Quiz Ch 7

1. Explain the difference between hard and soft money:

'Hard' money is contributed directly to a candidate. It is regulated by law and monitored by the Federal Elections Commision.. Individuals can give no more than $1,000 to a specific candidate in a given year.
'Soft' money is contributed to the Republican and Democratic National Committees, and to the party committees in each state. 'Soft' contributions are not as heavily regulated. The parties may use such money to promote candidates or finance party projects, such as political conventions.
2. What is the electoral process and is this something that you agree or disagree with and why?The elector process is the method by which a person is elected to Public office or the taking and counting of votes.The US Constitution specifies the right to hold elections. The method and place of conducting elections are left to the states to decide, but the Congress has the power to alter their regulations.

3. What is the difference between a closed and open primary?

A closed primary is a direct primary in which only persons meeting tests of party membership may vote, while an open primary is a direct primary election in which voters need not meet a test of party membership.

4. Explain what absentee voting is and what the positives and negative may be with regards to it:Absentee voting is used when you can't be at the voting area on the day of the elections.  You can request an absentee ballot and vote using that, and it will still be counted just as if you were at the voting station. I can be positive if you cannot vote on the designated day, but also bad if you want your votes to be private.

5. What changes to your see in the way we run elections ten years from now?I think in the future we won't have to go anywhere but our own personal computer and send in our vote. I will be calculated much faster and voting will all take place in a much simpler way.

6. Explain your views on money and elections with regards the amount of money that is spent:I think canidates use way too much money in their campaigns. They don't need to be spending money on all the signs and advertisement on and off tv, but year after year they continue on in their same ways. Some money will need to be spend to get yourself known and look well put together; although a fortune should not be spent.

7. Go to cnn.com or foxnews.com and find an article dealing with the election process. 

A political party goes through a long process to decide which candidate they would like to run for President.  “Focus groups” are held by pollsters and political scientists to determine whether or not a candidate has broad enough appeal to consider running for office.The candidate for the Presidency now has a lot of work cut out for him or her.  Town hall meetings, policy speeches, and news interviews are conducted across the country in order to get the candidate’s name out and to highlight some of the contributions he or she has already made to American politics.  During this time, a candidate will often choose a running mate who will become the Vice President if the team makes it all the way to the White House.Once a candidate has attempted to garner as much support as possible, a general election is held for the American people to determine who they’d like to see as the new President.When the American people have had their say, a predetermined number of “electors” for each state who have pledged their support for the candidate of a certain party cast their votes.  The votes of the Electoral College reflect the will of the American people to choose a particular candidate for the Presidency

1.Provide a paragraph on an important issue of your choice from Section 1:
Extending Suffrage: The five Stages
In 1800 the first extending voting began. There was no longer a religion test you had to take to become a voter. The Civil War was also one of the stages along with the 19th Amendment that prohibited the denial of the right to vote because of ones gender. The fourth stage was extending Africa Americans the right to vote and the last and final stage of the Suffrage movement was 26th Amendment allowing 18 year olds to vote.
2.  Provide a paragraph on an important issue of your choice from Section 2:
Residence
In order to vote you must be a legal resident of the US. If you want to cast your vote you need to be a resident because getting to know the canidates before voting and being considered "safe" in our country are very important things. The amount of time to become a resident has changed over the years. It was 90 days, 60 days and now it is no longer than 30 days.
3.  Provide a paragraph on an important issue of your choice from Section 3:
Early Civil Rights Legislation
To use the 15th amendment Congress in 1957 passed the Civil Rights Act made by the US Commission. The commission duties include inquiring into claims of voter discrimination. They report these finding to congress. The act also allowed the Attorney General to do the duties he/she is allowed to do.

4.  Provide a paragraph on an important issue of your choice from Section 4:
Why People Do Not Vote
The answer should not have anything to do with how long voting takes. Well, the truth is a large percentage of the people who don't vote cannot vote. That means the people a either resident aliens, sick on the day of elections or simply cannot get to a voting station.Some people are also in mental health care facilities, prisons are jails, and some people do not vote because their religion prohibits them to do so. The fact is that just because we are told that millions of people didn't vote doesn't mean that they just simply decided not to go vote. Of course there are the seldom few who choose not to vote because they just don't feel like it, but the majority of people who can vote will.
5. Explain voter apathy and what can be done to help it:
In politics voter apathy is a term used to describe a perceived apathy (lack of caring) among voters in an election.Voter apathy is often cited as a cause of low turnout among eligible voters. Voters who just don't care can't necessarily be helped. Voters who choose not to vote might be helping us more if they do not vote if they have not done there homework. If a voter is unaware of who is running or why they would vote for that person they should not be voting because they might not have a clear knowledge of all the running candidates.
6. Explain the qualifications for registering to vote

You must be a US citizen, and a resident of your state and of  18 years old on or before election day.

Democratic Party: This party has the lengthiest record of continuous operation in the US. The party had 72 million registered voters in 2004, and President Obama is also the 15th President to be a Democrat. In the 2010 elections the Democratic Party lost its majorities in the House and its control in the majority of  state legislatures, but it will continue to hold a majority of the Democrats. Democrats have ideas that they base there choice to be a democrat on. Some of them include believing all people should be able to pursue their goals to spite their religion, race, ethnic background or sexual orientation. In the sixties, Democrats also fought for civil rights, but the battle is not yet overts in the Senate.They also believe there should be a right for people to express their beliefs and advocate their ideas is paramount in a democracy.

Republicans beleive that the United States were founded on the fundamental principle that individuals have certain rights and freedoms which cannot be infringed upon and may be restricted only to the degree necessary to preserve the rights of others,and that the money you earn is yours and that government in a free society has the right to take only as much as is needed to perform those limited functions, which are appropriate to it Another belief Republicans have is that with freedom comes responsibility and that individuals must take personal responsibility for their own actions and our criminal justice system must be based on this idea.

Overall I think both parties have strong points and opinions. In the past I have thought that  I would be a Democrat because my family is; however, I am not sure at this time which party I will want to be apart of. In both the Democratic and Republican Parties there are positives and negatives. There always will be because people argue and change their minds. I think just because you support a certain party doesn't mean you always need to vote for them or support them just because they are a member of your party. I will vote for the people I feel best represent our city, state and country.

Federalism Round Up

SECTION 1:
Delegated Powers
1. There are three types of delegated powers. They are Expressed, Implied and Inherent. Expressed powers are in the National Government and are in multiple parts of the constitution including things like the power to declare war, collet taxes and to grant copyrights.Implied powers have the power to do all things necessary and proper. Inherent powers are power that the national government has historically possessed and deal mostly with illegal people in our country.
Denied Powers
2. Some powers are denied to the National Government. This  is needed to  make sure people are always treated fairly. For example the freedom of religion can never be prohibited or the freedom of speech. People always need some rights and they cannot be taken away. We can believe what we want to believe and no one can tell everyone we need to believe one common objective.
SECTION 2:
Admitting New States
1. When admittin new states, a process called the Admission Procedure takes place. The area trying to be a state has to ask Congress, then pass the enabling act, and then it is voted on. After this long process, the hopeful state then has to pass the act of admissions. This act official makes it a new state when the president sign the act and the state enters the Union.
Revenue Sharing
2. Revenue sharing was in place from 1972-1987. During this sharing, the congress gave yearly shares of tax revenues to states and their cities.  The money was not designated for any specific cause when it was giving, and it amounted to over $83 million all together. It just could not be used for any form of discrimination. Eventually there was revenue sharing between states and the Reagan foundation opposed this. There is no longer Revenue Sharing.
SECTION 3:
Full Faith and Credit Clause
1. Full Faith and Credit Clauses are usually used with court cases and trials. the clause says that is someone owes money in one state they cannot just leave, live in a different state and not pay their money back. However, if the court makes a decision to let that person move they would have to give "Full Faith and Credit" to the other state to make a judgement call on the amount that person still owes.
Privileges and Immunitites
2.This means that no state can have unfair reasonings between its ouwn residents and those who are from other states. Those states have to recognize that Americans commonly travel and move around. It also must allow an U.S citizen to use the other states court systems and  allow them to buy, sell, rent, or own property. This also means that employers can't just give a job to someone because they live instate. This does also a state to require a person to live in that state for a given amount of time before voting.

Federalism Assignment

1.Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head and other authoritys. I think federalism means the division of different people who all come together to govern one state or country as a whole.
2. a.  Expressed Power; Those delagated powers of the National Government that are spelled out, expressly, in the constitiution; also called the "emumerated powers."

    b.  Implied Power; Those delegated powers of the National government that are suggested by the expressed powers set out the constitution ; "those necessary and proper" to carry out the expressed powers.

    c.   Inherent power; Powers the constitution is presumed to have delegated to the National Government because it is the government of a sovereign state within the world community.
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/federalism/

3. It is a system in which the power to govern is shared between national and provincial/state governments, also called a federation. This is important to not give too much power to one group or person to prevent problems and having to much control.

4.  The Supremacy Clause is a clause in the US Constitution made up of federal laws and treaties made by the United States and other nations. It is a large American legal system  in the Federal Courts and in all of the State courts, saying that all state judges shall uphold them, even if there are state laws or state constitutions that conflict with the powers of the Federal government. (Note that the word "shall" is used here and in the language of the law, which makes it a necessity, a compulsion.)

Political ads on TV tend to be very negative. When a commercial ad for political advertising comes on, the volume is commonly louder and is honestly rather annoying.

For the presidential canididates, I have done some reading. The Republican Mitt Romney has strong points that I respect as a person he has been a good leader and adviser for fromer presidents. I don't neccesarily have a side on the republican or democratic side. Sarah Palin on the other hand seems to just creat a lot of drama, and just because she is a female is not a good reason for her to be running. Obviously Barack Obama will be running again, and I think he has had to make some difficult but needed decisions for our country. I don't no who will be elected, but I am trying to learn more about the canididates.

In the future I can see myself running for more local government positions in my town. I am a good decision maker, and I would like a say, besides voting in my government. Currently, I hold small offices in activites I am involved in, but not really in government positions. I attended girls state this last summer although, and I have learned a lot about our state government as well as our US government.