by Mya Kagan (whyzz writer) >> more about the author

An election is when a group of people vote to decide on a new leader, or who will win a certain position. For example, if you're in a club, you might vote on who will be the leader of the group!

In countries that are democracies, the people who live in the country usually hold elections to vote on a new leader, such as a president. Different countries have different specifics about how these elections work -- in some places the number of votes is counted directly, and the person with the most votes wins. In other places, such as the U.S., elections often work by region - by getting the most votes in a certain city, state or other district, a person running for office gets a certain number of points. Then the person with the most points (instead of the most votes) is the winner!

The main idea behind elections is that there is a system in which everybody gets a fair chance to vote one time for the person they would like to have as a leader!

Cast your vote!

To get a better idea of how elections work, try making up something to decide and having everyone in your house cast a vote!

For example, you could have everyone vote on what their favorite breakfast food is! Make up a few choices, such as “cereal,” “toast,” “fruit,” and “eggs.” Make a ballot for everyone who is going to vote, and put each choice on each ballot, with a box for them to check off next to the choice they will make.

Allow everyone to check off their vote, and then have them each put their vote in a special collection box you can make for gathering all the ballots!

Count up the responses you get on each ballot! Which item on your list had the most votes? Whichever one gets the most votes is your family's choice for favorite breakfast food!