Voting in America - PDF

Democracy and Voting  VOTING IN AMERICA- WHAT DOES IT MEAN? By voting, citizens are participating in the democratic process. Citizens vote for leaders to represent them and their ideas, and the leaders are supposed to support the citizens' interests, and act on them....

Democracy and Voting  VOTING IN AMERICA- WHAT DOES IT MEAN? By voting, citizens are participating in the democratic process. Citizens vote for leaders to represent them and their ideas, and the leaders are supposed to support the citizens' interests, and act on them. We can use the power of voting to make change on our local, state, and national level. Voting is one of the main pathways in civic engagement that the general public utilizes to create the change they want to see.  SEPARATION OF POWERS Our branches, and their purposes Passes, changes, and House of Representatives, Legislative Branch repeals laws Senate Carries out laws, runs Executive Branch President government day to day Interprets laws, Judicial Branch Supreme Court settles arguments WHO WE CAN VOTE FOR OF THE 3 BRANCHES (FEDERAL LEVEL) Passes, changes, and House of Representatives, Legislative Branch repeals laws Senate Carries out laws, runs Executive Branch President government day to day Interprets laws, Judicial Branch Supreme Court settles arguments SO WHAT ARE THE STEPS TO WINNING AN ELECTED POSITION, LIKE THE PRESIDENCY? Before the General Election, there’s first the Primary elections! What is that? And what is your role as a voter?  PRIMARY ELECTIONS! This is where members of a party select their candidates to run for office in the general election. Primaries are held to determine the party's nominee for various elected positions, not just the Presidency! There are different types, such as open primaries, closed primaries, and semi-closed primaries. In open primaries, voters can choose to vote for a candidate from any party, regardless of their own party affiliation. Closed primaries only allow registered party members to participate in selecting the party's candidate. Semi-closed primaries permit unaffiliated voters to participate in selecting a party's candidate. Some states don’t even have primaries! They have caucuses instead.  PRIMARY ELECTIONS IN CA Open Primaries for U.S. Senate, U.S. House & state legislative races Presidential Primary: Depends on the Party! Primary= Selecting Candidates to run General Election= Electing them to office ions le ct e d E ge r s) Stag e ar y 2 y e r (ev ELECTORAL COLLEGE What is it, and how does it work? It is a system used in the United States to elect the President and Vice President. It consists of electors from each state who cast their votes based on the popular vote in their state. ELECTORAL COLLEGE Each state has a set number of electoral votes based on its representation in Congress. To win the presidency, a candidate needs at least 270 out of the 538 total electoral votes. 48 states & D.C. use a winner-take-all system (all electoral votes go to winner in the state) Maine and Nebraska award 1 electoral vote to the popular vote winner in each of their congressional districts and their remaining 2 electoral votes to the statewide winner. The system can lead to discrepancies between the popular vote and the electoral outcome. This process can sometimes result in a candidate winning the popular vote but losing the election. Map of Electoral Votes per State & their weight LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT AN EXAMPLE: DO YOU FAVOR POPULAR VOTE, OR ELECTORAL COLLEGE?  WHO DRAWS THOSE LINES? Inside states are districts. Every 10 years, they get redrawn. In most states, the people who control this are the ones in the state legislature. Meaning if a party has the majority, they control where & who of the state voters have more power. Gerrymandering: The political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency.  WHO DRAWS THOSE LINES? Cracking: Splits groups of people with similar characteristics, such as voters of the same party affiliation, across multiple districts. With their voting strength divided, these groups struggle to elect their preferred candidates in any of the districts.  WHO DRAWS THOSE LINES? Packing: Cram certain groups of voters into as few districts as possible. In these few districts, the “packed” groups are likely to elect their preferred candidates, but the groups’ voting strength is weakened everywhere else. EXAMPLE: ALABAMA 2023 Alabama Republican state legislature tried to redraw their districts, so that only 1 of 7 would have a black majority, and therefore lean heavily democrat. Despite the state having a 27% black population. This was denied by the Supreme Court twice. They were forced to add a second black majority district. Is this cracking or packing? Or both?