Ballots and big decisions
You’ll need
- Laptop or device with internet access (optional)
- Plain paper
- Pens or pencils
- Medium size cardboard box (ballot box)
- Pre-printed ballots
- Register of explorers/scouts
- Box cutter
Before you begin
- Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Take a look at our guidance to help you carry out your risk assessment, including examples.
- Make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely.
- Make sure you’ll have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help.
Planning and setting up this activity
- You can use the Democracy Challenge pdf to help prepare for the sessions.
- This activity will need to be done over3- 4 sessions.
Session 1: Invite a returning officer to explain the election process.
Session 2: Planning their campaign.
Session 3: Hustings and campaigning.
Session 4: Voting and election results.
- If you plan to invite a Returning Officer or a member of your local election team, to visit your group or to do a virtual session, use the link to arrange this. Elections in your area | Electoral Commission
- Ensure you have enough laptop with internet connection.
- Create a simple ballot box using a small card board box and make a slit on top large enough to put ballot papers through.
- Create ballot papers with the candidates’ names and their group names and logos.
Running this activity
Session 2: Planning the campaign
- Gather everyone around and inform them that today they will learn about the election process. Understand the stages of an election process, practise campaigning and public speaking and finally experience voting using a fair system.
- Explain how to register to vote. Register to vote | Electoral Commission
- Then they will form their own political party and make a campaign. They will select a political candidate to represent their party and as a team work to create a speech on the campaign issue, which the candidate will give in front of everyone. The issue they are campaigning is The Theme of the summer camp.
- Either put them into group of 3-4 or ask them form groups. Each group is a political party.
- In their groups they need to:
- Come up with a name for their political party and a logo.
- Decide who is their political candidate.
- Work together and research the campaign issue and how they will publicise it so people vote for their one (posters, leaflets, short video 2-3 mins long etc).
- Write a speech for the candidate to deliver in the next session.
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Give each group access to a device with internet access (optional).
Session 3: Hustings and campaigning
- Each candidate will come and present their pitch to the rest of the group.
- Remind everyone that the next session is voting day.
- They need to bring in some form of ID (school or college ID, passport, provisional drivers license) Optional.
- Explain to everyone how the voting will happen next session. When they come to the next session they will need to register and collect their ballot paper. They should try and keep talking to minimum as possible. There will be 2 tables set up for voting. One person at a time can cast their vote at the table, so they must wait for their turn. They can only use the pencil to mark ONE candidate with X, no other markings or writing are allowed. If there are other markings, that vote isn’t counted and is called a spoilt ballot. Once they have marked on the ballot paper they fold it and put it in the ballot box on the middle table and leave the hall.
Session 4: Voting and election results.
- Create a voting area in one end of your meeting place. Set up 3 tables and have them at one of the hall spaced apart from each other. The middle table should contain the ballot box. The two tables on either side and the voting tables and need to have pencils for voting.
- Set up another table near to the entrance of the hall. This table is for one or two leaders to act as the election processing team. They should have a register of all explorers.
- Remind everyone of the rules on voting.
- Everyone forms a single file outside the hall and come in one by one to the registration table. The leader will tick off each explorer that has come to vote and give them a ballot paper. Check their ID (optional).
- They take their ballot paper and go to the voting table that is free, select the candidate they want; by placing an X. And put the ballot paper into the ballot box and then leave the hall.
- Once everyone has voted, everyone comes back into the hall.
- Have an area set up with mats for everyone to sit in front of the table with the ballot box.
- All the candidates come up to the ballot table.
- One leader opens the ballot box and takes all the ballot papers out and puts them on the table. They should then start sorting them into pile for each candidate and count them.
- The winning candidate is announced.
Reflection
We found the mock election to be an engaging and practical way to understand how democratic processes work. Creating campaign messages and delivering speeches helped build our confidence and communication skills. Taking part in a secret ballot made the experience feel realistic and reinforced the importance of fairness and transparency. The activity encouraged respectful debate, critical thinking, and teamwork, while helping us appreciate how decisions are made both within Scouts and in wider society.
Safety
All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.
You must run your activities in line with the Safeguarding Code of Conduct for Adults (Yellow Card) and report any concerns to the UK HQ Safeguarding Team.
- Sharp objects
Teach young people how to use sharp objects safely. Supervise them appropriately throughout. Store all sharp objects securely, out of the reach of young people.
- Online safety
Supervise young people when they’re online and give them advice about staying safe. Take a look at our online safety or bullying guidance. The NSPCC offers more advice and guidance, too. If you want to know more about specific social networks and games, Childnet has information and safety tips for apps. You can also report anything that’s worried you online to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command. As always, if you’ve got concerns about a young person’s welfare, including their online experiences, follow the Yellow Card to make a report.
Make it accessible
All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.
