Objective 5. Identify the factors that influence whether people vote.
A. Describe three major reasons why people might choose to vote. 1. they see policy differences between the parties on issues that concern them 2. they have a high sense of political efficacy 3. they vote out of civic duty
B. What other conditions contribute to low voter turnout? Also look at “America in Perspective” to answer this question. –the requirement of voter registration
-voting occurs more often than in other countries
- Americans are expected to vote for a much wider range of political offices
-little incentive to vote (consequences of the vote are not that great)
-voting occurs midweek (most people are working)
C. What was the 1993 Motor Voter Act?
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C. What are the three most important dimensions of candidate image?
Integrity, reliability, & competence
D. Based on what you read in the section on “Policy Voting,” assess how easy it is to be a policy voter today.
It is very easy to be a policy voter today because presidential platforms are no longer clouded with ambiguity. Through the Electoral College system, candidates are now forced to take clear stands on issues in order appeal to their own parties’ primary voters. Voting by policy can be easily accomplished today due the incentive of candidates to be straightforward about their policies.
Objective 7. Explain the fairness of the Electoral College system for choosing the President.
A. How would you explain to a person desiring citizenship how the electoral college works?
The president is determined is not from popular vote, but the Electoral College, which is a form of indirect democracy. In the Electoral College, each state has a body of electors equal to the number of the state’s senators & representatives who vote for the President and Vice President on behalf of the public. Following the November election, electors meet in their states to mail their votes to the VP (who is in charge of the
The article, “Electoral College: An Overview,” written by Ballaro, Beverly, Bourassa, and Cheryl, explains how the electoral college is used and why people do not support it. This article targets anyone who is able to vote in the 2016 election. The purpose of this article is to inform voters that their vote does not always choose the president and explains how the president is chosen and the system behind it. The thesis of this article explains that many people abroad are still unaware that the president is not elected directly by the people. The president is chosen by the electoral college. The electoral college is a body of electors chosen to elect the president and vice president of the united states. This setup allows the chance for an
There are several people within the states that have the power to chose the President. There is a system to help it is called Electoral College. People would vote as normal and then all the votes for the state would determine the states candidate. This can help or hurt the the people for the opposing candidate. There need to be changes to the Electoral College and how many electoral votes are determined.
It takes the popular vote and tells how the section of the state is voting. The states have a certain amount of electors to use and that will tell whether the stated voted Republican or Democratic. Many people run for the president each time there is an election and the people always have a favorite. In 2016 it was Hillary Clinton; she lost to Donald Trump who did not have the popular vote. She was predicted to win the whole election.
Write an essay that explains how the Electoral College works. How does the Electoral College shape the strategy of candidates? Why is it harder to win presidential elections post 1968?
Rhetorical Analysis: The primary audience for this paper includes every citizen aged eighteen and above eligible to vote in the United States. The proposed topic mostly concerns these individuals due to the fact, they are affected by presidential voting institutions. Throughout this paper, I will be arguing in favor of the Electoral College, with an end goal of persuading my audience of the benefits of the system.
To clarify how the college works, chosen by each state of the U.S., 538 electors vote for a president and their overall choice are actually guaranteed over the popular vote whose selections are not direct to electing a president. The candidate, with the assistance of their certain state, are voted for by the electors that make up the Electoral College (HowStuffWorks.com). Those who win the popular vote most of the time will get the support of the
The president is elected by a group of people called electors and each state has a number of electors equal to their congressional delegation. During the presidential election, a smaller group of representatives, at state level, give the final decision of the presidential election. Throughout numerous elections, only four occurrences where the candidate could not be agreed upon. In 1800, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr received the same amount of electoral votes, resulting in the House of Representatives breaking the tie. In 1876’s presidental election, the popular vote went to Democrat Samuel Tilden, however a commission voted for Republican Rutherford B. Hayes as the winner. In 1888 the popular vote candidate, Grover cleveland, did not win the election but rather Benjamin Harrison due to the electoral votes. Just recently in 2000, George W. Bush won the majority of electoral votes, even though AL Gore won the popular vote.
electors are chosen. All electoral votes in a state go to the candidate that gets the most votes, and
Getting to polling locations can be a hassle, especially for the disabled, the sick, and people without transportation. In addition, voting becomes even more difficult for
In presidential elections, citizens do not actually vote for the candidate of their choosing, instead citizens are voting for electors known as the Electoral College. The Electoral College chooses a President, and Vice President. The Constitution gives each state a number of electors that equals the number of House of Representatives and Senate, which totals five hundred and thirty eight and also includes three electors for the District of Columbia. Each state receives a certain number of electors based on population size. The results in a state determine which electors are chosen. All electoral votes in a state go to the candidate that gets the most votes, and after state elections appointed officials certify the popular vote of each state. Two hundred and seventy votes are needed to elect a President; the candidate with the majority of the votes becomes the president.
If people do not vote, it would lead the country to a very vulnerable and perilous position due to incompetent and irresponsible leaders. Not voting during an election is voting indirectly against democracy and making way for irresponsible leaders (Akande, 2011).
Question 4) What are some explanations for why voter turnout is so low in the U.S. compared to other wealthy, literate and democratic countries?
When Americans vote for president, they are actually voting for presidential electors, who are known as a whole to be the electoral college. These electors, who are elected by citizens of the United States, are the ones that elect the chief executive. The electoral college has shaped the past, present, and future of the United States ever since it was constructed by the Constitutional Convention of 1787. The electoral college was created with fair and good intentions.
Most voters have an understanding of a candidate's political views are and how they differ from the rest of the candidates. Most candidates picks the issues that are in the forefront of the political arena and describe how they are different from their competition. Economy is a big issue concern right now because people cannot seem to find work. If the incumbent is doing badly, the other candidate can tell the voters that it is time for a change. If President Obama does not get a handle on the economy soon and get assist people to get back to work, then he will not be re-elected for President in the 2012 election (Schmidt, Shelley, Bardes, 2011, p.196)
II. Main Point: College Students aren’t into the presidential candidates and sometimes they don’t like politics, so they don’t register to vote or vote at all.