December 15 1788 and January 7 1789 It was much different from today’s elections No political parties existed No one campaigned George Washington was the choice for president No one ran against him Direct Democracy This first American presidential election was an important step It was the first time in history that citizens had voted to elect their nation’s leader Democracy was not a new idea In 507 BCE a man named Cleisthenes created the world’s first democracy It was in Athens Greece Male citizens age 18 and older could participate Women slaves and foreigners were excluded The men met approximately once a week at an assembly called the Ecclesia At the Ecclesia the men voted on each issue and law themselves This is called direct democracy Direct democracy works best with small groups Today people use it in events such as town meetings Town meetings are common in only a few states There 6
A modern bust of Cleisthenes on display at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus Ohio 7
citizens vote directly on items such as budgets taxes or town planning Indirect Democracy Direct democracy is not practical for a whole nation It would take too long for all citizens to vote on every law Instead most nations are indirect democracies Citizens vote for representatives The representatives then vote on behalf of the people The United States uses indirect democracy So does Canada and most of Latin America and Europe Throughout the world citizens use different types of indirect democracy In the United States citizens vote for lawmakers and Young Voters Twelve thousand American citizens turn 18 every day This is the age when Americans can vote For years fewer younger people have voted than older ones In 1990 a group called Rock the Vote sought to change that Rock the Vote uses pop culture to encourage voting It also uses social media It has registered more than 6 million new voters 8
YVAS ROCK Donald Pullen also known as Rockie Fresh performs during a 2012 tour for Rock the Vote an organization created to get out the youth
