


Congressional Districts
 Mecklenburg
– Mostly 9 & 12
5
– Small part of 8
 Region (approx. locations) 12
– 5 – North of Charlotte 10 Charlotte
– 8 – East of Charlotte
9 8
– 9 – Parts of Mecklenburg,
Union, and Iredell
Look up your district
– 10 – West of Charlotte http://www.app.sboe.state.nc.u
– 12 – Along I-85 s/webapps/redistrict/NCRedistr
ictMapSingle.html?
2468608,,Congressional,2011

Candidates
District 9
If you live in District 9, vote for one (1)
candidate in your party
– Jennifer Roberts (D)
– Robert Pittenger (R)
– Curtis Campbell (L)


Candidates
District 12

– Mel Watt (D)
– Jack Brosch (R)


Candidates
District 8

– Larry Kissell (D)
– Richard Hudson (R)


Candidates
District 5

– Elisabeth Motsinger (D)
– Virginia Foxx (R)


Candidates
District 10
– Patsy Keever (D)
– Patrick McHenry (R)


County Commission

Governing body for Mecklenburg County
• 3 At-Large members represent entire county; 6 District
members represent districts
Responsibilities of the BOCC include:
• Adopt the annual county budget
• Set the property tax rate
• Define county priorities and policies (health, safety,
education, environment, social services)
• Hire the county manager, a professional who manages
the daily operations of the county

Candidates

At-Large (vote for 3)
• Pat Cotham (D)
• Trevor Fuller (D)
• Kim Ratliff (D)
• Jason Bateman (L)
• Michael Hobbs (R)
• James Peterson (R)
• Wayne Powers (R)


Candidates

 Districts (vote for one candidate in your district)
• District 1: Keith Bradford (D), Karen Bentley (R)
• District 2: Vilma Leake (D), Kevin Spitzmiller (R)
• District 3: George Dunlap (D)
• District 4: Dumont Clarke (D)
• District 5: Paula Harvey (D), Matthew Ridenhour (R)
• District 6: Connie Green-Johnson (D), Bill James (R)
– Look up your district
• By CMS school address (or find closest school to your location as a guide):
http://www.generationnation.org/documents/2012electiondistricts.pdf


Student referendum

Local officials want to know what YOU think!
Make your voice heard.
• City
• County
• CMS/Schools questions
All students are invited to participate – you do
not have to attend CMS or live in the city to
have an opinion!


City

City officials are thinking about a plan to make
the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County
one unit of government instead of having 2
different governments, groups of officials, and
budgets within the same community.
– Do you agree with this idea?
• Yes
• No


County

You are a leader deciding on next year’s
county budget. You have extra money. What
will you do with the extra funds?
• Make the community nicer (parks, libraries,
environment)
• Help people in need (health, job training, social
services)
• Save the money for future uses
• Lower county taxes


Schools – Question 1

Which new magnet school program would you
like to see at CMS?
• Museum
• Health and Wellness
• Teaching
• Broadcast and Communication
• Leadership
• Residential (live on campus)



To help you learn better, what do you need
more of in your classroom?
• Technology
• Guest speakers to talk about real work and life
experiences
• Opportunities for real-world problem solving
• Partner with similar classrooms across the US/world



Which new Career and Technical Education
program would you like to see at CMS?
• Cosmetology (beauty services)
• Automotive
• Construction
• Horticulture (plants, gardening, landscaping)
• Culinary (cooking, food)


Read, think, decide

1. Learn about the candidates
2. Think about the information
3. Choose candidates you like best
4. Vote
5. After the election, keep track of the
candidates & their promises and actions

Read and learn
Start with an issue YOU care about
– Education, environment, safety, transportation,
economy/jobs, children, neighborhoods, teachers
Find information about the candidates
• GenerationNation www.generationnation.org/k12in2012
– Includes candidate debate videos and other information
• Charlotte Observer www.charlotteobserver.com
• NC Voter Guide www.ncvoterguide.org


Think
Does this information help me?
Is it from a good, truthful source?
Does it fit with other facts I know?
How does it make me feel?
Do I know enough to make a decision?
• If not, learn and read more
• Tip: Focus on the individual candidates, their ideas and
solutions instead of political parties


Choose a candidate
Review
– What did each candidate say? Did they…
• Have ideas or solutions…
• …or complain a lot?
• Ask questions?
Decide
– Which one do you agree with the most?
– Based on the information you know, do you think
the candidate will do a good job?


Vote
Who do YOU think should win in Election
2012? Make your voice heard!
– K-12 students vote Oct. 22-Nov. 6
– www.generationnation.org
– Results announced November 6 (evening)
Voting options
• Vote at school
• Vote online, anywhere
• Vote at Kids Voting booths at designated polling places
on Oct. 27, Oct. 29, Nov. 3 and Nov. 6


After the election
 Look for official election results
– Adult vote
• Board of Elections www.meckboe.org and www.ncsbe.gov
• Media www.charlotteobserver.com
– Student vote
• www.generationnation.org and www.facebook.com/GenerationNation
• Did students elect different candidates?
 Keep track of the winning candidates
– Do they keep their campaign promises?
– Do they make good decisions?
 Stay involved
– Watch or attend government meetings, write letters or email officials


Election 2012 - Middle and High School

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Election 2012 - Middle and High School