The books, databases, websites and artifacts on this page will help you do research and answer homework questions about elections. You can start by looking at this voting machine that is an Artifact from The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. It was used by voters in Indianapolis from the 1930s through the 1980 election.
"During this time, many African Americans struggled to gain the civil rights Caucasian men and women enjoyed. Even though the 15th Amendment granted all American citizens the right to vote regardless of “race, color or previous condition of servitude,” African Americans still struggled for the right to vote particularly in the southern United States. In Indiana, African Americans continued to work for equal rights welcoming two significant federal laws, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voter Rights Act of 1965, helped to ensure African Americans the right to vote." You can look at more elections artifacts from the Children's Museum of Indianapolis' Collection.
Websites:
- PBS: The Race is On! - includes FAQ to answer questions like, what do donkeys and elephants have to do with it?
- The Library of Congress: Elections...the American Way
- PBS Kids: The Democracy Project
- Ben's Guide Election of the President including The What and Who of Elections, The History and Process of Voting, and How Elections Happen
- ZOOM: Elections 101
- National Archives: US Electoral College
- IndyPL Kids' Blog: Unique Stories of the U.S. Presidents
- The Children's Museum of Indianapolis: Election Artifacts
U.S. History in Context: Elections is a database you can use in any IndyPL Library Branch or at home. Login using your library card number. It will show you biographies, magazines, videos and more about the elections.
NoveList K-8: Stories about Elections is a database you can use in any IndyPL Library Branch or at home. Login using your library card number. Novelist will show you fiction chapter books and picture books you can read about elections. Click on "Check the Library Catalog" to see if IndyPL has the book.
Indiana:
Books:
Use your indyPL Library Card to check out books about elections at any of our locations, or check out e-books and e-audiobooks from home right to your device. These links will show you all the choices. If you have never used Axis 360 or OverDrive before, you can learn how to use them for both e-books and audiobooks.
- Election e-books and audiobooks from Axis 360 Kids
- Election e-books and audiobooks from OverDrive Kids
Need help? Call or ask a Library staff member at any of our locations or text a librarian at 317 333-6877.
Elections and Voting - It's a Big Deal!
Choose a book or two from this list to learn about the United States election process, who can vote, and the history of how each has developed over the last 200+ years. Find out the answers to some puzzling FAQs: What's a ballot? What is a poll? What does suffrage mean? Why couldn't Black people vote? Why couldn't women vote? You can read a general history or focus on one issue, event, or person who made a difference.
Black Voter Suppression
The Fight for the Right to Vote
Discover how this hard-fought right was won, and how efforts to disenfranchise Black voters continue to this day
Elections
Why They Matter to You
Introduces the branches of the US government, the constitution and more. Learn how elections work, whether its voting on local rules or electing the President of the United States. The book also highlights why voting is so important and how kids can become involved, even when they're still years from casting their first vote.
The Voice That Won the Vote
How One Woman's Words Made History
Women's suffrage in America came down to a single voter in Tennessee who voted yes because of a letter his mother had written, urging "Vote for suffrage and don't forget to be a good boy." This is the story of the letter than gave all American women a voice.