Voting

Have you ever picked a game to play with your friends? Maybe everyone shouted for joy to play tag. Maybe you all raised your hands super high to play hide-and-seek. When you all choose together, it feels happy and fair. It is a special kind of power when everyone gets to help pick. That special power of choosing together? That's me. I am Voting. I am the voice that says, “I pick this one.”

I have a very old and important job. A long, long, long time ago, in a warm, sunny place called Ancient Greece, people learned how to use me. Around the 6th century BCE, which was many years before your grandparents were born, people in a city called Athens started using me to make big decisions. They would gather in a big, open place and raise their hands to the sky to show their choice. Sometimes they used little tokens, like special stones, and dropped them into big jars to be counted. At first, only some of the grown-ups were allowed to use me. But over many years, kind and brave people worked very hard to make sure more and more people got to have a turn, because everyone's voice is important.

Today, I am still helping people choose. Grown-ups use me to pick leaders for their towns and countries. It’s like picking a captain for a team who will help make sure the game is fair for everyone. I am the promise that even the smallest voice can be part of the biggest decisions. I help make sure everyone gets a turn to share what they think is best. And when you're all grown up, you'll get to use me, too. Your voice matters.