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8th grade · Social Studies · Unit 7 of 12

Elections & Voting

Registering, parties, campaigns and the Electoral College

What your child practices

How people register and vote, primaries and political parties, campaigns and polls, the Electoral College and redistricting, and the powers citizens have in elections.

Arizona Academic Standards learning standard: 8.C3.1; 8.C2.1 · the impact of political parties, interest groups and elections, and the powers of citizens

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. US citizens can vote at 18, after they register.
  2. Parties and campaigns, organized efforts to win votes, compete for support.
  3. The president is chosen through the Electoral College: each state’s electors are based on its number of senators and representatives.

Example: Arizona has 9 representatives and 2 senators. How many electoral votes does it have? Electoral votes = representatives + senators. 9 + 2 = 11. Answer: 11

Elections & Voting in Arizona

In the Arizona Academic Standards, this is unit 7 of 12 in 8th grade Social Studies, after Maps, Graphs & Data and before Citizens & Civil Society.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Arizona Department of Education

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Arizona voters can remove an elected official before the term ends with a…

    • recall election
    • veto
    • census

  2. Question 2

    How old must you be to vote in US elections?

    • 18
    • 16
    • 25
    • 21

  3. Question 3

    What is a political platform?

    • A ballot box
    • A party's statement of its goals and positions
    • A stage for speeches only
    • A court

  4. Question 4

    Why do lower-turnout elections matter?

    • Every election has 100% turnout
    • A small share of voters can decide outcomes for everyone
    • They never matter
    • Only presidents count

  5. Question 5

    What is a ballot measure?

    • A question on the ballot that voters decide directly
    • A poll
    • A candidate's speech
    • A tax receipt

  6. Question 6

    What is a primary election?

    • A Supreme Court case
    • The final election
    • A tax vote only
    • An election that narrows the candidates before the general election

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