The New Childrens Encyclopedia

 THE CANDIDATES
In an election, candidates may be
nominated by different political parties.
The person who gets the most votes is
elected and the party with the most elected
candidates forms the government.

HISTORY AND POLITICS

 PROTESTS

If people disagree with a bill,

they will often organize protests

to try to make their government

take notice or change it.

MULTIPARTY DEMOCRACY

TAKE A LOOK: VOTING IN ELECTIONS

In a democracy, all adults are allowed to

vote. On election day, they are given a

piece of paper with the names of the

candidates on it. They vote by putting a

cross or a number next to the candidate’s

name. The voters deposit their voting slips

into a locked ballot box. The votes are

counted and the candidate with the most

votes is elected to the position.

TYPES OF DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENTS:

Executive Branch

The White House

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (US) CONSTITUTION

Legislative Branch

The US Capitol

Judicial Branch

Supreme Court and

other courts of law

WHAT IS A GOVERNMENT?

217

House of Representatives

 UNITED KINGDOM UK The monarch acts as head of state, but the parliament is responsible

for making and changing the laws in the UK, which is done with the majority approval of both the

House of Commons and the House of Lords.

 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA US The United States is the oldest constitutional republic

and has three separate branches. The executive branch carries out the instructions of Congress, the

legislative branch creates and changes laws, and the judicial branch manages the system of justice.

DEMOCRATIC

SYSTEMS OF

GOVERNMENT

A constitution is a written

document or unwritten

code that establishes the

structure and rules of the

political organization of a

country. Constitutional

democracies may take the

form of republics, as in

France and the US, or

constitutional monarchy, as

in the UK and Spain. The

country may have a

presidential system (US),

a parliamentary system

(UK), or a semipresidential

system (France).

Vice President

President

Cabinet

Senate

Congress

Elected Senators Elected Representatives

UNITED KINGDOM (UK) CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY

Parliament

Prime Minister

Cabinet

Members of parliament

Governing Party: Opposition Parties:

House of Commons

Opposition Leaders

Shadow Cabinets

Opposition MPs

House of Lords

Senior

bishops

Unelected

Lay peers

Senior

judges