Electoral What? Electoral College!

Many people are confused by the electoral college, many people say they hate the electoral college, and some people don't even know it exists. I, personally like the electoral college. I think that it gets rid of bias and the popularity vote (in a way) and makes the election process easier than people think. This process allows for the selection of the best-qualified candidate.

Many people think that the popular vote doesn't count, but in reality it does. What happens is citizens go out and cast their vote for who they want to be the new President. This vote goes towards a block vote for the electors. Each state has the number of electors equal to the number of congressional representation they have. For example, if California has 20 Congressional Representatives, they receive 20 electors to vote. Once the popular vote is done, the electors then vote for whoever won the majority of their state. For example, if the state has 10 elector votes and the Republican Party candidate wins the majority of their popular vote, then the 10 elector votes will go towards the Republican candidate.

The only states that fit the exception to the "winner take all" vote ideal is Nebraska and Maine. They use the Congressional District Method. Each state divides themselves into a number of district. Each district then is allocated one elector vote. The candidate that wins the popular vote of that district then receives the elector vote for that district. The last two elector votes are then given to the state-wide winner of the previous elector votes. Neither state has split their electoral votes yet, each winner has consistently swept the districts (so this is the same results as the other states).

Once every state has had their electors cast their votes, those votes will be totaled up. There is a total of 538 elector votes in all and a candidate must have over 270 votes to win. If no candidate wins by majority then the decision of President goes to the House of Representatives. Each state receives one vote and an absolute majority is needed to win. The decision of Vice President goes to Senate. Once the winners are decided they will take the oath of office on January 20th of the coming new year.




Here are two political cartoons that mock the electoral college and I find them pretty funny.

Where are you at?

Let's do a little quiz to see where you guys are at and if this blog has taught you anything!

When I first issued this survey 38% of participants didn't know what the Bill of Rights was - one even stated that it was the Preamble to the Constitution. 32% of participants had no idea when the Declaration of Independence was adopted, and I received answers anywhere from 50-280 years off. 51% didn't know how long the senator's term lasted and 14% couldn't even name one presidential candidate. So I am hoping that these posts help educate those percentages who are lacking general political knowledge.
Ready, Set, GO! (No cheating!)


                                                                                                          QUESTIONS

1. What are the symbols of the political parties?

2. Can you name any of the presidential candidates and what party they affiliate with?

3. Who is the vice president?

4. Who is the second in the line of succession of the President?

5. What are the 3 branches of government?

6. What is the Bill of Rights?

7. How often are senator re-elected?

8. When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?


Hopefully, that wasn't too tough and you should have at least gotten 5 out of 8 (I hope), if not more.


ANSWERS

1. Republicans: elephants - Democrats: donkey

2. Rick Perry, Mitt Romney, Herman Cain, Barack Obama, Michelle Bachmann etc...

3. Joe Biden

4. Speaker of the House (currently John Boehner)

5. Judicial, Executive, Legislative

6. The first 10 amendments

7. Every 6 years

8. July 4, 1776


Even if you didn't get those questions all correct, REMEMBER THE ANSWERS! Now you are slightly more educated with these facts. A fun fact about these facts are they are very very similar to questions that are on the United States Citizenship Test. So think about it - are you worthy to be a US citizen?

Presidential Candidates 2012

Right now we are in the midst of the beginning of the new presidential election. This will be our 57th presidential election in the United States... Woah baby that's a lot presidents! The voting isn't until November 6th, 2012, so if you aren't sure of who you intend to vote for - don't stress out you've got basically a whole year. A whole year of craziness that is!

The craziness has already began, because even though the Democratic Party has declared Barack Obama as their candidate. However, the Republican Party is having trouble deciding who is going to represent their party. They have no clear front-runner through all the debates. There are many of them to choose from, but in my opinion (and I am more conservative than liberal) I think that all of the candidates are very far right, too far that it is driving people away from them.

The formally declared candidates for the Republican Party are as follows -
Michelle Bachmann - U.S Representative from Minnesota (and even though I am from Minnesota, I am not proud to say she is part of my state)
Mitt Romney - former Governor from Massachusetts
Rick Santorum - former Senator from Pennsylvania
Rick Perry - Governor from Texas
Ron Paul - U.S Representative from Texas
Jon Huntsman Jr - former Governor of Utah
Newt Gingrich - former U.S Speaker of the House of Representatives from Georgia
Herman Cain - businessman from Georgia and former CEO of Godfather's Pizza

So hopefully with this wide selection of candidates the Republican Party can decide who they think is best to represent their party and potentially the country as a whole. It is so back and forth with who is in the lead with this group of people. Many times someone will be in the lead and then they can goof up like Rick Perry did at one of the Republican Presidential Debate. Here is the video for some comic relief.


Well, I will try to keep you updated on what is happening with the GOP candidates, but right now it isn't looking too hopeful.

Historical Documents that made the U.S who we are today!

There are six of them! Can anyone name all of them and say what each of them does? Most people can't, so no big deal.

Let's start with the Declaration of Independence! 
This is one of the absolute most important documents in all history of the United States. This document says that the 13 colonies are no longer owned by England. The first part of the Declaration gives reasons for the break and the notice given to England about the break. The second part is a list of complaints about George III - the English ruler they were breaking free from. The document was written by Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, and John Adams. The document was in debate for 2 days and then was adopted on July 4th, 1776. However, the actual signing took place on August 2nd and 56 people signed this document. Because of the Declaration of Independence, we are our own country! YAYYY!!

The Articles of Confederation
After the thirteen colonies needed to have some form of a governmental system after winning their independence from Great Britain in the Revolutionary War. This document is the first constitutional agreement made between the thirteen states. After debate that started July 12, 1776, this document was adopted by Congress on November 15, 1777. This document basically gave all state governments power, but they still had a central government.

The Constitution
This document is the backbone to all of American government. It not only states the rights of the American people, but includes the structure of the government. Everyone must follow the Constitution and no law can be passed if it contradicts it. It is commonly referred to as the "Supreme Law of the Land." The Constitution has three parts - Preamble, Articles, and Amendments. This document can be amended, so it is considered a "living document"; however, it has only been amended 27 times since it was finished on September 12, 1787. Each state was given six months to vote and ratify the Constitution. The order of ratification is as follows starting with Delaware on December 7, 1787, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island finishing on May 29, 1790.

The Bill of Rights
This document is the first ten amendments of the Constitution. They were added to the Constitution because many people didn't think the Constitution protected certain freedoms of citizens. The amendments were made to protect the basic freedoms of citizens. Examples of the freedoms this document guarantees are freedom of speech, religion, press, right to assemble, right to bear arms, and protection from cruel and unusual punishment. These amendments were added on December 15, 1791 and this document is important because these rights allow you to say what you want and believe what you want without being punished.

The Emancipation Proclamation & The Gettysburg Address

On January 1, 1863 this document became effective and was instituted by Abraham Lincoln. This document states that all slave states must become free states and the Union military will enforce this freedom. The Confederate states did not acknowledge the Emancipation Proclamation and did not free their slaves, so President Lincoln declared war to fight for freedom and preserving the Union. This document also allowed black men to serve in the Union military. This was one of the first steps the United States made towards equality of citizens.
On November 19, 1863 Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address. In his speech he said that the United States will continue to fight so that the World, and not just the United States can enjoy freedom and equality for citizens. This speech is more recognized by the opening lines "Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."

So without these six documents the United States would not be where they are today! These documents have withstood the test of time and still continue to be an important aspect of our daily lives!