The film ‘Please Vote For Me’ observes the evolution of a seemingly innocent third grade class monitor election into a cutthroat political battle. Two candidates, Luo Lei and Cheng Cheng transform from harmless young children into ruthless political masterminds in the blink of an eye, while a third candidate, Xu Xiaofei, maintains her innocence at the cost of becoming irrelevant in the final voting. The election becomes seemingly a microcosm of a modern presidential election, or even just election in general, in the United States.

Machiavelli would probably take a liking for both Luo Lei and Cheng Cheng. Cheng Cheng becomes a very devious young child in his quest to usurp the position of class monitor from Luo Lei, as well to suppress Xu Xiaofei. He employs his classmates to deride the performances of his opponents. He also promises to give positions to undecided classmates in attempts to sway voters. Luo Lei, on the other hand, matches Cheng Cheng’s deviousness and then some. Luo Lei’s use of force, while it may seem like a hinderance to his campaign, actually helps him in a few respects. As class monitor, his use of force keeps the students in line and affirms his position of power. In his campaign, his use of force helps in that students are too scared not to vote for him. Luo Lei’s best move however, is using his father’s connections to bring his class on a field trip on the monorail, effectively buying the votes of his classmates.

Xu Xiaofei is the one candidate who would not fall in the good graces of Machiavelli. However, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Xu Xiaofei does not resort to the conniving tactics employed by her opponents. She essentially acts as one would expect a normal third grader to act in that situation. However, her approach to the campaign is not effective in terms of garnering actual votes, and she quickly becomes an afterthought in the election.