This topic area explores some
examples of how EMBs and other electoral stakeholders have provided civic and
voter education (CVE), through educational activities and through media
campaigns, to young people, in the 2010s. The focus is on creative initiatives
and the use of social media, given the latter’s exponential use in the 2010s.
The topic area does not replicate the ACE Topic Area Civic and Voter Education
or the ACE Topic Area Media but complements them.
ACE Topic Area Civic and Voter
Education provides a comprehensive summary of programming for voter
information, voter education, and civic education.
ACE Topic Area Media provides
a comprehensive summary of the ways in which media ensure democratic electoral
processes.
Definitions of CVE
Voter information refers to basic facts enabling qualified
citizens to vote, including the date, time, and place of voting; the type
of election; identification necessary to establish eligibility; registration
requirements; and mechanisms for voting. It is sometimes referred to as
“Voter Awareness.”
Voter education refers to programs or activities that typically
addresses voters' motivation and preparedness to participate fully in
elections. This includes information
about voting and the electoral process and is concerned with concepts, such as: the link between
basic human rights and voting rights; the role, responsibilities, and
rights of voters; the relationship between elections and democracy and the
conditions necessary for democratic elections; secrecy of the ballot; why each
vote is important and its impact on public accountability; and how votes
translate into seats. Such concepts involve explanation, not just a statement
of facts. It is also known as “Electoral Education.”
Civic education refers to programs or activities that deal with
broader concepts underpinning a democratic society, such as the respective
roles and responsibilities of citizens, government, political and special
interests, the media, and the business and non-profit sectors, as well as the
significance of periodic and competitive elections. Civic education can be broadly
defined as the provision of learning experiences to equip and empower citizens
to participate in democratic processes. It sometimes called “citizenship
education” or “democracy education.”
Voter information is a subsection of
voter education, which, in turn, is a subsection of civic education, as shown
below.
CVE is carried out by
a wide variety of institutions and individuals. Schools and other learning
institutions commonly deliver continuous civic education in formal curriculum
and through other means, such as mock elections and student governments, EMBs
and other providers of CVE use a range of techniques and approaches to inform
and educate citizens about elections. Collaborations between EMBs and other CVE
providers is common, and ideal, to ensure the accurate and effective provision
of CVE. See ACE
Election Materials: Best Practices Manual on Democracy Education in.
The media, in its informative and
educative role, is a provider of CVE. The media’s other important role in
electoral processes is that of “watchdog,” a role that has expanded as more and
more information is shared online, making it challenging to assess the accuracy
of information. In the 2010s, social media has become the go-to method for
obtaining information and news for much of the world’s youth.
It is important to note that youth
are both creators and implementers as well as beneficiaries of CVE programs
Likewise, youth are creators as well as consumers of media.
