Firstexercise :please read the attachment lecture summary plus link attached that’s a video you will need to answer the question below and sided with the sources.

The second exercise you will need to write two essays answering the following questions that I will attach below also use these sources the lecture and the video to complete Esaay one and two

Essay 1-Question:

1. Should race be taken into account when congressional districts are redrawn after each census? If twenty percent of a state is African-American, should twenty percent of the districts have an African American majority?

Essay 2-question

2. What are the sources of campaign money in American politics? Why do candidates for public office need to raise so much money? How has the government sought to balance the competing ideals of free expression and equal protection in regard to campaign financing? Is this yet another example of a conflict between liberty and democracy?

Objectives:

Explore the complexities of campaigns and elections.

Readings:

Lesson Module 9, Lowi, Chapter 10, and Canon, Chapter 10

Visit Website:

www.vote-smart.org

Lecture Summary

Voting is a central institution in democracy. It is “managed revolution”, political change without the long term destructiveness of civil war and economic disruption. The earliest suffrage was extended to property owning white, property owning males in 1790. Gradually, first in the 1830’s, 1870’s, 1920’s, and finally 1960’s, all adult citizens were allowed the vote. In the 1830’s non-property owning white males gained the vote. The 1870’s and the passage of the 15th Amendment extended the vote to African-American males. However, states qualified these rights with various legal barriers such as poll taxes, “grandfather clauses”, and literacy tests. White women received the vote in the 1920’s with the passage of the 19th Amendment. All legal barriers erected by the states to prevent minority voters from voting were dismantled by the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

There are three basic electoral outcomes which determine victory. They are the plurality system, majority system, and proportional representation see Chapter 10). The plurality system is used in the U.S. to determine victory in primary, general, and runoff elections. Russia and France use the majority system to elect their presidents. The formula for victory is “50% + 1 vote. Often this requires a runoff between the two highest vote getters in these multi-party systems. Proportional representation is common in parliamentary systems found in countries like Israel, Germany, and Sweden. The number of seats in the parliament are divided up in relation to the percentage a political party receives. So, if a party receives 10% of the popular vote, it receives 10% of the seats in the parliament.

In the United States, legislators are elected for the most part from single member districts. This requires periodic redrawing of district boundaries to assure equal representation. This process is called reapportionment. It happens after every federal census. State legislatures redraw these lines. This process affects all elected officials except the President and Senators. All state legislators and U.S. Representatives are subject to this process.

Candidates to elective office in the United States are chosen by caucus, state convention or primary. Most states (38) use the primary process. Presidential candidates obtain the necessary delegates to attempt nomination at their national conventions every four years.

Candidates success are also subject to partisan loyalty, issue identification, and candidate characteristics. Issue identification and candidate characteristics are now more important than party ID.

Campaigns and elections tend to run by professionals. These professionals raise money, create electoral organizations, and secure endorsements. Fund raising in American politics has limited controls. The Federal Elections Campaign Act of 1971 placed limits on funding for Presidential candidates. It also provided for their federal funding as well. Controls on Congressional funding are being considered. It is doubtful that members of Congress would support federal funding and the resultant limits on spending. This would work against incumbents. The recent passage of a modified McCain-Feingold campaign finance bill has placed new limits on soft money raised by national parties.

Voting is limited in America. Just slightly over 50% of eligible voters turnout in Presidential elections. Little effort is made by either political party to vigorously promote greater voter participation. Compulsory voting used in Australia has never been considered. Recent recommendations by former presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford, having national elections on holidays, have been ignored by Congress and the Bush Administration.

Discussions in the recent Obama administration of compulsory voting and comprehensive registration have not been enacted. Recent controversy over foreign interference and fraudulent voting have been an ongoing issue from the 2016 presidential election.

http://www.wwnorton.com/college/polisci/american-p…

How could elections be accurately described as managed revolutions?

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