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image: three people line up to vote with paper ballots. One person has short dark hair, light skin, and uses a wheelchair, another stands, with darker brown skin with curly hair and earrings. And the third has gray hair, light skin, and stands with a cane. ‘vote here’ posters line the background. Illustration via Storyset, used with permission.]
Let’s Learn About Voting & Elections
Teaching kids not just about the power of our vote, but the ways voting rights have been (and continue to be) denied to targeted people, and the importance of voting in smaller, local elections.
When is it?
- Voter registration date: September 15 (a national reminder to double-check your registration, but you can still register if you miss the date!)
- For most of the US, election day is the first Tuesday following the first Monday of November
Read:
- Lillian’s Right to Vote (ages 6-9)
- Amelia Bedelia’s First Vote (ages 4-8)
- A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo (ages 4-9)
- Act (ages 8+)
Watch:
Discuss
- Who in our community has the right to vote?
- Who is blocked from voting? Who is blocking them? Why?
- What are voting rights and who we believe should have access to them?
- Why is voting in small, local elections just as important as big national elections?
- Who makes laws in your state? What have they done so far?
Take Action:
- Kids Voting Activities via Moms Rising
- US Voters: Sign up for election reminders
- Practice election: Are there any rules, decisions, or family events we could hold up for a vote?
- How can we influence local elections, even if we don’t have voting rights?
- Sign the petition to support voter registration at Indian Health Service facilities
Additional resources to dig deeper:
- Books on Elections, Politics & Democracy for Kids
- Your Vote Counts: A Self-Advocate’s Guide to Voting in the US, easy-read edition
- Trans Formations Project: Check whether your state legislators have sponsored or voted on any anti-trans bills.
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