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election-day

Illustration by Edpuzzle Staff

Since 1845, the voting day for federal elections has been the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

But why Tuesday?

The answer has to do with what America looked like back in 1845. Many Americans worked as farmers and needed up to two days of travel to get to their polling places. Because Sunday was reserved for worship, Tuesday was chosen for Election Day to give farmers enough time to travel to vote.

In this Edpuzzle Original video lesson created by an expert team of social studies teachers, your students will learn how federal government offices are filled on Election Day. Let's go!

Election Day Video Lesson for Grades 6-12

Some of the key takeaways from this video lesson on Election Day include:

  • How voting is central to the idea of democracy
  • Different types of elections, including primaries, midterm elections, general elections, runoffs, and special elections
  • How the right to vote has evolved throughout U.S. history as reflected in the constitutional amendments
  • The role that states play in elections

Video length: 6 mins. 27 secs.

Log in and copy video. What are your Election Day lesson plans? Make sure to share them with our teaching community on Twitter and tag us @edpuzzle!

Teach Election Day with Edpuzzle