The Us Colony: Guam

America has been acknowledged as being one of the world’s leading democracies, but to continue implementing the use of the Electoral College creates some distortion to that title. The out of date system does not accurately portray democracy. Theoretically, a democracy is government system that is ruled by the people. In reality, an individual’s vote may not matter depending on the state they reside in. Robert Dahl, a Democratic Theorist stated, “every member must have an equal and effective opportunity to vote, and all votes must be counted as equal.” Political equality is important to the distribution of power. Even if a person is wealthy and of power their vote should be counted the same as someone in poverty.

A question that we all need to understand that is rarely interrogated is, why do we have elections in the first place? America is too big and complexed to hold public referendums on individual issues, although some states try to do it, this is called complexity. So in the case we choose representatives, we vote for people and not policies. Political scientist have a much broader way of describing this, in terms of adverse selection. “Adverse selection is a problem that can arise when we make a choice but do not necessarily have all the information we need to make that choice.” So we have elections, they help to solve this problem because they are ideally competitive. The competition creates incentives for candidates to give information about themselves and to make most of that information accurate since their opponent will call them out for any statements that are less than truthful. Elections supposedly also makes candidates more accountable since they provide voters a chance to get rid of the bad impersonators. The Election you might think is important enough to be included in the constitution, however it is not, although “the constitution does set up a few basic guidelines that structure american elections, but most of the important rules that defines the way elections are carried out come out of state laws, legal decisions, and local administrative practices. So the constitution does not really say a lot about election, but mostly about choosing the President and it

This is just a fraction of the issues with the Electoral College, I wrote 2 other paragraphs that I didn’t use because I didn’t have enough space, and then there is even more than that! What you should take away from this is that as a result of the system in place, an individual's voice is made less valuable through a myriad of methods. The message that I want to convey is simple one person should get one vote because the electoral college is detrimental to

Many people in the U.S. today feel as though the Electoral College is not needed, and is in fact doing more harm than good in our country. Clifton B. Parker, a writer for the Stanford News Service at Stanford University, is one such person. In his article, Now We Know Why It’s Time to Dump the Electoral College, he illustrates the cons of this institution by stating that it “distorts campaigns, disenfranchises voters, and drives partisanship.” In short, this can make it impossible for American’s to exercise their electoral voice.

A congressional advisor said it should be America’s primary goal to implement in Puerto Rico “an effective administration, that simultaneously provided the largest degree of self government” (Fernandez 20). Puerto Ricans were highly inexperienced in government, as the American forefathers had been a little more than a hundred years before, but were hopeful in their ability to adjust and grow.

Voting to elect government officials is a privilege of a democratic society. Every four years, in one of the most important events in U.S politics, millions of American citizens exercise their voting power by casting a ballot for a presidential candidate. However, these millions of cast votes elect a small group of state representatives known as the Electoral College, not the president of the United States. Under the current voting system the power to elect the president is solely the responsibility of the Electoral College not the people. Although the Electoral College has a rich history, it is an outdated voting system and should be replaced by National Popular Vote.

then the government should not place unnecessary barriers on the voting. He also argues that any

Voting can mean the difference between whether or not life-saving health care is affordable. It can mean whether an ambitious young American can afford to attend college and pursue their dreams. It can determine whether justice is served when a young, unarmed man is shot by those who are supposed to protect and serve the community. The right to vote ensures that regardless of how unproductive congress is, the American people have the ability to make their voices heard. Loretta Lynch said, “Voting is how we participate in a civic society - be it for president, be it for a municipal election.

Democratic elections are an integral part of American society; however, it appears that more and more people are becoming detached from or unwilling to participate in this essential process. This declining attitude toward elections is caused by the inclusion of the electoral college and the power it holds over elections in the United States. The electoral college is used in place of an election by popular vote, but that is an antiquated system that often misrepresents the interests of the American people. This detachment could be fixed by a reworking of the electoral process such that the electoral college is abolished and all elections are held by popular vote. This would give people a feeling of true representation in the government

The right to vote has been established in many countries, with its foundation in the democracy of ancient Greece. The founders of the United States used the ideas of the Greeks and saw their democratic result as “an achievement that has come through determination, hard work, struggle, even bloodshed” (Text 4, Lines 1-2) as seen in the American Revolution. The American Revolution was fought over the fundamental ideas of democracy- the right of the citizens of that country to choose the people who speak for their voices in national government. Two hundred and forty years later, many U.S. citizens aren’t using their right to vote that was fought for them and that they believe that voting is like an opinion and “that not having an opinion is

Votes entirely make up the different sections of government in the United States. It's an important right to be able to vote because like you said, "When we vote it won't be on the president, it will be on the society and how it'll affect me or my children." People have more confidence in a government that is being voted on than not. However, only a little over 130 million adults will vote this November.

Suffrage is most important right granted to an American citizen, but the road to provide suffrage for all Americans was a lengthy one. Early in America’s history, only property-owning white men could vote. After the Civil War, the Fifteenth Amendment prohibited “the denial of the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude” (Cornell). Only in the last century did the Nineteenth Amendment give women the right to vote. Now, all American citizens can express their opinion on matters of the state and nation. Take the most recent presidential election for example. The Democrats and Republicans are the two main parties, Clinton representing the Democrats and Trump representing the Republicans. On November 8, Americans voted, and Donald Trump will become the next U.S. President. But recall the 2012 election, where “only fifty-three percent of eligible voters actually casted ballots—that is 129 million people out of a potential 241 million citizens taking place in the election” (PBS). These statistics show that more than half of the American population did not care about their future or the future of the next generation. Ironically, many citizens who do not vote become the same citizens who complain about the state of their nation. These Americans do not fulfill their responsibility to choose leaders who will ensure that the same freedoms they experience today will be the same freedoms their great grandchildren will have years later. Americans must utilize this right to vote to preserve the freedoms they

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, said on November 19, 1863 in his Gettysburg Address: “Government of the people, by the people, and for the people”. This wonderful president would not have been president if it weren’t for the votes of the American society. All citizens of America are involved in American democracy, which is based on the idea that the government is run by the people. A democratic government requires that the citizens vote. America today has the there are Democratic and Republican parties, as well as other minor parties. These parties, and the right to vote, give us the liberty to choose our governmental leaders.

In Los Angeles county, a few Filipino organizations have workshops to educate Filipinos about Prop 57, 58, and JJJ and their benefits. During the election, those organizations held workshops to educate Filipino Americans how to register to vote and the importance of being voters. They also educated them the main points of each Prop. Different topics of elections are taught at the workshop. In the first workshop, they teach the participants about the history of the number of Filipino Americans that participated and how they voted. Then, at the following workshops, they focus on those important Propositions including Prop

In 1668 Guam was under Spanish control until the Spanish-American War of 1898. After the United States acquired Guam, their classification was highly debated to government officials.