Voting is one of the most important ways people can make a difference in their community! When you vote, you help choose the people who make decisions about things that affect your life directly.

Once you're registered to vote, it's time to voice your vote! Pennsylvania offers several ways to cast your ballot, so you can choose the option that works best for you.

Laws help set the rules for how our communities and state work. In Pennsylvania, creating a law takes teamwork, discussion, and several important steps.

In Pennsylvania (like in other states), lawmakers and public officials, who we elect, decide as a team how to spend the state’s budget. Every year, Pennsylvania legislators have the responsibility of deciding how state funding is divided between different priorities. This is called the state budget.

There are multiple levels of government that create policy and enforce laws where we live. At the federal level, there are three branches of government that ideally balance one another out. These levels are:

Pennsylvania's courts make up the Judicial Branch of state government. The Judicial Branch works alongside the Legislative Branch, which makes laws, and the Executive Branch, which carries out and enforces laws.

In Pennsylvania, federal, state, and local elections are how voters choose leaders who will represent them in federal, state, and local government. We elect leaders who make decisions on our behalf that affect our everyday life and help shape the future of their community and country.

Sometimes people share information that is not true or is missing important facts. Misinformation can spread quickly online and be powerful enough to unfairly affect how people vote, which can affect your community and quality of life.

Government can be full of confusing words, but understanding them is the first step to making your voice heard. This glossary breaks down key civic and voting terms in simple language, so you can better understand your democracy.