Ask the Expert: Ballot Questions: What are they and How do they get on the Ballot?
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Ballot Questions: what are they and how do they get on the ballot?Every election we not only vote for representatives in various offices at local, state, and national levels, but we see questions we need to vote on. The sample ballot comes with pro and cons, even pros to the cons and cons to the pros…so how do those questions get there and how in the world are you supposed to research what to vote?Join us for lively session where our experts will break down everything you need to know about ballot questions.
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Expert: Mark Wlaschin, Deputy Secretary of State for Elections, Dr. Sondra Cosgrove, Co-President NVCCE Governing Board, and Joe Gloria, Clark County Registrar of Voters
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SS.9-12.US.14. Evaluate the impact of individuals and reform movements on the struggle for greater civil rights and liberties.
SS.9-12.US.19. Analyze the influence of religious, intellectual, and artistic changes.
SS.9-12.US.28. Examine how American culture is influenced and shaped by diverse groups and individuals.
SS.9-12.US.29. Investigate and apply the successful principles used by groups in U.S. history in order to create communities of respect, equity, and diversity at the school and local level.
SS.9-12.US.33. Compare the evolution of different political, civil, religious, and economic institutions and their influence on individuals, communities, and government policies.
Associated NV Academic Content Standards for middle school
SS.6-8.EUSH.34. Evaluate the social, political, and economic changes that have impacted the evolution of laws throughout U.S. history.
SS.6-8.FL.10. Identify college and career options and their effect on income and unemployment.
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Choose a current or past ballot initiative from the Nevada Secretary of State website.
Provide these questions for guiding student research:
Who is behind the new initiative?
Who would be affected, both positively and negatively, if the initiative were to pass?
What is the current policy or problem that is requiring refinement or correction?
What are the economic impacts of this initiative? Will they be fairly distributed?
What are some underlying reasons for this initiative that might not be immediately apparent?
Watch the episode until 30:00. Ensure students understand this episode was about Nevada’s process and other states use different processes.
This lesson from PBS uses a California ballot initiative from 2020 that most students will not have any knowledge of the subsequent outcome. Skip the media literacy step; it was covered in the episode.
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High School
If using a current initiative for your lesson, invite students to get involved with (or against) the people behind the initiative.
If using a past initiative and one that students feel still has relevance, invite them to contact the appropriate people to find out about restarting it.
Middle School
Research gig workers in Nevada. What issues exist here? How can these problems be solved? Conduct interviews with gig workers and determine their opinion on this issue. Is this an initiative that needs to be taken up in Nevada? Would your proposal affect all or some gig workers (we have quite a range!)?
