| By Tracey Matthews |
If you’re like me and tens of millions of other Americans, you can’t wait until the contentious 2020 election is over. Compounded by COVID-19 and an unprecedented voting process, this year’s election has many Americans anxious and unsure when the elections results will be announced and if their votes will be counted. According to CNN, as of October 28, 2020, 72 million Americans have already voted, and even more are still expected to vote via early voting and absentee ballots.
Gale In Context: High School has a wealth of resources that can help students put elections, voting, and politics in context. For starters, High School has topic pages (or portals) on both presidential candidates—Republican incumbent President Donald Trump and Democratic opponent former Vice President Joe Biden. Each candidate’s portal includes their platform on issues that impact all Americans including the economy, gun control, health care, immigration, the environment, and more.
Do you wonder how many times the popular-vote presidential candidate winner lost the election, go to High School’s Voting portal to find out. Within this portal, you’ll discover how the Electoral College works. You’ll also learn about African Americans and Women’s voting struggles and which Constitutional Amendments eventually gave these groups the right to vote. Understand historical and modern voting suppression tactics like poll taxes and literacy tests that tried to prevent African Americans and other marginalized communities from voting. Find out what the average voter turnout is and why.
Learn about other ways citizens can engage in politics at the national and local level in the Political Participation topic page. Campaigning, volunteering, and attending city council or school board meetings are a few of the concepts covered in this portal.
For additional information that will help students understand voting and elections in 2020, visit the following topic pages:
- Joe Biden
- Democratic Party
- Elections
- Political Participation
- Political Systems and Parties
- Politics and the Media
- Republican Party
- Donald Trump
- Voting
And remember no matter who you’re voting for—GET the FACTS and VOTE! It’s your right!
Tracey is a K12 content strategist in Gale Databases. She is passionate about family, food, volunteering, and traveling—not necessarily in that order.