This is the seventh and final lesson about municipal elections that I developed and proposed for Student Vote. This lesson requires students to reflect on their personal priorities and their judgment of each candidate before supporting one individual. Please refer to Municipal Election Lessons Additional Resources for references and supporting information.

1. Big Idea:
Informed participation in local government both stimulates and upholds the principles of
democracy.
Essential Question:
What are the characteristics of an informed Canadian citizen participating in a municipal election or
school board election?
Making Your Decision
An informed election decision is based upon personal priorities and information critically gathered
and analyzed from a broad range of sources, experiences, and interactions.
Hook 5-10 min.
Consider the story of four individuals who have arrived at a polling station to cast ballots for their
local municipal and school board elections, found on Handout 7.1. Discuss which of these people
should be allowed to vote in each election as well as who is most prepared to vote in each election.
What does this example tell you about the people who will actually be participating in elections?
Essential Learning 20-30 min.
1. Using Handouts 7.2 and 7.3, review your personal values, experiences and developments
during the election campaign, and your knowledge of each municipal and school board
candidate in order to prioritize the candidates in order of their suitability to represent your
vision for your community.
2. Propose how an individual might determine that they have enough information to make an
informed decision as a voter.
3. From this set of activities, review what you have discussed and learned about the value of
informed participation in elections.
Extended Learning 20-30 min.
Option A:
Your actions and words can be a means of voting. When you buy a certain chocolate bar, shop at a
particular store, or choose one option from a selection of many, you are identifying that thing,
place, or concept as more worthy than the other options. Select and act upon a way to “vote” for a
particular candidate using your words or actions. (ex. initiate a political discussion with friends or at
home, post a lawn sign, participate in a rally, write a letter to the editor of a local newspaper,
participate in a candidate’s election campaign)
Option B:
Use the items you have been collecting in your portfolio to evaluate the importance that class
activities, personal values, election issues, and developments in the municipal and school board
election campaigns have had on your decision to vote for a particular candidate.
Option C:
Develop an impartial pamphlet that an eligible voter could use in order to become knowledgeable
about the issues, candidates, and campaign platforms for the upcoming election as well as
appropriate methods and locations for voting. Use this pamphlet as a tool to help an eligible voter
prepare to vote and acquire the knowledge that every informed voter should demonstrate before
casting a ballot.
Key Terms

2. informed; priority
Essential Questions
What information am I using to back up my voting decision for a particular candidate?
In general, what should I know and/or have done before I make a voting decision?
Do I feel I have enough information to vote?
Teacher Preparation
Select teaching strategies for essential learning activities
Make class copies of required handouts
Book computer lab, if desired
Preview websites to be used for class activities, if desired (see chapter on Additional Resources)
Select extended learning activity and teaching strategies, if desired
Assessment
Students should provide evidence that they have the ability to synthesize personal values,
knowledge of candidates, and knowledge of election issues in order to make an informed judgment
as to the candidate that would best represent the students’ personal vision for their community.

3. Handout 7.1: Heading to The Polls
Consider the following story about four individuals participating in the municipal election.
Sammie, Jannah, Noel, and Florence all arrived at the Legion Hall at roughly the same time.
Noel was showing his driver’s licence to a poll clerk when Jannah held the door open for
Sammie and Florence to enter the hall.
The inside of the Legion Hall was full people who had finished work for the day and were
voting in the municipal election on their way home to dinner. The hall was full of
movement, but most people spoke in low tones, as if they were in a library.
As Noel took his ballot to a voting screen, he wondered who he would vote for. Noel had
been planning on staying home for the afternoon since he was not even aware that an
election campaign was occurring, but his housemates were headed to the polling station, so
he has decided to cast a ballot based purely on gut feeling. He tried to remember if there
were any election posters he had seen on the walk over the polling station.
After receiving his ballot, Sammie strode to a voting screen recently vacated by an elderly
woman.
Sammie had been following one candidate running for city councillor very closely; after
reading the candidate’s election platform closely and meeting the candidate on a number of
occasions, Sammie was certain he would be not voting for that candidate. He scanned the
ballot looking for another name he recognized.
When Florence opened her ballot behind the voting screen, she was still a little undecided
about who she would elect. Florence had met only two of three candidates running for
councillor in person and one of four candidates running for school board trustee, but she
had also been keeping up on developments in both the municipal and school board
campaigns by reading the newspaper every morning. She bit her bottom lip as she slowly
marked an “X” beside the names of her selected candidates.
As Jannah stepped out from behind the polling screen, she had a determined look on her
face. Jannah had only been following the school board candidates; she was very passionate
about education and had shared heated exchanges with each the school board candidates
over the course of the past month. She had made her choice about the best candidate
though – no changing her mind now. As she watched the ballot slide into the ballot box,
she wondered if the municipal candidate she had checked off was any good.
Noel was already well on his way to his apartment when Sammie, Florence, and Jannah
walked out the door and made their separate ways home. They would have to wait until the
following day to find out who had been elected.
Discuss which of these people you think should be allowed to vote in each election as well as who is
most prepared to vote in each election. What does this example tell you about the people who
participate in elections?

4. Handout 7.2: Decision-Making Inventory – Municipal Election
Review your personal values, experiences and developments occurring during the election
campaign, and your knowledge of each municipal candidate to prioritize the candidates in order of
their suitability to represent your vision for your community.
Qualities I look for in a school leader
Things that are important to Things that are important to Things that are important to
me at school me in my life you in my community
Election issues that are most
important to me
Qualities I look for in a
community leader
Candidate:
What I like
most about
this candidate
is that…
What I like
least about
this candidate
is that…
My Ranking of Municipal Candidates

5. Handout 7.3: Decision-Making Inventory – School Board Election
Review your personal values, experiences and developments occurring during the election
campaign, and your knowledge of each municipal candidate to prioritize the candidates in order of
their suitability to represent your vision for your community.
Things that are important to Things that are important to Things that are important to
me at school me in my life you in my community
Election issues that are most
important to me
Qualities I look for in a school
leader
Candidate:
What I like
most about
this candidate
is that…
What I like
least about
this candidate
is that…
My Ranking of School Board Candidates