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.