...History of Voting | * Although we live in a democracy and have the right to vote, this is not always reflected in the turnout at elections. In the past people fought and protested to gain this right and your vote is the most direct way available to you to influence the way in which your country and your local council is run. * Voting in local elections decides who serves on the council and who controls it, as elected members are responsible for both the budget and the provision of services. * In early times two knights from each shire or county were elected by members of the local county courts to be sent to the Commons. In later years they were joined in the Commons by two representatives from each borough or town. * By 1430 only owners of freehold land generating an income of over forty shillings a year were eligible to vote in county elections. In the boroughs, qualification varied from each male head of household to those paying local taxes or to those who possessed property. * In 1800 you had to meet two criteria to be able to vote – you had to be male and you had to be wealthy. This meant that less than 3% of the adult population was eligible to vote. * Thankfully things have changed significantly since then and there have been some major changes to the regulations which govern our right to vote. * The 1832 Reform Act extended the right to vote to include certain leaseholders and householders. This gave 5% of adults a vote. * The 1867 Second Reform...
Words: 928 - Pages: 4
...In recent years, it has been made apparent that voting rights are not being exercised by many Americans. This holds true for local, state, all the way to the presidential primary elections. Voting is something Americans are taught is a fundamental right of being a US citizen and it should be exercised extensively as it is part of the foundation of democracy. Historically, African Americans and women did not have the right to vote in the United States but they were fought for because voting is such an essential right. Why is it that people are not exercising this right which is so important to the future of the United States? In this essay, local voter turnout in the US, Canada, and the UK will be described and explained and then compared in...
Words: 1751 - Pages: 8
...ASSESSMENT 2 Understanding the Democratic Election process in the UK Introduction: What is UK Election? A formal and organized choice by vote of a person for a political office or other position in UK is called Election. According to fixed term parliament act on 15th September, 2011 the next election will be held on 7th of May 2015.The act provides for general elections to be held on the first Thursday in May every five years. There are two provisions that trigger an election other than at five year intervals. A motion of no confidence is passed in Her Majesty's Government by a simple majority and 14 days elapses without the House passing a confidence motion in any new Government formed A motion for a general election is agreed by two thirds of the total number of seats in the Commons including vacant seats (currently 434 out of 650) Previous to this act, the duration of a Parliament was set at five years, although many were dissolved before that, at the request of the Prime Minister to the Queen. ●text: http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/elections-and-voting/general/ Importance of Election Education: Instructors, counsellors and others who work with young people play an important role in Educating new and future voters about the electoral process. For this reason it is important that those who work with youth do what they can to educate youth about the democratic process. In the 2005 British Columbia general election, only 35% of eligible voters aged 18-24 voted...
Words: 2768 - Pages: 12
...Elections automated University-wide By Akemi B. Aida and Nikki Q. Angulo THOMASIANS did not have to endure long hours to know the results of the recent student council elections, with polls computerized University-wide for the first time this year. All faculties and colleges, including UST’s two high schools, adopted the new polling system. Last year, only 10 colleges and faculties had automated elections. Except for a brief power interruption last Feb. 20, which delayed voting at the Conservatory of Music, Education High School and UST High School, Tabon said the new polling scheme was “implemented well.” “The loss of electricity supply caused a slight delay in voting in some colleges. But it did not affect the voters’ turnout because the election proceeded after the power supply returned,” said Abadenzio Rexzy Tabon, chairman of the Central Commission on Elections (Comelec). Overall, voter turnout did not improve. In last year’s elections, 22,515 Thomasians voted. This year, 22,229 students cast their votes, more than half of roughly 40,000 students in the University. Preparations Tabon said a University-wide automated election was first proposed during the summer planning of Central Comelec officials. Thereafter, the Central Comelec met with officials of college-level Comelec units to discuss the plan. The College of Nursing and the Faculty of Civil Law were the first to have automated elections two years ago. Lack of resources hampered previous efforts...
Words: 2746 - Pages: 11
...In today’s society voting in elections is an essential component of every form of democracy. Widespread involvement of citizens in political processes is the cornerstone of democracy. Voting should be viewed as a freedom, which consists of a certain amount of responsibility. When a person votes, voting makes a major impact on every piece of daily lives from free access to education to homeland security and financial solidity. When the people vote they are making their voices heard and expressing judgment on how they feel the government should function. The individuals who do not exercise their free right or franchise, by default they let others to make choices for them. Those citizens have to live with the judgment of the small minority...
Words: 1310 - Pages: 6
...‘The Irish electoral system of PR-STV is fundamentally flawed and should be replaced by the Single Member Plurality System (commonly referred to as ‘first past the post’)’. Critically analyse the above statement with a comparison between the two systems identified. 1631 words (including bibliography) Firstly, what is an election system? In my eyes it’s a means of finding the most popular outcome by converting votes casted in an election into government seats. However there countless different types of election systems and the two which we are going to look into and scrutinise right now is the PR-STV system and the Single Member Plurality system. Before delving further into the above controversial statement we must fully understand the meaning and results of both of these systems, beginning with the PR-STV (Proportional Representation-Single Transferable Vote) system. The PR-STV system is by far the least popular of these two systems in terms of countries it is used in, only being used in Ireland and Malta to help elect our (and their) National Parties. It runs on a basis of casting your vote in order of most preferred to least preferred. A quota is then announced and the those who reach the quota is deemed elected and their excess votes are put back in the system and goes towards the next electable candidate on the ballot sheet. The Single Member Plurality system (sometimes known as the ‘first past the post system’) differs greatly...
Words: 1679 - Pages: 7
...Organization A. Structure Federalism, nominating B. Organization at the National Level 1. convention 2. chairperson C. State and Local Organization 1. election, caucuses 2. wards Prereading and Vocabulary 2 1. should cut back on expensive government programs Sample definition: Conservatives believe in cutting costs and government programs. 2. came to vote Sample definition: The electorate is the group of people who are allowed to vote. 3. voted at the polling place, elementary school Sample definition: A precinct is a small area from which all the residents report to vote at one location. 4. wards 5. bipartisan 6. nominate 7. Liberals 8. resign CHAPTER 5 Section 1 Reading Comprehension 3 1. Answers for rankings will vary. Historical basis: The two-party system is rooted in the beginnings of the U.S., when the ratification of the Constitution gave rise to the first two parties. Tradition: Most Americans accept the idea of a two-party system simply because there has always been one. Electoral system: Since only one winner per office comes out of each election, voters have only two viable choices—the candidate of the party holding office or the candidate with the best chance of replacing the current officeholder. Voters tend to think of a vote for a minor party candidate as a wasted vote. Republicans and Democrats work together in a bipartisan way to write election laws to make it hard for a minor party or independent candidate to win...
Words: 24569 - Pages: 99
...Is the United States election process fair? It depends on who you ask. There are many facets of the election process that must be explored to determine fairness. The US election process starts with the once a decade census. The results of the US Census help determine how voting districts will be formed. Legislators have worked since the beginning of this country to ensure that the newly formed districts were fair to each member, regardless of race or socio-economic status. The method of drawing districts to accommodate various categories of people is often referred to as gerrymandering and can result in some very interestingly shaped districts. The method of using the US Census to shape districts is only as good as the data collected from individuals completing the form. Each individual who completes the census form contributes to making the election process more inherently fair. Once local, state or national districts are established and vetted by the various groups that have a vested interest in these districts, it is time to review the rest of the election process to determine if it is fair. Elections start with campaigns. And there is a lot of opportunity to mess with the fairness of the US election process. To start with, the amount of money spent on elections inherently leads itself to a lack of fairness. The system is set up in such a way that only those with sufficient funds or political connections are able to run. That means that potential qualified candidates could...
Words: 503 - Pages: 3
...of terms for better comprehension of the study. Related Literature All computer scientists who have done work in or are interested in electronic voting seem to agree that online voting does not meet the requirements for public elections and that the current widely-deployed voting systems need improvement. Voting on the Internet has disadvantages based on the areas of secrecy and protection against coercion and/or vote selling. It's such a truly bad idea that there seems to be no credible academic effort to deploy it at all. The Kenyan General elections of 2007 brought national attention to problems with current methods of casting and counting votes in public elections. Most people believe that the current system should be changed; there is much disagreement on how such changes should be made.c really can't trust any code which we did not create ourselves. Therefore, they tend to be extremely suspicious of proprietary voting machines and their makers who insist that we should “just trust [them].” Neumann gives a list of suggestions for "generic voting criteria" which suggests that a voting system should be so hard to tamper with and so resistant to failure that no commercial system is likely to ever meet the requirements, and developing a suitable custom system would be extremely difficult and prohibitively expensive. A voting machine must produce human-readable hardcopy paper results, which can be verified by the voter before the vote is cast, and manually recounted later...
Words: 1779 - Pages: 8
...this course, I found Parties and Elections in Texas (chapter 21), Public Opinion (chapter 6), and Political Participation and Voting (chapter 8) to be the most interesting and informative. Parties and Elections in Texas Political parties play a major role in Texas politics. Approximately 91 percent of Texas voters either identify with or lean toward the Republican or the Democratic Party. Despite all of the complaints about parties, they perform roles that are critical to the operation of our democratic system and to the overall coordination and functioning of our political system. The most important function of parties in Texas is to provide a label under which candidates may run and voter may identify. The party label becomes the standard used in casting a ballot for a candidate. Parties recruit candidates, assist in getting out the vote, and helps to organize the government once officials have been elected. The organization of political parties in Texas can be somewhat complex. Texas does not have a system of party registration for voters. Texas parties conduct primaries to select each party’s candidates for office. The precinct chair heads the precinct convention and serves on the county executive committee. The county executive committee is responsible for running the county’s primary elections and planning the county convention. Conventions are held at the precinct, county, and state levels. Participation in Texas elections has changed over time. Texas...
Words: 1112 - Pages: 5
...The 26th Amendment set the national voting age at 18 for the citizens of the Unites States. It was ratified on July 1, 1971. This amendment is actually the quickest one to be ratified. It became a part of the Constitution three months and eight days after being submitted for ratification. The first section says that United States citizens, who are eighteen and older, are allowed to vote and neither the United States nor any state is able to take that right from them. Section two includes that Congress has the power to enforce this and make sure that no one gets denied this right. The dilemma began when young men were conscripted to fight in the war but denied the right to vote. A popular slogan “Old enough to fight, old enough to vote” spread...
Words: 333 - Pages: 2
...people decide who will represent them in parliament, and who will head the government at the national and local levels. They do so by choosing between competing parties in regular, free and fair elections. Some people say that participation is the key to democracy. If a certain group of society do not vote, or there is apathy in voting turnouts, then there isn’t a fair outcome. For example, 2003 saw Labour leader Tony Blair declare war in Iraq. Despite the media’s portrayal and lack of support for Blair on his decision, he was re-elected as priminister in the 2005 UK general elections. This made a lot of people upset and angry. However, the turnout for that election was low (61.4%) so it could be argued that because Britain is a democracy, the general public are the soul blame for the outcome of the election. On the other hand, people believe that Britain cannot be a democracy if public participation is so low. They believe that to be a real democracy, the whole population must get involved and have a say. So when only over half of those eligible to vote do, there are questions to be asked as to whether the UK could be defined as such. There has been an increase in pressure groups. They can use a variety of different methods to influence law. These groups most often seem more important than political parties as they focus on one single issue rather than a broad range of policies. The national union of Students (NUS) are active to change the laws on ‘unfair’ student tuition fees. Many...
Words: 606 - Pages: 3
...The campaign for suffrage - a historical background Today, all British citizens over the age of eighteen share a fundamental human right: the right to vote and to have a voice in the democratic process. But this right is only the result of a hard fought battle. The suffrage campaigners of the nineteenth and early twentieth century struggled against opposition from both parliament and the general public to eventually gain the vote for the entire British population in 1928. ------------------------------------------------- Who took part in the campaign? The first women's suffrage bill came before parliament in 1870. Soon after its defeat, in 1897, various local and national suffrage organisations came together under the banner of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) specifically to campaign for the vote for women on the same terms 'it is or may be granted to men'. The NUWSS was constitutional in its approach, preferring to lobby parliament with petitions and hold public meetings. In contrast, the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), formed in 1903, took a more militant view. Almost immediately, it characterised its campaign with violent and disruptive actions and events. Together, these two organisations dominated the campaign for women's suffrage and were run by key figures such as the Pankhurstsand Millicent Fawcett. However, there were other organisations prominent in the campaign, including the Women's Freedom League (WFL). These groups were often...
Words: 16345 - Pages: 66
...The American Election System The American presidential election system, is one of the most complex and confusing election systems in the world, and is only one of the many ways Americans hold elections. The United States has a number of problems related to the methods of voting for president. The who, where, when, how, of voting are very different than most western nations. These differences can cause many Americans and outside observers to believe that the system is broken, or worse rigged to keep power in the hands of those who hold it. While this is an easy conclusion to draw, it shows a lack of understanding of the complexities of the American voting system. In the United State, voting laws not being specifically given to the federal government, are therefore defaulted to the state. Essentially meaning that while most voting regulation laws from state to state are similar, with the exception of a few outliers, there are still 50 different specific sets of laws on voting, for Federal, state, and local elections. This can cause a number of problems, most notably the possibility for states to discriminate against whomever they determine to be ineligible, or possibly unworthy of voting; the most common example are felons. Each state...
Words: 1031 - Pages: 5
...fallen in the general election since 1997 may be the social and economic mix of the electorate, voter turnout tends to be lower in areas of higher unemployment, below average incomes and social inactivity. These people tend to be voters of the Labour party. The Labour party in 2001 struggled to get their core votes in these comstituency’s, this proving that thousands of people feel totally disengaged from politics and at a local and national level. Another reason why turnout may be low that of disengagement of younger voters and ethnic minorities, the decline of voter participation is highest for young voters also ethnic minorities may feel as if they are not being identified with from the leading UK political parties. The election campaign is a way of determining voting behaviour yes. With the election campaign it is easy to calculate statistics to find out voting behaviour, although you cannot determine why every person is or is not voting it gives us the closest figures we can get for voting behaviour i.e. seeing what figures are from which constituency’s, in the extract we see that in Liverpool Riverside there was a voter turnout of 41.4% and in West Tyrone there was a turnout of 80.2% proving to us that there is different voting behaviour in different regions of the country. This cannot show the feelings of why people may or may not vote though, some people may feel apathy, hapathy or just be completely unaware of politics all together, the election campaign however does...
Words: 324 - Pages: 2
