WEEK ONE

LESSON NOTE
JSS2
CIVIC EDUCATION
ELECTION AND VOTERS RESPONSIBILITY
The word election is a formal and organized
choice by voting a person for a political office or
position.
The concept of election is a formal group decision
making process by which a population chooses an
individual or multiple individuals to hold public
office. Election has been the usual mechanism by
which representative democracy has operated
since the 17th century.
An electoral system or voting system is a set of
rules that determines how elections and
referendum are conducted and how their results
are determined. Political electoral system are
organized by government, while non political
elections may take place in business, non-profit
making organizations and informal organizations.
The following are voters responsibilities
1. Familiarize himself or herself with the
candidates and issues.
2. Maintain a current address with the office of
the supervisor of elections.
3. Know the location of his or her polling center
and its hour of operation.
4. Bring proper identification to the polling
station.
5. Familiarize himself or herself with the
operation of the voting equipment in his or
precint.
6. Treat precint workers with courtesy
7. Respect the privacy of others.
8. Report any problem or violation of election.
9. Ask questions if needed.
10. Make sure that his or her completed ballot is
correct before leaving the polling station.

WEEK TWO
LESSON NOTE
CIVIC EDUCATION
VOTING PROCEDURES
Voting procedures will be dependent on the
legal, regulatory and policy frame work. Like
electoral systems, they may often be a
product of the past, rather than an effective
response to current voting needs. The equity,
integrity, service level and accessibility of
election process will be primarily determined
by the range of voting methods available to
voters and the procedural control.
A major challenge in devising voting
methods and procedures is to ensure that all
persons registered to vote have an equitable
opportunity to participate in voting
irrespective of their geographical location,
gender or class, literacy level, occupation or
physical condition.
TYPES OF VOTING
1. Normal voting/ PUBLIC VOTING: here,
most voters would be casting their ballot
on the general voting day (or one of the
general voting days.) at a voting station
in the electoral district in which they are
registered to vote. Voting procedures in
this mass of voters should include:
i. Electoral system requirement: this is a
method of ballot used to indicate
preferred candidate or candidates.
ii. Integrity requirement: this is done to
prevent voters fraud, through
measures to combat intimidation and
 undue influence, attempted multiple
voting, inpersonation etc.
iii. Service requirement: this is in line with
promoting an easily understandable,
orderly, swiftly and accurately
processing of voters through the voting
system.
iv. Cost effectiveness requirement: this
allows staffing, premises, materials and
required models that enables
efficiencies in processing of voters to
be realized.

WEEK: 3
MERIT OF PUBLIC VOTING
a. Voting exercise is very simple to
operate.
b. It is less costly to operate unlike
secret ballot.
c. Every eligible adult isentittled to
vote
d. There is sufficient enlightenment
and members are courageous to
withstand improper pressure.
e. It reduces electoral malpractices.
f. There immediate release of the
result.
 DEMERIT OF PUBLIC VOTING
a. The voters may be compelled
to vote for a particular, whose
pressure he may not be able to
withstand.
b. Government may exert
pressure on the electorate to
vote for government officials.
c. Voters are expose to
intimidation and harassment.
d. It is seen as uncivilized and
unacceptable to modern
political system.
e. It can induce violence as those
not satisfied with the outcome
of the result may go on
rampage.

WEEK FOUR
LESSON NOTE
CIVIC EDUCATION
VOTING PROCEDURES
SECRET BALOTTING
2. SECRET BALLOT: here, voters can cast
their votes secretly. The voters alone
makes the decision in the voting
exercise. In this election, ballot papers
inscribing the names of the parties and
symbols, ballot box, ink pad etc are some
of the materials needed for secret voting.
Also a presiding officer, polling clerk and
polling orderly are the electoral officials
in charge of a polling station.
MERIT OF A SECRET BALLOTING
a. It is democratic and it preserves the
right of the voter.
b. It is universal
c. It gives the voter the sense of
direction.
d. It is free from intimidation.
e. It gives voters the sense of belonging
to a political process.
f. It gives voters the confidence and
satisfaction that they have exercised
their franchise.
DEMERIT OF SECRET BALLOTING
a. It is difficult to comprehend
b. The illiterate ones can vote
blindly because they cannot read
or write.
 c. It is time consuming.
d. It is very costly to operate.

IMPORTANCE OF VOTING
1. Elections give people the opportunity
to choose their leader.
2. Through election the principle of
democracy promoted
3. It gives elected representative the
legitimate right to rule. It is a fair and
civilized way of placing people in the
position of authority.
4. Election will enable the government
to know the mind of the people which
is called public opinion .
5. It is used to access the performance
of elected public office.

3RD TERM
1ST C.A
CIVIC EDUCATION
 JSS2
1. ________ is a formal and organized
choice by voting.
2. List one responsibility of a voter
3. Mention one type of voting
4. _______ kind of vote is done secretly.
5. Representative democracy has
operated since the _______ century.
6. Mention one merit of secret ballot.
7. Define electoral college
8. Mention one merit and one demerit
of electoral college.
This was possible because the cities were
small in size and population.
REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY: This is the
modern form of democracy. It involves the
conduct of government by the representative
of the people who are usually elected
periodically during general elections of
affixed term in office.
CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY: This the use
of the constitution for the conduct and
regulation of the affairs of both the
government and the governed. When the
governed and the government strictly keep
 to the constitutional provisions in running the
affairs of the country, they are said to be
operating a constitutional government or
constitutionalism.

WEEK FIVE
LESSON NOTE
CIVIC EDUCATION
INDIRECT ELECTION
In this system, electorate (voters) elects the
members of parliament (law makers) and they the
law makers will have to vote on behalf of the
people to elect the president ie the head of state of
the country.
This system was used in the first republic to elect
the first president of Nigeria 1963/66 Nnamdi
Azikiwe was the first president of Nigeria .
However, this system is mostly operational in
parliamentary system of government. Example of
such country is great Britain.
MERITS OF INDIRECT ELECTION
1. The indirect election produces less violence
than direct election.
2. The opportunity of rigging is partially absent.
3. Members of the electoral college have the
opportunity of examining the candidates
before the voting.
4. Indirect election is not as costly as direct
election.
DEMERITS OF INDERECT ELECTION
1. The electorates are not directly involved in
the final choice of their representative.
2. Indirect election system does not offer wider
political participation in the state.
3. It promotes bribery and corruption and
manipulation of delegate.
4. The final result may not reflect the will of the
people.
5. It violates the democratic principle of one
man one vote.
6. There is possibility of the electoral officials
getting involved in some corrupt practices
during the process of election.

WEEK SIX
LESSON NOTE
CIVIC EDUCATION
ELECTORAL COLLEGE
This is a group or body of elected
representatives who in turn come together to
elect people into political offices. It is also a
group of people who are chosen to represent
the members of a political party in the
election of a leader. The American elect their
president through electoral electoral college.

MERITS OF ELECTORAL COLLEGE

1. Electoral malpractices are minimized
because only a few people vote.
2. Voting could be done and completed
within a very short period and on time
too.
3. The candidates are easily identified and
properly known to the voters.
4. The system produces a winner easily
because the candidate scores with a
simple majority.
5. The system is not costly but simple to
operate.

DEMERITS OF ELECTORAL COLLEGE

1. The people’s right of choice are
denied because they did not take
part in the second election.
2. The system might not produce the
right candidate.
3. It can lead to bribery and corruption
which will influence the outcome of
the election.

Other terms associated with election

includes:
1. By election
2. Runoff election or second ballot.
3. Primary election
4. Referendum
5. Plebiscite
6. The process of recall.
Write short notes on the above.
WEEK 7
LESSON NOTE
REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY
Democracy is a form of government in which
the people or citizens are given the
opportunity to participate in major decisions
that affect or will affect them. In this way,
government encourages citizens to have a
say when important decisions are to be
made. The government depends on the
consent of the people for its decision and
actions.
Representative system is adopted in modern
day government because everybody cannot
be directly involved in the day to day running
of the government.
Representative democracy can be define
as a form government in which citizens are
given the opportunity to participate in the
daily running of government through their
elected representatives.
FORMS OF REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY
There are different types of representative
democracy, but the most popular ones
includes
1. DIRECT DEMOCRACY: this the the oldest
form of government that was practiced in
the Greek City state of Athen and spata.
It involves the conduct of government by
all adult members of a society. This was
possible because the cities were small in
size and population.
2. REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY: is the
modern form of democracy, it involves
the conduct of government by the
representatives of the people who are
usually elected periodically during
general elections of a fixed term of office.
This form of government is in operation
in Nigeria and other modern
democratically governed countries of the
world such as France, Canada, United
States of America and Britain.
3. CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY: This is
yet another modern form of democracy.
It is used of a constitution for the conduct
and regulation of the affairs of both the
government and the governed. When the
governed and the government strictly
keep to the constitution provisions in
running the affairs of the country.
examples of countries that practice this
 are USA, France, Great Britain and other
western countries of the world.

WEEK 8
LESSON NOTE
CHARACTERISTICS OF DEMOCRACY
1. RIGHT OF CHOICE: The right to have an
opportunity to make a choice from the
available alternatives, either of political
parties, candidates or political issues, makes
this features an important one among other
features.
2. FREE AND FAIR ELECTION: The democratic
form of government demands that elections
must be periodically held, and that such
elections must be free and fair, they must be
devoid from rigging and snatching of ballot
boxes.
3. RESPECT FOR THE RULE OF LAW: under a
democratic government, the spirit and letter
of the law must be respected. This means
 that everybody must act and stay within the
law of the land.
4. POPULAR CONSULTATION: This implies that
the officials of government should seek and
get the views of the public on major issues
before they become laws or policies
5. OPEN POLITICAL COMPETITION: In a
democratic state, completion for public
offices must be open to every qualified
candidate and should not be kept secret from
interest individuals.
6. PERIODIC ELECTION: Since representative
democracy is the most popular form
government, if it must meet its roles, then
election must be fairly regular. For example,
in Nigeria, general elections are held every
four years.
7. SEPERATION OF GOVERNMENT POWERS: The
idea here is that if all the powers of the
government (executive, legislative, and
judicial powers) are put in the hands of a
single set of individuals or group, the
tendency to misuse such powers against
public interest. Hence, there is a need to get
the power separated and placed in the hands
of different bodies.
8. EQUAL DISTRIBUTION OF CONSTITUENCIES:
In a representative democracy, if a
constituency and its people are not to be
either under_ represented or over
represented in the national assembly, the
state or country must be divided into equal
parts and only one candidate elected from
each of the divisions or constituencies.

WEEK 9
LESSON NOTE
NIGERIAN CONSTITUTION
Meaning of Constitution: constitution refers to a
set of rules, regulations, principles, and other
elements of law according to which a country or
nation is expected to be ruled.
Nigeria, as a nation, has a constitution that is
currently in use for conducting the activities of
government. This is known as the constitution of
the Federal Republic Of Nigeria 1999. This
constitution has been in use since 29 May 1999
when democratic civil rule was introduced after
many years of military rule.
Between 1960 and 1999, Nigeria had different
constitutions. These included the Independence
Constitution of 1960, the Republican Constitution
of 1963,the 1979 presidential constitution and
the 1989 Presidential constitutions are no longer
in use because some political events and
changes in government led to their being set
aside.
SOURCES OF CONSTITUTION
The constitution of Nigeria, as is true of other
countries, is made up of statements about the
organs of government, functions and power.
These statement are called constitutional
provisions.
The constitution of a country comes from
several sources including written and unwritten
documents as well as judicial pronouncements.
More specifically the constitution may result from
the following
1. Conferences held to make a new
constitution.
2. Changing or replacing the existing
constitution with a new one.
3. Holding special election for the citizens to
approve the introduction of a new
constitution.
4. Historical documents on the origin of the
country.
5. Decrees or laws made by the military
government.
6. Important international agreement between
some countries or international bodies.
7. Customs and tradition.

WEEK 10
LESSON NOTE
FEATURES OF A CONSTITUTION
1. An opening statement introducing the
owner or maker of the constitution and
where it is to be used for governing. This
is known as preambles to the
constitution.
2. Statement of identifying the organs of
government of the country such as office
of president, governor, state house of
assembly (senate and house of
representative)
3. Statements describing the process to be
followed by the organs of government in
operating or carrying out their activities
eg the law making process.
4. Functions of the organs of government.
5. Powers to be exercised by the organs of
government.
6. The requirements of the citizenship of
the country.
7. The rights and duties of citizens of the
country.
8. The process to be followed if some
aspects of the constitution are to be
changed or amended.
9. How individuals or citizens can occupy
some major positions of government by
way of election or appointment, and the
requirements they are expected to have
before they can be considered.
TYPES OF CONSTITUTION
1. Written constitution
2. Unwritten constitution
3. Regid constitution
4. Flexible constitution
IMPORTANCE OF CONSTITUTION
1. It is the basis for good and
orderly government.
2. It is a basis by which a nation or
country distinguishes its citizens
from foreigners.
3. It is one of the means of
identifying that a country or
nation exists.
4. Its guarantee the rights of
citizens and serves as the basis
for claiming them if violated or
about to be violated.
5. It helps in checking the excessive
abuse of power by persons in
positions of authority or
government.
6. It helps to ensures a smooth and
orderly process of changing or
replacing officials of government.
7. It ensures an orderly process of
altering or amending the
constitution.