Choosing Your Materials
Find paper or posterboard you like. Think about whether you want to make a few larger posters on posterboard or many posters on regular paper to put everywhere. You could also choose to do both. Go to an office supply store and figure out your options. For continuity, and to make it easy for people to remember you and your campaign, you might want to choose a color scheme that you stick to in your posters -- red and black or blue and white -- whatever you choose. Avoid neon colors, as some may think it is too bright.
Decide on how you will decorate your poster. If you're artistic, think about how to use your skills best. If you aren't artistically-minded, think of other ways to get people's attention. Stickers can also be fun, but might get expensive if you make a lot of posters. Will you draw something, or create it on the computer? What kind of impression do you want to create -- professional, funky, well-organized? Do you want to include an image of you? Photo or drawn?
Make a model poster. Have friends and family look at it and give you suggestions. Once you've decided if you want to incorporate their suggestions, work on making a final version of your model. If it's posterboard, you're going to have to replicate it multiple times. If it's something you can copy, all you'll have to do is find a place where you can make the copies of your model poster.
Deciding What to Write
Make your candidacy clear. Put the position you are running for in a place on the poster that is easy to read. Your voters need to know what they are voting you in for. Also make your name central to the poster, including your last name. Add a picture of yourself to the poster, so people who don't know personally will now know exactly who you are. You don't have to look model-esque, just approachable and friendly. You could choose to make a rhyme to help people remember your name and position, like "Don't be a loon! Vote June for School Council President!" Below you can write your full name, since “June” might not be enough to identify you. Or you can be more straightforward. “For School Council President, Vote June Larson.”
Choose other elements to include on your poster. Do you have a platform or issue you want to work on while in office? If so, make that clear. Think about what you want to change at your school. Why are you running? Your posters should give voters some idea. "Vote Jill for a cleaner Lunchroom! Jill Hernandez will make a great VP!" ”Scott Rogowski will make lockers safer. Give him your vote for Vice President.”
Think of a motto on your poster. It might be one tied to your issue, but it can also be more general. Any way that you can help people remember you and your campaign when they're voting can help. Some sample mottoes might be: ”Let's make our school even better next year!” ”Vote me for a hard-working president/vp/etc.”
Don't trash other people. Make your campaign about you and what you can offer. Getting negative often backfires, and it's likely that you will end up working with your opponent on something in the future. It's not worth it to make an enemy over a school council campaign when you could just keep the campaign positive. Don't make posters with phrases like the following: "Lill stinks! Vote for the prez that thinks!" ”No more David Tan. No one here should be his fan!”
Putting Up Your Posters
Find out where you are allowed to put posters. Some schools have designated areas where posters have to be. In other schools, you can get creative. Talk to teachers or school administrators to find out. Look into the different ways you can hang your poster up so it's secured, but won't damage anything when it's taken down.
Enlist your friends to help you place posters. You want to get the maximum coverage, so put your posters up strategically. If there's a bulletin board with lots of posters already on it, you might want to look for another place. Have your friends stand back from the walls to see if your poster is visible in the places you choose. If you can, choose unusual locations to put your posters. Some different places might be: Bathrooms Stairwells Outside
Monitor your posters. Make sure that no one takes them down. Have extras in case you need to put more up or see places later that you think could use a poster. Once the election is over, it's a good idea to go around taking down your posters and getting them recycled. Hopefully, you won, but even if you didn't, you know more for your next campaign! To run a successful student council election you should reach out to a staff member for help in organizing it. See how other schools have facilitated student council elections in the past. Ensure that all the voting is appropriate and counted truthfully.
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