Current Issues
Issue questions are included in the mock election to familiarize students with the idea that as adults they will vote on public questions as well as candidates. We will continue to offer links to the issues from recent mock elections for teachers who may be looking for sample issue questions for the current class of students. The information regarding ranked-preference voting in primaries is included to facilitate class discussions on possible means to address the current partisan environment. Since voting is an essential civic responsibility, we have included information regarding voting procedures in New Jersey so that students can participate in the actual election by encouraging parents and other adults to cast their vote in a safe manner of their choosing. It is also hoped that high school students eligible to vote will embrace this important civic responsibility. Please note that some older students are eligible to serve as poll workers.
Electoral College Reform
Should the Electoral College be replaced by a direct popular vote for president?
Below are suggested resources to facilitate discussion of the issue question. Since the 2024 presidential election remains in the future, some of the resources refer to the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.
- Should the Electoral College Be Abolished? – NJ Center for Civic Education
- Should the Electoral College stay or go? – PBS NewsHour Classroom
- The Electoral College | National Archives
- National Elections and the Electoral College | The National Constitution Center
- Popular v. President | Electoral College and Popular Vote Lesson Plan | iCivics
- Debating the Electoral College – KQED Learning
- How does the Electoral College Work? | C-SPAN Classroom(Video)
- C-SPAN Classroom Deliberations – Should the Electoral College Be Reformed?
Steve Maher, Social Studies Supervisor for the Chatham Public Schools, has contributed the following game to help students understand both the Electoral College and the importance of strategic campaign funding. The first few slides help teachers provide a basic explanation of the Electoral College and the contextual information about campaign spending necessary for the game.
The game has competing student teams allocate limited campaign funds in states of their choosing, hoping to win more electoral college votes. Pre-formatted spreadsheets with built-in calculators should make the game easy to run.
This folder has all the materials and this video explains the game.