1. UNIT III – Effective Citizenship and Participation
Elections
UNIT III – Effective Citizenship and Participation

2. Board of Elections
The Board of Elections is in charge of overseeing elections to make sure they are fair
This is done on a local, county level
Every local government will run elections in their own way

3. Types of Elections
Primary Election: election in which voters choose a candidate to run in a general election
Think Democrat v. Democrat and Republican v. Republican
Closed primary: only members of party vote for candidate
Open primary: anyone can vote, regardless of party affiliation

4. General Election: voters choose candidates for various offices
Think Republican v. Democrat for the win
Always one of the first Tuesdays in November
Except for the presidential election, the candidate with the most votes always wins

5. Special Elections:
Runoff Elections
When none of the candidates for a particular office clearly wins
Recall Elections
Remove a public official from office; always started with petitions (Governor Swarzenegger)

6. What are you voting for?
Federal Level – President/VP, Congress (Senate/House)
State Level – Governor, Lt. Governor, General Assembly (NC legislative branch), Council of State (NC department heads), Judges
Local Level – Mayor, city council, sheriff
Some offices are partisan (connected to a political party) and some are nonpartisan (not connected to a political party)

7. Voting on Issues in Elections
Citizens can propose new laws or state constitutional amendments through an initiative
Citizens who want a new law gather signatures of qualified voters
If enough people sign the petition, the proposed law, or proposition, is put on the ballot
Allowing citizens to vote for these propositions is called referendum