Recommended: Populism and electoral behavior in USA
The article, “Oklahoma Law: Tough on Minority Party and Independent Presidential Candidates”, by Richard Winger seeks to explain how Oklahoma stringent election laws came to be and why having these laws that make it difficult for minor parties to succeed should change. The problem Winger addresses in his article is supported by historical evidence ranging back from 1890 to today, with comparisons made to other states. The case against rigid election laws that Winger presents is supported by over a century of historical evidence he presents. Starting in 1890, when Oklahoma was still a territory, voters were free to create their own ballots. These ballots were typically provided by a voter’s preferred political party and would only carry the
By following his conscience, he engaged in an act of civil disobedience in the Senate. Once called a political heretic, Adams defied the common tendency of freshman Senators to blindly follow the dictates of the party. “He denied the duty of elected officials ‘to be palsied by the will of their constituents’… by flattering their prejudices, by ministering to their passions, and by humoring their transient and changeable opinions.” I believe that John Quincy Adams understood the grave weight of his political decision. Nevertheless, meaningful progress and development within political institutions sometimes involves a reformation of its internal practices.
Hacker and Pierson provide an institutional explanation for public support of the 2001 tax policy. R. Douglas Arnold cites: discernibility, traceability and accountability as necessary to hold incumbents responsible for policy choices. When these valuable resources are absent, politicians are able to hedge their own culpability to their constituents. Voter knowledge is critical to assumptions (4 & 5) of
The general perception of voters is that they are ill-informed and ill-equipped to vote on complex measures. Nonetheless, Ethan Rarick argues that voters generally act rationally and that they “rely on cues such as endorsements from people or organizations they trust to make their decisions.” (143). By providing more information and resources to voters, more constituents will be able to vote wisely and
In the same month that Kansas voters ratified the Leavenworth Constitution, the U.S. Congress also rejected it. Its supporters were not surprised by the outcome, if Kansans would have to take another stab at a state constitution. Still, the delegates behind the Leavenworth Constitution showed considerable foresight. The mayhem of the “Bleeding Kansas” era was more than a violent struggle over the expansion of the institution of slavery, as the animosity of the period boiled over the political and legal debates. This was especially apparent when the territory prepared for the statehood as the tasks of creating, approving, and receiving the federal recognition of Kansas’s founding the document were proving an impossible
Magliocca, G. N. (2015). Money, politics, and the Constitution: Beyond Citizens United. Yale University Press. Somin, I. (2012). Citizens United and the right to vote: The constitutional case for limits on corporate electioneering.
We see multiple successes of voting equality attempted through amendments, however, the Supreme Court’s decision on Shelby County v. Holder has pushed back years and years of effort for voting rights. Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling was in Shelby County’s favor, stating that the Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act was unconstitutional along with Section 5. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr, who wrote the majority’s opinion, said that the power to regulate election was reserved to the states, not the federal government. As a result to the court’s decision, the federal government can no longer determine which voting law discriminates and can be passed. After the case, many states had freely passed new voting laws; the most common voting law states passed
Fenno's theory of home style applies itself differently to Arizona State Legislature than its intended purpose in the US Congress, because in Arizona legislature the representatives spend more time at home and less time in session. The Arizona State Legislature also breaks up time in session and time out of session so that session is all at one time, where the US Congress has many sporadic breaks. These small differences largely impact the representative's interaction with constituents. Fenno's theory looks at how interaction with constituents relates to actions in Washington, using this theory the differences in interaction with constituents in the Arizona legislature, should translate to differences in how legislators vote and act while in
Practices like these show how the Electoral College indirectly allows the reduction of third-party candidates to ballot obstacles instead of legitimate contenders with valid ideas that could
Democracy in the United States is reliant upon its citizen’s ability to act as an informed electorate and vote for leaders through a critical process of due diligence. In an election as momentous as the presidency, various influences can give voters a false representation of their political endorsements. A central role in this notion is the ability to subconsciously prime voter perspectives and impact election outcomes using various forms of rhetoric. Politicians employ both forensic (judicial) and political (deliberative) rhetoric to attack the credibility of their opponents based on past injustices and persuade voters to take specified action in the future.
The American political culture includes diverse themes that bond the citizens of the United States. However, the themes of the American government can simultaneously contrast one another. For instance, the ideas of liberty and populism can function in harmony under certain circumstances, yet the two ideas can conflict with one another in further situations. Liberty, the state of being free, is often associated with independence; this important concept is also associated with the first amendment and freedom that the country honors tremendously, and countless foreigners strive to achieve it. On the other hand, populism, the belief that the majority of the people should control the government rather than a small group, can be associated with the mob rule, yet populism is meant for the people having the freedom of participating and influencing the government.
The United States currently faces a severe problem with one of their governmental processes. In the democratic system of the United States, politicians are elected by voting from the citizens, in most cases. The problem the United States is facing is that people are no longer voting in elections for officials. This problem is discussed in the article, “In praise of low voter turnout”, written by Charles Krauthammer. The main idea behind this article is that voters are no longer interested in politics, as they were in previous generations.
In the short story called, “The American Electoral Process,” Kubic explained to us about why he disagrees with how the Constitution and the Congress take all votes for every single state as well as being unalike in population and size in which he would tell of as
One great progress I made is how to write a sentence to present the topic of the paper and reflect my position on that topic. As the most important sentence in an essay, thesis statements express the purpose of this writing. Before taking ENGL3000, I was confused about how to focus my ideas into one sentence; my thesis statements were too general, sprawling, and superficial to make my audiences clearly understand what these papers were about. However, after finishing many readings and writings in this class, I have grasped the key strategies to phrase a specific, arguable, and supportive thesis statement. More specifically, an effective thesis statement should have a specific topic to keep readers focus on the argument, reflect my position
In the United States, people always talk about freedom and equality. Especially they want elections could be more democratic. In American Democracy in Peril, Hudson’s main argument regarding chapter five “Election Without the People’s Voice,” is if elections want to be democratic, they must meet three essential criteria, which are to provide equal representation of all citizens, to be mechanisms for deliberation about public policy issues, and to control what government does. Unfortunately, those points that Hudson mentions are what American elections do not have. American elections do not provide equal representation to everyone in the country.
