Becoming Informed Voter

In 2012, President Obama secured his 2nd term in the oval against his opponent Mitt Romney. The voter turnout was not as high as it was in 2008 but minority voters turned out in voted in such high numbers again. According to pew research, minority votes determined the 2012 election.

One of the most influential powers of a citizen is exercising he or she’s right to vote. It is important for he or she to become an informed voter, because the countries next leader, who can make huge decisions, is in their hands. In order to become an informed voter, citizens should research the candidates, watch the debates, and keep an open mind.

Texas Politics. The University of Texas at Austin, Liberal Arts Instructional Technology Services, 2009. Retrieved from http://texaspolitics.laits.utexas.edu/6_printable.html

Texas Senate District 25 is currently occupied by incumbent Donna Campbell. This district is considered one of most heavily gerrymandered districts in Texas, stretching from north San Antonio to South Austin. Campbell has held office since 2012 after defeating the incumbent in a runoff primary race. Though Campbell won the general election in 2012 by 31.2% points and 2014 by 33.4%, there is an expected GOP backlash that could bring her large wins to something reachable by Edward Kling. Since this is a nonpresidential election Steven Kling would need around 120,000 votes, depending on turnout, to reach 51% and take the district.

The 1920 presidential was a significant piece of history for many reasons. The roaring 1920 election had many rising issues in concurrence. There were many controversial topics such as a recent prohibition of alcohol, the fear of communism, and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan. In these very difficult times, America encounters one of the most revealing elections in United States. This election comes post-WWI and one of the most liberal ideological presidents in the United States history, President Woodrow Wilson.

In the most recent 2012 presidential election; Romney (R) received 57.2 % while Obama (D) received 41.4% (Texas Political Almanac, 2013).

From the District Election Report (HOUSE DISTRICT 115-PLANH358 2016 General Election), data showed except the position of “President”, which 51.5% voted for Democratic candidate Hilary Clinton, won over Republican candidate Donald Trump, with all other positions including U.S. Rep, Sup Ct, CCA, and State Rep 115, Republican candidates won over Democratic candidates in this district.

The main competitor to Huffman was the Republican, Dan Roberts. However, due to the recent redistricting, the district lines were drawn in a way that made it almost impossible for a Republican to win the nomination. Because most of the population in California’s 2nd District were in the Southern region, which is staunchly Democrat, Huffman would easily win the election. In a landslide election, Huffman won 71.24% of the votes, a huge margin of 42.49% of the vote. Similarly, in 2014 and 2016, Huffman, up against Dale Mensing, would win the election by an ever-larger percentage of votes. Notably, the 2016 election, which saw a record turnout of 330,766 for the district, Huffman won 76.75% of the vote, wiping the floor with his Republican

DeLauro ran for the open seat and defeated Republican State Senator Thomas Scott 52% to 48%. She has never faced another election so close, and has been reelected twelve times, never going below 63% of the vote. This past election in 2016, DeLauro was up against Republican candidate Angel Cadena, but DeLauro was re-elected with 69% of the vote.

DeLauro ran for the open seat and defeated Republican State Senator Thomas Scott 52% to 48%. She has never faced another election so close, and has been reelected twelve times, never going below 63% of the vote. This past election in 2016, DeLauro was up against Republican candidate Angel Cadena, but DeLauro was re-elected with 69% of the vote.

By the mid-1990s, the Republican Party has become the dominant party of Texas. “Republicans continued to erode – if unevenly – the Democratic Party's dominance of state politics over succeeding years, as this chapter's feature on The Rise of the Republican South illustrates. The Republican Party reached a summit of sorts in 1998, when it won all 27 state-wide offices. Just two years earlier in 1996, Republicans won control of the Texas Senate with a slim majority (17 of 31 seats) and have held control in subsequent elections.” (n, d) Gov. Rick Perry (Rick Perry) was held a special session of the legislature in the summer of 2003, which led the final democratic unity broke. As well as a new map passed, and seemed to give Republican candidates an opportunity to get up to seven more seats. Thus, it was the last step for the rise of the Republican Party in Texas

The final thing to look at in terms of party competition in Texas is straight-ticket voting. Between 1978 and 1996 the main two-party competition between straight-ticket voters was in the Big 6 counties, although some of the suburbs were towards a one-party direction (Thornburn 208). On the other hand, since 1998, the Republican's one-party dominance has led them to gain most of the straight-ticket voters across the state. The biggest fluctuations have happened in the state’s Big 6 counties between 1998 and 2012, going back and forth between Republican and Democrat, but El Paso and Travis county have stayed mostly Democratic while Tarrant county has stayed mostly Republican. However, in 2012, only one of the counties, Caldwell, “gave more

After completing this project, I learned how hard it is to be an active voter. Finding the information and understanding it is hard for an average citizen, so I believe creating a source for citizens of a particular county or state to find all of the information regarding the election would be very helpful. I am already a mass communications major, so I can use the skills I acquire in school to create the source.

Voting is very essential and one of the easiest methods to influence public policy. You just need to be registered, and go to a polling station. It is simple because the government encourages people to vote, to hear a broad range of opinions. It is a form of direct democracy because when you vote, it directly affects the side or issue you support. Your vote is one more supporting opinion for a candidate or issue that is counted. Some people may think that their vote won’t make a big difference, but if you look at it from another perspective it can impact smaller and local issues. Although voting is imperative because you are given this privilege at the age of 18, it is not the end of one’s ability to influence government, but rather the beginning.

The United States presidential election of 2012 was the 57th presidential election. The election was held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. The Democratic political leader was the incumbent President Barack Obama, and his candidate was vice President Joe Biden. Throughout this election the proportion of eligible voters who cast ballots shows that the rate was lower than in the past two presidential elections. Voter turnout decreased from 62.3 percent of eligible citizens voting in 2008 to an estimated 57.5 in 2012. The above calculation was also below the 60.4 percent in 2004 election, however above the 54.2 percent turnout in the 2000 election. Despite a rise of over eight million voters within the fitted population, turnout dropped from 131