1. All About Elections!

2. Many cities elect a mayor to serve as the leader of their city.
Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

3. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum
But the mayor is not a king.  In some countries, there is a king who can do whatever he wants.
Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

4. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum
A mayor, however, has many important powers, but he or she cannot just tell the city what he or she wants them to do.
Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

5. The mayor and the city council work together.
Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

6. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum
The mayor's most powerful tool is the veto pen!  That means if the City Council passes a law and he/she does not like it, the mayor can veto it!
Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

7. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum
A veto means the mayor is saying that he/she disagrees with what the council wants to do.
Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

8. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum
The mayor also helps to set the agenda of the council and helps decide who serves on which building committees. It's a powerful job!
Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

9. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum
All the candidates running for mayor have to say what they would do as mayor.
Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

10. Our mayor's campaign will have 5 issues that they will be debating.
Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

11. Issues are like questions about what should happen in the city
Issues are like questions about what should happen in the city.  For instance, should the city allow smoking?  Another issue might be: How much should taxes be?

12. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum
All the candidates say what they would do about the issues if they were elected mayor.
Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

13. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum
The candidates give speeches telling what they think and make posters (called platforms) showing what they would do.
Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

14. This way the voters know what the will do if they are elected.
Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

15. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum
The candidates for mayor sometimes have a debate in which voters can ask them questions.
Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

16. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum
Everyone in the city is allowed to vote for mayor and for the other government officials.
Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

17. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum
Voting is a very important part of living in a country or city.  It is a chance for you to say what you think about the place where you live!
Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

18. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum
In many countries, people are not allowed to vote.  They don't get to say anything about how the country is run.
Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

19. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum
In some of those countries, wars have been fought by people who wanted the chance to vote.
Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

20. And for many years in our country certain people could not vote.
Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

21. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum
There was a time when you had to own land to vote. There was a time when Native Americans could not vote.
Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

22. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum
There was a time when African-Americans could not vote. There was a time when women could not vote.
Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

23. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum
So the chance to vote is very important and you should take it seriously! Now how does an intelligent voter vote?
Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

24. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum
The most important thing is to listen carefully to the candidates and think about what they would DO if they became the mayor.
Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

25. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum
You want to try to vote for the person who agrees with you and who you think would be the best leader of the city!
Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

26. Now it’s time to plan out your big for re-election!
Copyright Right Brain Curriculum