Mock election

Secondary schools sometimes organize mock elections to introduce young people to the concept of elections before they have reached their voting age. The elections aim to give the participants an understanding of democracy, the role of government and parliament. The experience helps encourage future young voters to cast a ballot. They can have real or fake candidates depending on the school and what the mock election is for.

As a way to introduce democratic elections in Bhutan, in preparation for the Bhutanese general election in 2008, a mock election was held on April 21, 2007, to prepare the Bhutanese for the imminent change to democracy. This election featured 4 pretend political parties and randomly-selected high school students as candidates.

 

In the United Kingdom before the Great Reform Act 1832 a mock election is known to have been held in the grounds of a notable debtors' prison, Kings Bench Prison in 1827, shown by a painting of one of the inmates. In the painting, which is not very subversive to the status quo, is a red flag-like banner that reads "Liberty of the Subject", whilst showing some chaotic frivolity and sherry glasses, and a gilt or bronze-tipped policeman's truncheon with a decorative bow. Turnkeys (guards) participated in the revelry but the governor faced censure and questions in parliament.

• Humours of an Election, a series of four oil paintings and later engravings by William Hogarth that illustrate, creatively, the election of a member of parliament in Oxfordshire in 1754.
• Mock election in the King's Bench Prison
• Mock trial
• Garrat Elections – 18th century mock elections in England