How to Make Your Own Free Voting Flier

Encourage people to vote by making voting fliers.

Whether it's time for a local school board election or you're ramping up for something on a much larger scale, encourage your community to exercise its right to vote with a flier. Fliers are quick and simple ways to distribute information, as they may be mailed to your constituency, posted up at colleges or handed out at neighborhood events. Make your own free voting fliers on your computer by taking advantage of programs you may already have installed or by downloading a free trial.

Things You'll Need

• Microsoft Word
• Windows Paint
• Digital image
• Microsoft Publisher

Instructions

Using Word

1. Open Word or download a free trial. This defaults a blank, 8.5-inch by 11-inch flier page onto the screen. Your cursor is already positioned at the top of the page. Type the flier headline, such as "School Board Election This Tuesday!" Highlight the words and use the text toolbar at the top of the page to increase the size of the headline, change the font and change the letters' color. Press the "Enter" key to add a few lines of space after the headline.

2. Pull down the "Insert" menu, click "Picture" and select "Clip Art." Type "vote," "election" or "campaign" into the "Search for" box and click "Go." Scroll through the results and double-click an image, which appears on the flier. Grab a corner of the graphic and resize it to fit the flier.

3. Press the "Enter" key to move down a few lines, then type the flier information, such as where to vote, what to bring, where to park and if desired, information about each of the candidates.

4. Give the flier an eye-catching border by pulling down the "Format" menu, clicking "Borders and Shading," clicking the "Page Border" tab, clicking the "Box" button and selecting from the types of borders, such as lines, abstract designs and clip art.

5. Pull down the "File" menu, click "Save As," give the flier a name and save it to your computer.

Using Paint

1. Open Paint, pull down the "File" menu and click "Open." Browse to a photo on your computer to use for the flier, such as a picture of a candidate or a photo of an election booth. Double-click the file, which opens in Paint. Click the "Select" tool, which looks like a box made of dotted lines. Draw an outline around the picture. When you see dotted lines appear, right-click the outline and click "Copy."

2. Pull down the "File" menu, click "New," click "Open" and select "Attributes." Type dimensions of 8.5-inches by 11-inches and click "OK." When the white flier space appears, right-click it and select "Paste," which brings in your copied image. Drag it into place in the middle of the flier.

3. Click the "Text" tool, which looks like an "A," and click the white space at the top of the flier. If a text toolbar doesn't open, click "View" and select "Text Toolbar." Select a font and increase the font size, then type the flier headline, such as "Vote Today!" or "Election This Week."

4. Move your cursor below the image and type more information, such as the candidates' goals and promises, who can vote and the voting process.

5. Click the "File" menu and select "Save As." Type a name for the flier and select a destination to save it to on your computer.

Using Publisher

1. Open Publisher or download a free trial, click "Publications for Print" and scroll to "Flyers." Scroll through the available flier templates and double-click one, which opens in the Publisher workspace.

2. Click your cursor into the placeholder flier headline box, which becomes highlighted. Type your new headline directly over the placeholder one, such as "All Voting in the School Gym" or "Don't Forget to Vote!" Type the rest of the voting flier information over the top of the other placeholder text boxes on the flier.

3. Right-click the placeholder graphic on the flier. Select "Change Picture" and choose "Clip Art." If you have your own image to use, click "From File," browse to the image and double-click it; it takes the place of the original graphic on the flier. Otherwise, choose "Clip Art" and search for an image to add to the flier.

4. Click the "Color Schemes" link on the "Flyer Options" pane on the left side of the screen. Scroll through the groups of colors and double-click one that matches your school, group or other preferences and it automatically updates the flier in the workspace.

5. Pull down the "File" menu, select "Save As" and name the flier. Choose a place to save it to on your computer and click "Save."

Tips & Warnings

• Your computer's Microsoft Office Suite comes with Word. Some versions of the Suite also include Publisher. If you bought a stripped computer or don't happen to have these programs, experiment with making fliers at no cost by trying out the free Office Suite trial from Microsoft. All Windows computers come installed with the Paint software program.

References

• Baycon Group: Microsoft Word Tutorial
• Windows: Using Paint
• In Pictures: Microsoft Publisher

Resources

• Microsoft: Office Trial