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.
