Readiness Activity. (An activity to be done before viewing the video)

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Albert Edwards
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1 KNOWLEDGE UNLIMITED NEWS Matters Why Don t Americans Vote? Vol. 4 No. 1 About NEWSMatters Why Don t Americans Vote? is one in a series of NewsMatters programs. Each minute video in the NewsMatters series examines an important issue or topic in the news. A poster pertaining to the topic supports the video, along with a teacher s guide. The NewsMatters programs are designed to promote discussion and critical thinking in the classroom. NewsMatters videos will rarely, if ever, provide clear-cut conclusions about an issue. Rather, each video s goal is to leave more questions in viewers minds than answers. The supplementary materials are designed to help focus and direct these questions and to generate thought and debate about the topic. These materials are flexible. You can control the pace and length of each lesson, and you can use any, all, or none of these materials. NEWSMatters Teacher s Guide for Why Don t Americans Vote? Over the last 30 years, the percentage of Americans voting has steadily declined. Even presidential elections have a turnout of less than 50 percent, in sharp contrast with many other democracies. Why Don t Americans Vote? suggests reasons for this lack of interest in politics. This video also shows that voting is one of the most important ways Americans can participate in their government and it looks at what has brought voters to the polls in recent elections. Ten of the following activities can be reproduced. Your students can organize and complete eight of the exercises on their own. The other activities are designed for classroom participation and teacher presentation. NEWSMatters is produced by Knowledge Unlimited, Inc. Copyright 2000 by Knowledge Unlimited, Inc., all rights reserved. ISBN KNOWLEDGE UNLIMITED NEWSMatters, P.O. Box 52, Madison, WI Readiness Activity (An activity to be done before viewing the video) This activity will help your students become familiar with some of the important terms and themes in Why Don t Americans Vote? before they watch the video. Divide the class into five groups. Assign each group three of the terms listed below. One member of each group should record an agreed-upon definition or description for each term and then present these definitions to the class for discussion. democracy independent candidate apathy impeachment special interest groups voter registration credibility polls electorate third party campaign finance reform franchise voting age population ballot civic

2 Discussion Questions These questions will help you and your class review important points made in the video. The questions will also give some structure to your discussions about Why Don t Americans Vote? After your students view the video, ask them to comment on these questions. Some questions have specific answers and others are more open-ended. You may wish to use these questions as a springboard for further discussion. Why do you think turnout was so low for the 1996 presidential election? Why do you think most eligible Americans want a voice in choosing their own elected officials? Do you think that, in general, Americans don t trust politicians? Why or why not? What scandals might have caused Americans to mistrust elected officials? Why do some Americans think there is little choice between the two major political parties? What effect do strong third-party candidates have on elections? What does campaign finance reform mean? Why does Senator John McCain want to reform campaign finance? What do you think could be done to make it easier for Americans to vote? How does voter turnout in most European countries compare with that in the United States? Why do you think voting is more important to citizens in South Africa than to those in the U.S.? Members of which age group are least likely to vote? Why do you think they don t vote? Members of which age group are most likely to vote? Why do you think this is so? Do you think the percentage of Americans who vote will continue to decline? Why or why not? by Knowledge Unlimited, Inc.

3 Vocabulary reproducible activity Name Date As you are doing research for the following activities, you may come across terms that are new to you. Knowing their definitions ahead of time will help you to understand your research better. Look up the following terms and write a brief definition in the space provided. (Some of the terms have more than one meaning. In these cases, write down the meanings that have the most to do with elections or politics.) civil rights constituents electoral college grassroots literacy platform plurality poll popular vote populist proportional representation suffrage 2000 by Knowledge Unlimited, Inc. 3

4 Suffrage in the Unites States reproducible class activity Make a timeline that shows how suffrage expanded in the United States. You can put the timeline on the blackboard, or use a large piece of paper and fasten it to a bulletin board. Find out the year each of the following entries happened and write them on the timeline. Under each entry, write a paragraph telling why the event was important. A different class member can research each event and provide this information. Other class members should research how voting laws changed in your state over the years, and add those to the time line. For example: Did your state ever have literacy requirements or poll taxes? When did women first vote in your state? Add these events to your timeline. Timeline entries In most places in the United States, only white male property owners could vote. Congress established a uniform election day for presidential elections. A women s convention at Seneca Falls, N.Y., discussed women s rights. The 14th Amendment was adopted. The 15th amendment was adopted. A law was passed that provided for federal supervision of elections in any city having more than 20,000 inhabitants. Susan B. Anthony tested the 14th Amendment by leading a group of women to cast ballots in the presidential election. The 17th Amendment went into effect. The19th Amendment was adopted. The 24th Amendment was adopted. President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of The 26th amendment went into effect. Literacy requirements for voting were abolished. Why do you think so many laws were passed concerning voting rights? by Knowledge Unlimited, Inc.

5 Elections Around the World reproducible activity The countries listed here all have an average voter turnout greater than 70 percent. Look for news articles and use the library and Internet to research one of the nations and how it holds elections. Locate the nation on a map. Present a report about the nation to your class. Tell where the nation is in the world, and answer the following questions: What kind of government does the nation have? Are elections really free in this country; that is, is there more than one candidate running for an office and are voters not required by law to vote? Does the nation make it easy for its citizens to vote? In your report, include any other information that helps explain why it has a large voter turnout. Albania Australia Austria Belgium Bulgaria Burundi Ethiopia Germany Greece Iceland Indonesia Ireland Israel Italy Malta Mongolia Netherlands New Zealand Norway Palestinian Authority Republic of Korea Romania Rwanda Slovenia South Africa Spain Suriname Taiwan, Republic of China Turkey United Kingdom How could the United States make it easier to vote? Also discuss ways that other countries get people to the polls that you think the U.S. should not do. Answers for page 8 Year VAP Total Vote % VAP Voted Voted for Winning Candidate % Voted for Winner Elected ,507,000 96,277, ,401, Bill Clinton ,044, ,428, ,909, Bill Clinton ,628,000 91,594, ,886, George Bush ,467,000 92,653, ,455, Ronald Regan ,595,000 86,497, ,904, Ronald Reagan ,308,000 81,603, ,830, Jimmy Carter ,777,000 77,625, ,169, Richard Nixon ,285,000 73,212, ,785, Richard Nixon ,090,000 70,645, ,129, Lyndon Johnson ,672,000 68,838, ,226, John F. Kennedy 2000 by Knowledge Unlimited, Inc. 5

6 State Politics reproducible activity Name Date Do you know enough about politics and issues to be an informed voter? You always hear a lot about the candidates for president, but do you know the names of your state s elected leaders? Find out about the office holders and the issues that are important in your state. Then fill in the information requested below. Governor s name and his or her political party Senior U.S. senator and his or her political party Junior U.S. senator and his or her political party U.S. representative for your district and his or her political party Number of U.S. representatives from your state Number of state s electoral votes In the last presidential election, the electoral votes in my state went to From the information above, is your state mostly Republican, Democratic, or neither? List three issues that you think are important issues in your state. Discuss the issues and problems that you and your classmates think are important in your state. Why do you think they are important? What have your state s governor and congressmen done about these problems? by Knowledge Unlimited, Inc.

7 Vote for Me! reproducible activity Name Date Besides voting, a citizen can get involved in government by running for office. But anyone who wants to get elected has to convince citizens to get out and vote. Tackle this problem as if you were a candidate for elected office. The office can be anything from mayor, school board member, county sheriff, governor, state or national senator, or president. You must convince voters you are the best person for the job and that they have to get out to vote in order for you to be elected. So you should appeal to their civic responsibility in addition to touting your own qualifications. Write a convincing speech to present to the voters, your classmates by Knowledge Unlimited, Inc. 7

8 VAP Voters reproducible activity Name Date How many Americans choose our leaders? In 1996, about 49 percent of the voting age population (VAP) voted in the presidential election. Only about 49 percent of the Americans who actually voted selected Bill Clinton. This means that about 24 percent of the voting age population voted for Mr. Clinton, but that was enough for him to win. Using the numbers in the table below, figure out what percentage of the VAP voted in each of the presidential elections beginning in Then calculate what percentage of the VAP voted for the winning candidate. Round off your answers to the nearest percentage point and write them in the appropriate boxes. Do some research to find out who won each election and write his name in the last column. The 1996 row is already filled out. Year VAP Total Vote % VAP Voted Voted for Winning Candidate % Voted for Winner Elected ,507,000 96,277, ,401, Bill Clinton ,044, ,428,370 44,909, ,628,000 91,594,805 48,886, ,467,000 92,653,000 54,455, ,595,000 86,497,000 43,904, ,308,000 81,603,000 40,830, ,777,000 77,625,000 47,169, ,285,000 73,212,000 31,785, ,090,000 70,645,000 43,129, ,672,000 68,838,000 34,226,731 Note to teacher: Answers on page 5. In general over the last 40 years, less than half of eligible voters actually voted for the candidate who got to be president. Discuss this fact and what you think it means for our nation by Knowledge Unlimited, Inc.

Political Bosses and Machines reproducible activity In the past, organizations called political machines helped many politicians get elected.

9 Political Bosses and Machines reproducible activity In the past, organizations called political machines helped many politicians get elected. Some experts say one reason voting numbers are down today is that there aren t any more big political machines. Political machines worked in this way: The head of a political machine its boss often did favors for the voters in his district. For example, he gave them money when they were out of work or their children were sick. He also gave jobs to supporters. In return, the machine boss expected votes for the candidate of his choice. Members of political machines would drive voters to the polls on election day and sometimes they took the same voters to several different places so they could vote more than once. Some of the worst machine bosses sent thugs out to beat up opponents. Not all of the voting in a boss s district was illegal, of course. The political machine really got people to the polls who otherwise might not have voted. The following is a list of famous political machine bosses. Choose one of them to research and, using a separate piece of paper, write a brief biography of the boss. John M. Bailey, Connecticut Jordan Chambers, St. Louis, Mo. Ed Crump, Memphis, Tennessee James Michael Curley, Boston, Mass. Richard J. Daley, Chicago, Ill. Frank Hague, Jersey City, New Jersey Mark Hanna, Cleveland, Ohio Huey Long, Louisiana Tom Pendergast, Kansas City, Mo. Arthur Samish, California Gene Talmadge, Georgia William Marcy Tweed, New York City What do you think of the political machines? Do you think they helped or hurt the election system? Explain your answer by Knowledge Unlimited, Inc. 9

10 Political Parties reproducible activity Name Date Most voting Americans cast votes for either Republican or Democratic candidates, ignoring the third-party candidates. Some political observers say that the two major political parties don t always offer voters a clear choice. They think that, these days, Democrats support or compromise on measures that are considered Republican concerns and vice versa. When this happens, citizens sometimes think it doesn t matter who is elected. This may be one reason many Americans don t vote. Are the Republicans and Democrats more alike or different? Research their party platforms. Read news articles about how your state representatives vote in the House and Senate. Then pick any one of the third parties to research. The third party may be the Reform, Green, Constitution, Natural Law, Libertarian, or other such party. Listed below are five issues. In the space provided or on a separate sheet of paper, write how each party stands on each of these issues GUN CONTROL Democrat Republican Third Party DEFENSE Democrat Republican Third Party EDUCATION Democrat Republican Third Party ENVIRONMENT Democrat Republican Third Party TAXES Democrat Republican Third Party Do you think the two major parties are more alike than different? How does the third party you researched differ from the major political parties? by Knowledge Unlimited, Inc.

11 Special Interest Groups reproducible activity A special interest group is usually concerned about only a few issues or a certain group of people. The Sierra Club and the American Association of Retired Persons, or AARP, are examples of special interest groups. The Sierra Club is concerned about the environment, the AARP looks out for the interests of older Americans. Special interest groups may represent religious, labor, or health care organizations, or any other type of organization or business. Many experts say special interest groups greatly influence politicians. This is because these groups raise money for politicians who help them. The groups also ask their members to vote for these same politicians. Some Americans think politicians favor special interest groups at the expense of Americans who don t belong to such groups. Learn more about special interest groups and how they get what they want. For a week or two, collect news articles about organizations you consider to be special interest groups. Then write your answers to the following questions on a separate piece of paper. Write your own definition of a special interest group. Name three special interest groups. Why do you consider these organizations special interest groups? What issues concern each group? What does each group do to influence politicians? What does each group want the government to do for it? How successful has each group been in getting lawmakers to pass or not pass legislation? What are some examples of politicians helping special interest groups? Do you think these politicians ignore the rest of the electorate when they helped special interest groups? Why or why not? Sierra Club Would you join a special interest group? Why or why not? AARP NRA 2000 by Knowledge Unlimited, Inc. 11

12 Editorial Cartoons reproducible activity Name Date Each of these political cartoons looks at a different aspect of voter indifference. Use the space next to each cartoon to explain the point the cartoon is trying to make. Of these cartoons, which one is most effective in making a point? Why? What do you think makes a good or successful editorial cartoon? by Knowledge Unlimited, Inc.

Role of Political and Legal Systems. Unit 5

Role of Political and Legal Systems Unit 5 Political Labels Liberal call for peaceful and gradual change of the nations political system, would like to see the government involved in the promotion of the