VOTING IN THE U.S.A.

1. VOTING IN THE U.S.A. -Mr. P’s Class

2. KEY QUESTION • Many voters feel that the Electoral College is a relic from the old days, and should be eliminated. Others argue that it is still a useful tool for preserving states' rights. Do you believe that the Electoral College should be abandoned? Explain your answer with a description of how the Electoral College works.

3. VOTING • one of the main responsibilities of U.S. citizens. VOTING IN THE U.S.A.

4. CANDIDATE(person who runs for office) VOTING IN THE U.S.A. POLICY(a plan of action to fix a problem). INCUMBENT(person who has the job).

5. POLITICAL PARTY- (an organization made up of citizens who usually agree on public policy). VOTING IN THE U.S.A. People do not have to belong to any party • Political parties can be found in: • Federal • State • County • Local politics.

6. dozens of political parties in the United States. • DEMOCRATIC & REPUBLICAN parties are largest. VOTING IN THE U.S.A. DEMOCRATIC PARTY REPUBLICAN PARTY

7. American government primarily relies on theTWO-PARTY SYSTEM(two large parties control the political process). VOTING IN THE U.S.A. INDEPENDENTPARTY- neither Democrats or Republicans.

8. Other parties are sometimes called “third parties” VOTING IN THE U.S.A. American Conservative Union

9. VOTING IN THE U.S.A. To run for office: 1) a candidate must get party members to sign a Petition(a document with the candidates name, followed by signatures of registered voters).

10. 2) candidates are selected by their party to be the one candidate in any of the following 3 ways: VOTING IN THE U.S.A. a) At a Convention, (where the delegates of the party meet to vote for the candidates).

11. a) At a Convention, (where the delegates of the party meet to vote for the candidates). VOTING IN THE U.S.A.

12. VOTING IN THE U.S.A. B) In a Primary, (an election where members of the party choose a candidate by secret ballot).

13. VOTING IN THE U.S.A. B) In a Primary, (an election where members of the party choose a candidate by secret ballot).

14. C) In a Caucus, (where party members meet in small neighborhood groups to cast their votes). VOTING IN THE U.S.A.

15. C) In a Caucus, (where party members meet in small neighborhood groups to cast their votes). VOTING IN THE U.S.A.

16. 3) THE GENERAL ELECTION VOTING IN THE U.S.A. Each party’s candidate now runs against the other party’s candidate .

17. WHO CAN VOTE? Voting In The U.S.A.

18. American CITIZENS are * people born here * immigrants who have lived here for at least 7 years, and passed the citizenship test. Voting In The U.S.A.

19. *You must REGISTER(sign up) in the town that you live in. There areother restrictions, depending upon the state that you live in, as the states set up the rules for who is eligible. Voting In The U.S.A.

20. Voters choose candidates from a BALLOT – (a menu of choices). Voting In The U.S.A.

21. Voting In The U.S.A. WHEN DO WE VOTE? • Federal elections (President & Congress) are held on the Tuesday after the first Monday of November. • Presidential elections are held every FOUR years. • Members of the House of Representatives are elected every TWO years. • Members of the Senate are elected every SIX years. Elections for STATE and LOCAL offices VARY(are different) from state-to-state. This includes Mayor, School Board, Governor, etc.

22. ISSUES(situation, or problem that government must deal with) Voting In The U.S.A. See handout

23. Voting In The U.S.A. • ECONOMIC ISSUES • Money Supply • Interest Rates for loans • Labor and Workplace problems • Stock market • INTERNATIONALTRADE(business outside the United States). • DOMESTICTRADE(business inside the United States). • Energy

24. 2) SOCIAL ISSUES • Law Enforcement / Punishment • Health and Welfare • Transportation / Highways • Environmental Concerns • Immigration • Education Voting In The U.S.A.

25. 3) DEFENSE • Staffing and Equipping the Military • Intelligence Operations • Domestic Security Voting In The U.S.A.

26. 4) FOREIGN POLICY – (Dealing with other nations). Voting In The U.S.A.

27. Three basic PHILOSOPHIES - (ways of thinking). CONSERVATIVE – Opposed to large changes. LIBERAL – In favor of large changes. MODERATE – Sometimes Conservative, sometimes Liberal. Voting In The U.S.A.

28. REPUBLICANS usually CONSERVATIVE DEMOCRATS usually LIBERAL INDEPENDENTS usually MODERATE Voting In The U.S.A.

29. Voting In The U.S.A. JOHN BREAUX– Louisiana Democrat BILL FRIST – Tennessee Republican JOHN KERRY- Mass. Democrat OLYMPIA SNOWE – Maine Republican On most issues, and Kerry & Snowe agree Breaux & Frist agree

30. Many ELIGIBLE - (allowed to take part) American voters don’t vote.Why is voter turnout so low in the U.S.A.? Voting In The U.S.A.

31. DISENFRANCHISEDVOTERS - (people do not believe their votes matter). • PARTISANPOLITICS - (only able to see one side of an issue).People hate the constant name-calling and bickering. Voting In The U.S.A.

32. NO ONE can vote directly for the Presidential candidate of their choice. Voting In The U.S.A.

33. The creators of the Constitution did not trust the people to make wise choices on Election Day. Voting In The U.S.A. ELECTORAL COLLEGE(Group of people from each state chosen to elect the President) meet to choose the President. ELECTORS(members of the Electoral College). These are Electors from Minnesota in 2004.

34. The number of Electoral Votes for each state is easy to figure out. • Add up the members of Congress (House & Senate) in a state. • That number is the total number of electoral votes for a state. Voting In The U.S.A. Massachusetts has: 10 members of the House of Representatives +2 Senators = 12 electoral votes. Larger states (more people, not size) have more electoral votes. Electoral Votes - determined by the U.S. CENSUS – (an official government count of the population).A census happens every ten years.

35. 2012 ELECTORAL VOTES Voting In The U.S.A.

36. If Obama got 2,000,000 votes in Massachusetts, and Romney got 1,999,999 votes, Obama gets ALL 12 ELECTORS from Massachusetts. Voting In The U.S.A. Who is chosen as an elector, how they have to vote, and how to divide a states total electoral vote is left up to the states. Baritt Rombama

37. The numbers on this map are slightly off because this is from the 2000 election. However, this map is useful for seeing how the rules work in each state. Voting In The U.S.A.

38. 2008 final results

39. Here is how this works: Voting In The U.S.A. In the future, the 2012 Presidential election, here is how Massachusetts voted: Chase/Colbert get ALL 12 Massachusetts Electoral votes.

40. Voting In The U.S.A. Whoever gets the most ELECTORAL VOTES WINS!

41. Anti-Electoral College: • unnecessary due to today’s technology. Voting In The U.S.A. Pro-Electoral College: • A close election would be even more difficult to figure out. • It preserves States’ Rights.

42. It is possible for the candidates with the most votes from the people, called POPULAR VOTES (votes cast by the people) to lose the election. • It has happened 3 times in our history. Voting In The U.S.A. • This is what happened to Al Gore / Joe Lieberman in 2000.

43. LET’S TRY THIS OUT… Voting In The U.S.A.

44. Voting In The U.S.A. THE ELECTION OF 2024 34 Electoral Votes

45. Voting In The U.S.A. 55 Electoral Votes WHO IS REALLY WINNING?

46. Voting In The U.S.A. 9 Electoral Votes WHO IS REALLY WINNING?

47. Voting In The U.S.A. 32 Electoral Votes WHO IS REALLY WINNING?

48. Voting In The U.S.A. 20 Electoral Votes WHO IS REALLY WINNING?

49. Voting In The U.S.A. 27 Electoral Votes WHO IS REALLY WINNING?

50. PLANTE & BLAISwin the Presidency even though MATOS & NOFALhave 19 million more votes! According to some state rules, electors may vote for whomever they want (see the map on page 22). TAKE THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE QUIZ