Nominated for a 2017 national American Civic Collaboration (Civvys) Award!
Attention All High School Civics Teachers:
2018 Mid-Term Election Package Info Coming Soon
FREE SERVICE
First Vote NC, an initiative of EducationNC, launched an election simulation platform in conjunction with the 2016 elections for NC public and charter high schools. While the national elections may get the most attention, we can’t forget that American democracy requires active engagement every year. Local elections provide the perfect opportunity for teachers to make students aware of issues happening in their own communities. If students have an opportunity to practice voting every year, voting becomes a habit. Let’s make North Carolina a leader in cultivating civically engaged and informed young people.
All you need is any device connected to the internet — computer, tablet, or smartphone. Simply register your school to participate and the simulation election platform built by EdNC will automatically generate a customizable ballot, all based on your school’s address.
First Vote NC is designed to tie in with the American History: Founding Principles, Civics and Economics course. It teaches real-world knowledge and higher order thinking as it asks students to reflect, solve problems, answer complex questions, work with others, lead, and produce a public product.
Graphically illustrated election results and downloadable data sets provide an easy and fun way for students to analyze the data — helping students look at themselves, their school, and their peers across North Carolina in the context of elections and political issues.
Create an authentic civic experience for your students!
Engaging, easy to use, and FREE
Working to make Students Civically Engaged, Actively Prepared, and Consistently Inspired.
Our Impact
This was an excellent resource and set of activities, well put together. Emails were timely and helpful. The website was a breeze to navigate. My students are still talking about it. This may have impacted them more than any other activity they have participating in this semester!
I truly appreciate the effort of the staff, the quality of lesson plans available. I know that my students understand the electoral process better because of First Vote! Thanks for helping me become a more effective Civics teacher to my students!
This was a wonderful idea and amazing inaugural year.
The best part was the way that First Vote was able to tap into a population base that was apathetic and ignorant of the voting process. The students had no knowledge of the process nor did they want to gain knowledge of the process until they found out they were going to be a part of the process.
I loved this initiative and the real-world application. I wish we could find a way to use these ideas even when there is not a presidential election. Would it be possible to include state and local elections every year?
- Civics teacher and First Vote user
It isn’t enough to just register — it isn’t even enough to just vote. Our aim is to create an informed and involved citizenry.
Thanks to the future voters at Enloe High School in Raleigh, NC for this video.
