As an initial activity, make sure the students understand what it means to vote. Display a series of items from the same category (for example, five colors, three fruits, four books or two foods) for the class to vote for their favorite. Provide simple ballot boxes and slips of paper for the students to vote.
During an election season, gather pictures of candidates on the campaign trail. Display the pictures on a bulletin board. Explain what the candidates are doing in the pictures to expose your students to the campaign process. Make coloring pages of various election symbols such as the Democratic donkey and Republican elephant and include those on the board. Add a sample ballot to the board as well.
Hold a classroom election for "Favorite Candy." Have students nominate candidates and bring a sample of each to class to display. Let the students stand in front of the group and tell why they think their favorite should be chosen. Make suitable adjustments for shy or quiet students. Hold a primary election to narrow down the selection to two or three types of candy. Finally, hold an election and follow it with an inauguration ceremony for the winning candy.
Explain to the students that some states get more votes than others when it comes to the presidential election and that a candidate must have 270 electoral votes to win the election. Have a map prepared that shows how many electoral votes each state gets. Let the students look at the map and discuss which states would be more important to the candidates as they are trying to get the 270 votes.
On the day of an election, allow the students to do a secret ballot choosing their favorite candidate. Announce the results before they go home, or wait until the next day to compare the classroom choice to the one made in the actual election.