Instead of holding an election to choose a class president, which can often cause hurt feelings, elect a class mascot instead. Bring in a few stuffed animals; give each a name and ask students to vote for their favorite. To make a ballot box, cover the top and bottom of an empty shoe box with paper. Decorate, then cut a slit in the top of the box. Ask students to write their vote on a slip of paper and come up one by one to vote by placing their paper in the ballot box. At the end of the day, count the votes and declare the winner.
Ask students to pretend they are running for office, and to make their own campaign buttons. Cut medium-sized circles from white card stock. Give students paint, crayons and markers, and ask them to create a campaign button that shows off their talents. Encourage them to think of fun slogans for their buttons. When they have finished decorating, laminate the buttons and use a safety pin to attach to students' shirts.
Teach math and social studies with Election Day activities. Create several ballot boxes. Create a list of fun questions that students must vote on: for example, favorite colors, favorite pizza toppings or favorite cartoon. Create ballots by writing the question at the top of each and multiple choice responses at the bottom. For example, the ballot for favorite color might include red, blue, yellow and green. Ask students to circle their choice. Designate a ballot box for each question and ask students to drop their ballot in the correct box. As a class, open each ballot box and count the number of votes. Let students help with counting or writing the numbers on the board. Use the data from the ballot boxes to create pie charts and introduce percentages and fractions.
Encourage language skills with a creative writing activity. Ask students to imagine that they are president, and write a book about the three things they would do. Give each student four sheets of card stock. For the cover page, ask students to draw themselves as president, standing in front of the White House. On each of the other pages, ask students to write one thing they would do if they were president. Provide crayons and markers and encourage students to illustrate their work. When they are finished, staple the pages together to make a book.