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The Governorship

A lesson in the Ohio political system

OBJECTIVE:  This lesson is designed to demonstrate to the students the process of election for the positions of Ohio Governor and Lieutenant Governor. It can also provide a worthwhile opportunity to discuss minor political parties versus our classic two-party system, as well as teaching students the requirements for candidacy. But more importantly, this lesson demonstrates the core principles of our government, that being the right of all Americans to vote or seek office in this representative democracy!

VOCABULARY:  Democrat, Republican, third-party candidates (Reform, Green, Natural Law, Libertarian, etc.), major versus minor party status, Independent candidates, primary elections, general elections, fund raising, campaign contribution limits, campaign finance reform, petitions, challenger versus incumbent, and election issues

GETTING STARTED:  Depending on the level of students, it would be beneficial to start by discussing where your students might be on the political spectrum. Discussing the differences between a “conservative” and a “liberal” would effectively lead the class into obvious distinctions between Republicans and Democrats. It is at this point that some of the political issues could also be introduced, such as pro-life versus pro-choice. Once you have established the basic philosophy of the two major parties and students have “ownership” as they are also part of the spectrum, then an introduction to other political parties and their ideologies makes better sense as they can also be added to the spectrum. It is important to draw the distinction that an Independent candidate can fall anywhere on the spectrum, but each tends to be a moderate somewhere in the middle.

The age and residency requirements to run for the offices of governor and lieutenant governor are the same for all statewide executive offices. You must be eighteen years of age, a registered voter, and a resident of the state. The offices of governor and lieutenant governor run on the same ticket. In other words, you file your petitions jointly. The filing deadline for party candidates is by 4pm of the 75th day before the primary election (this year, it was February 21st) or one day before the primary election for Independent candidates (this year, it is May 6th). At that time, candidates pay a filing fee of $150 when they turn in their nominating petitions. Major party candidates are required to turn in 1,000 signatures, while minor party candidates are only required to turn in 500 signatures. (Gaining minor party status requires a more complicated process involving thirty thousand signatures and depends largely on the percentage of voters who vote for that particular party in the last presidential election.) Both the major and minor parties square off in the primary elections to determine who best represents their party. The winner of the primary moves on to compete in the general election on November 5th. Independent candidates are exempt from the primary elections. However, they are required to get 5,000 signatures from registered Ohio voters if they wish to qualify for the November general election. (See Section 3513.257 of the Ohio Revised Code for further clarifications.)

CUSTOMIZING THE LESSON WITH CREATIVITY:  If you really want to get the students involved, try setting up a mock election for the class.  Candidates from each political party can volunteer to run for office.  Major parties would need to get a designated number of petition signatures (proportionate to your school population maybe) while Independents would be required to obtain five times as many.  You can setup primary elections to narrow down the field for those who qualify.  Then students can debate the issues of their own choosing (can be school issues or major political issues).  Be sure to give the election winner some special privilege or award for his/her efforts.  This project can be expanded in any direction.  I have seen Fairlawn High School's Mr. Cory Huelskamp develop an outstanding program for teaching this to his government students.  It is a highly detailed activity, and thus it has not been specifically described here.  He is eager to share his creativity to benefit all students.

The next step is for the class to find out “Who’s who?” in the election. There are several websites out there, but www.politics1.com is an excellent source which can be directly accessed through my website under the “Other Candidates” heading on the main page or by clicking on the link above. It would be a great idea to chart these candidates and their activity for public appearances, political stance on key issues, and even fundraising (See the Secretary of State’s website on campaign contribution limits at: http://www.state.oh.us/sos/limchart.html ) With this basic outline, I believe a teacher can customize it in any number of ways to educate students. I hope this proves to be an effective teaching tool in the classroom, and remember, we win either way because our voices are heard....and that is the lifeline of our democracy!

Paid for by the Committee to elect Whitman and Clark. 

Treasurer, Lana Whitman, 3716 Co. Rd. 31 South, Bellefontaine, OH 43311