Social Studies 4: Elections in the U.S.

Thankfully, when it comes to elections in the United States, you really do have a choice.

That's because Elections in the United States are democratic systems. [A box on a voting card is ticked]

But what does that mean?

Well, for starters, it means that they're both free and honest – voters can cast their [Coop pointing at a blackboard]

votes privately and get to actually have a choice of candidates.

And that's pretty important.

If your mom asked if you wanted tuna casserole, tuna casserole, or tuna casserole for dinner, [Three dishes of tuna casserole]

well, that's really not much of a decision at all, is it?

And if she really wants us to eat the leftover tuna casserole, just come out at say it already, [The tuna casserole is given to the dog]

Mom.

Voting booths are usually divided up with curtains or walls in order to give the voter

privacy.

This is done so that voters can freely choose whoever they want without being worried

that other will judge them for it. [Man holding up his card and smiling]

It also doubles as a great place to quickly check if your fly is low without everyone [Jeans with an unzipped fly]

totally laughing at you.

When people all over the country vote in various elections, they are participating in a democratic

system because the people they elect are given the power to make decisions on behalf of everyone

else.

In the case of the presidency, citizens vote for electors that in turn select the next [People appearing on a state map]

president.

The entire system is built to allow people in a real way to have their voices heard, which [Map of the US showing democratic and republican states]

is why it works so well.

In a class election, votes are counted as a pure democracy – meaning that each and [Teacher pointing at the blackboard]

every vote is counted and weighted equally, and the candidate with the majority wins.

Democracy is one the most important aspects of the United States government, because it

ensures that the power is always in the hands of the people. ['We the people' is highlighted on the constitution]

That's why you'd be silly to not to be involved when given the opportunity – it would be

like having a giant magical sledgehammer and not using it to spectacularly smash a watermelon [Girl smashes the watermelon with her sledgehammer]

into a million pieces.

And then a pumpkin!

And then a kitchen tabl—

Wait, no, not that. [No sign appears on the table]

Shmoop does not endorse destroying your furniture…

unless your parents vote yes on it first. [Parents put their thumbs up]

Boom.

Democracy. [The girl smiles]