Whether of the pocket or wall-hanging variety, calendars have also become a means of communicating voter and civic education messages. The size of the calendar will determine how much information can be included.
Some calendars will merely have a slogan, logo, and details about the date, time, and type of elections. These may fit easily into a wallet, appointment book or diary for easy reference.
In the case of a wall hanging calendar and where election related milestones are known well in advance, much more detailed information may be provided. This might include information on the voter registration process; the candidate nomination and qualification process; pre-election day events and activities such as early voting or deadlines for applications to vote by absentee ballot or mobile ballot box; election day activities; and the deadlines for the determination of preliminary and final results, certification of candidates, and seating of the elected body. Each month might introduce a new theme with the months of the election period focused on voter information and education messages and the rest of the year dedicated to broader, but mutually reinforcing, civic education messages.
These more substantive calendars might include frequently asked questions (FAQs) or learning exercises. If developed for young people, the calendars might come with specially developed stickers so that students can track electoral events and then identify them on the calendar by affixing the various stickers to the dates with which they correspond. Calendars can also include contact information for registration and election offices, political party headquarters, civil society organisations active in voter and civic education or election monitoring and public advocacy, and other public offices of note.
Many election management bodies, civil society organisations and political parties may also have special calendars that announce the number of days left to the election, for example: 10 days until Election Day! Each day, a page is ripped off to reveal the shrinking timetable until Election Day. This helps to focus and motivate those working on some aspect of the campaign or election.
