Ch.06-07+-+Voting+&+Elections

Chapter 6 and 7 - Voting and Elections ===It's one of the most important civic duties you have, and you can't even do it yet! When you're 18 though, voting will be a very important aspect of your life and an important part of being a citizen. This chapter's going to look at how elections work, why they're important, the function of campaigns, the role of parties and politics in elections, and reasons why people don't [or can't] vote.===

[|Should voting be mandatory in the US?]

@http://xkcd.com/1122/

Voting simulation - Just like the real thing!

Where would I vote?

Sample Absentee Ballot



(facebook voting project - Acad. Civics)



List of 2008 write-in candidates across the nation

Political campaigns [1950-present] focus questions

(Notes Chapter 7, Sec.1 - Voting and Turnouts)

(Notes Chapter 7, Sec.2 - Primary vs. General elections)

(Notes Chapter 7, Sec.3 - Electoral College)

Solid red = states won by Republican candidates in all four elections. Solid blue = states won by Democratic candidates in all four elections Pink/salmon = states won by Republican candidates in 3 of the last 4 elections Light blue = states won by Democratic candidates in 3 of the last 4 elections Purple = "swing states" that went Democratic 2 times and Republican 2 times
 * This map shows the presidential election results from 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2012.**


 * This map shows what the nation would look like if population represented the relative**
 * size of each state. (This is also useful for thinking about the Census and how our**
 * representation is decided in the House of Representatives.) Blue represents** **states often**
 * won by Democratic** **candidates; red represents states often** **won by Republican** **candidates.**
 * Even though the Democrats actually win fewer states** **than Republicans, the** **populations and**
 * electoral votes in these "blue states," (i.e. CA, IL, NY, MI, etc.) pretty** **much** **balance out the**
 * sheer number of "red states."**

Source: //The Economist (2010)//
 * This shows how many House/Senate seats were gain or lost by the president's party 2 years into his**
 * term.** **As you can see, most presidents have seen their party lose seats in Congress while in office.**