There are many important jobs in our government today. These jobs can take place in your city, town, district, state or in Washington, D.C. These government positions are called “Public Office Jobs” and need to be filled by people who will be good leaders. These positions are called Public Office Jobs because people in your community need to vote for the person they think will do the best job, making and following laws that protect and improve our schools and community.

When voting, it is important to look at a persons’ character.

• Are they honest? Will they spend the city’s money wisely?
• Are they smart? Will they be able to make good laws that will protect us?
• Are they dedicated? Will they spend the time needed to finish the job?
These are things we need to know about a person before we vote for them.

How do we find this information on a candidate? The best ways to get information are through listening, reading and asking questions.

• By listening to the radio, the news, the ads on T.V. and the adults around you, you can learn something new about a person.
• Reading ads and articles in the newspapers and magazines will also give you good information.
• Asking your teachers, parents and other adult relatives questions is yet another way of finding things out about a candidate.

Once you feel comfortable with all of the information you have collected, it is time to pick the candidate you would feel proud to have in office. It is your duty as a member of your community to go to the nearest voting place which is called the Polls. Polling places are usually at your nearest school or library. Once at the Polls, you are given a ballot, a special piece of paper with the names of all of the people who are running for the different Public

Office positions. At this time, you will check off the Candidate that you think will do the best job. When you are done, people who work at the Polls will show you how to slip your ballot into a machine that counts the votes. This shows you that your vote has been counted. It is also very
Important that election officials count votes accurately and fairly. Here in
Springfield, our elections officials make it a practice to go around to all the
Polls during the day to make sure everything is going well and that all the
special rules regarding elections are followed.

It is important for everyone to vote for Public Office positions so the best person has the chance to win at an election. Even though a person needs to be 18 years old to vote at the Polls, it is important that children are given the opportunity to vote in their schools.

Children are the future of our country! Adults do care what you think!

That’s why it is your duty now, to listen to your teachers and the adults around you, so they can help you to understand a little more about the way to vote. They will guide you, and help you to feel comfortable enough so when you are 18, you will be able to make a difference in who gets elected to Public Office and, hopefully, keep our cities, states and country free and safe in the 21st century! Your century to make a difference.