STUDENT VOTE: Having a voice!
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The Political PartiesThere are FIVE main parties that we will be discussing in Social Studies:
Bloc Quebecois - www.blocquebecois.org Gilles Duceppe = leader Conservative Party of Canada - www.conservative.ca Stephen Harper = leader Green Party - www.greenparty.ca Elizabeth May = leader Liberal Party of Canada - www.liberal.ca Justin Trudeau = leader New Democratic Party - www.ndp.ca Tom Mulcair = leader |
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Our Candidates and Our DistrictA Riding (Electoral District) is the name given to a geographical area represented by an elected official.
The size of a riding is determined by population size and geographical features (roads, landmarks, etc.). Urban ridings are small and densely populated, while rural ridings are large and sparse. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A person running for the election is called a CANDIDATE Any person who wants to run in the federal election must file nomination papers with Elections Canada by the nomination deadline. Political parties select candidates to run for their party in ridings across the country. Candidates can also run as an independent or without any association to a party. Click on the image below to enlarge it. Party PlatformsA party platform explains the party’s ideas on how to deal with major issues and how to make improvements.
CLICK HERE to view a student friendly site for summaries of each party's platforms. |
Voting by Secret Ballot
A ballot lists the names of the candidates running in your riding and their party association.
Voting is done by secret ballot. No one except the voter knows the choice that was made. The voter must clearly mark the ballot with a single preference for it to be valid (e.g., checkmark, X, shading in) . A rejected ballot is a ballot that cannot be counted because it was not properly marked. (For example, your ballot is rejected if you try to vote for more than one candidate) A spoiled ballot is one that was kept separate and never placed in the ballot box because it was mistakenly marked or torn and exchanged for a new ballot. Advanced Voting Electors who are away, busy or unable to vote on election day have the option of advance voting. Advance voting is held prior to election day. There are 4 days of advance voting. |
This is what a ballot looks like. Notice it lists the names of local representatives and the parties they belong to.
Click on the image below to enlarge it.
This shows you how to properly mark your ballots to avoid them being rejected. |
The Polling Station
See below for a diagram of how a polling station is set up and the specific jobs people hold to run the polling station effectively and responsibl