...newly elected Labor party in London gave the Scots (and the Welsh) the opportunity to vote- not for independence, but for devolution. They both voted in favor, taking a major devolutionary step in one of Europe’s oldest and most stable unitary states. - Scotland’s new autonomous status has not necessarily fueled greater calls for independence. - At the heart of most devolutionary moments however, is a strong sense of ethnocultural or economic difference and when sense of difference coincide with conflicting senses of territory, the results can be explosive. - Devolutionary pressures often arise from a combination of sources. - Catalonia produces some 25% of all Spanish exports by value and 40% of its industrial exports. - Economic forces play an even more prominent role in Italy and France. - Italy faces serious devolutionary forces on its mainland peninsula as well one is the growing regional disparity between north and south. The wealthier north stands in sharp contrast to the poorer south. - The most recent of Italian politicians was the Northern League which raised the prospect of an independent state called Padania. The Northern League’s Efforts fell short. - Devolutionary events most often occur on the margins of states. - Distance, remoteness, and marginal location are allies of devolution. - The regions most likely to seek devolution are those far from the national capitol. Many are separated by water, desert, or mountains from the center of power and adjoin...
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...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...
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...interest of the population and area. This paper will discuss how the U.S. Representatives and U. S. Senators are chosen and how they voted. This paper also discusses the Senator and Representative of the State of North Carolina and their positions. The Constitution clearly states that number of seats each State has in the U. S. House of Representatives reflects the relative size of the State's population as compared with other States. Each of these representatives is elected by the voters of a congressional district established by law for the election of representatives to the U.S. Congress. Each congressional district is to be as equal in population to all other congressional districts in the State as possible, based on census counts. The number of congressional districts in each State may change after a decennial census. The number of seats assigned to the individual States is determined by the task of drawing the new congressional districts, which is delegated to each State legislature. The boundaries of the 113th Session of Congress will change. Congressional district boundaries may be changed more than once during a decade. The 111th United State Congress consists of 541 elected officials from 50 states. It is the federal legislature of the Unites States of America that follows the 1 st Congress in 1789. The Senator has 100 members, and the House...
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...in the United States and Blacks in South Africa were being discriminated against simply because of the color of their skin. In the last decade of the nineteenth century in the United States, racially discriminatory laws and racial violence aimed at African Americans and other minority groups began to flourish and expand. Elected, appointed, or hired government authorities began to require or permit discrimination. There were a number of acts that were permitted that discriminated against African Americans. Segregation was upheld by the United States Supreme Court in the case of, Plessy v. Ferguson. In 1896, legally mandated by Southern states and nationwide at the local level of government, voter suppression or disfranchisement in the southern states, denial of economic opportunity or resources nationwide, and private acts of violence and mass racial violence aimed at African Americans, were unhindered or encouraged by government authorities. Although racial discrimination was present nationwide, the combination of law, public and private acts of discrimination, marginal economic opportunity, and violence directed toward African Americans in the southern states became known as Jim Crow laws or acts. Peaceful protests against the discrimination of African Americans voting rights were demonstrated in Selma, Alabama in 1965 and led by Martin Luther King, Jr. Brutality erupted from the state police towards the peaceful protesters and Congress was awestruck. The Voting Rights...
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...gerrymandering is almost as old as the nation, and both parties have used it. In the 1980s, when Democrats had more political power in state legislatures, they were enthusiastic proponents of partisan gerrymandering. In recent years, the two major political parties, leveraging the technologies of the modern age, have intentionally and systematically excluded each other from state legislatures like never before.”1 Gerrymandering is collective and bi-partisan in nature. Considering, the span of citizens across the United States and levels of government it impacts. Background: Gerrymandering has had a background with both political parties. Maryland’s 3rd district in Democratic Representative John Sarbanes is currently...
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...throughout the United States stems from the notion that many have forgotten that this nation is, in fact, not a direct democracy. Because of this element, based on population, each state receives a certain number of representatives meant to properly epitomize that state’s needs in Congress. The qualms that arise with this idea, primarily from the left wing of the government, revolve around a disproportional depiction. To quantify this issue, in smaller states, such as Wyoming, one representative stands for 563,767 citizens while in more populous state, such as Texas, one representative stands for 698,503 citizens. This problem flows into the disagreement surrounding the idea of redistricting,...
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...York Times article, ‘What We’ve Seen in Australia with Mandatory Voting,’ it’s made very apparent in the article that America does indeed have a serious voter turnout problem. Is this really as big an issue as some would have you believe? Or is it better that we allow a continued disproportionate level of democratic power remain where it is? Although the implementation of compulsory voting, or mandatory voting, would mean that voter turnout would naturally increase, compulsory voting would neither benefit in our society or my district. This is largely due to the fact that even though my district would have more regulation in place to ensure a ballet is turned in, The majority of my district is uneducated and these would be the people showing up to vote. In Lisa Hill’s article, she compares Australia and the US several times but in truth, there is no comparison to be had. The United States is a world power and has almost 14 times as many people in our country than Australia. So while Ms Hill might be pleased with the way this program works in Australia, could you imagine the turnout here in the United States? More importantly, would the polls be able to handle the influx of voters turning out to take part in their constitutional right to have part in democracy It is a privilege to take part in democracy and have your voice heard through the casting of a vote. Americans do not have a right to possess this voting power nor is it their duty to do so. Our country was founded by...
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...decision was close and had many opinions. In “Partisan Gerrymandering and the Voting Rights Act”, Richard Forgette and John Winkle provided a historical background on the decision: “In late April 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court by a 5-4 vote affirmed the lower court judgment in Vieth and dismissed the plaintiffs' claims. On the issue of partisan gerrymandering, however, the ruling proved anything but conclusive. The significance of the ruling, it seems, now lies in its fractured set of opinions” The Justices’ split decision left the door open to reinterpreting the judiciable grounds for gerrymandering under the right circumstances. As displayed thus far, gerrymandering by Republicans has implied racial discrimination. While previous cases have...
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...or implied meaning in addition to what is explicit, objected, denoted Impression that goes beyond a defined meaning Emotional association with a word, phrase, idea Subjective and emotively “loaded” September 17 Democracy- people, common people. People’s rule. Types of democracy Direct- when all members of a community (polity, group) gather together and individuals cast a vote or make decisions=each person is given a chance to influence the policymaking process Representative- when one person or a group of people are elected and assigned with the task of making decisions on behalf of the group of citizens (“constituency”) that they represent Voters- demos – choose (elect) representatives for a public office through the act of voting Voting = a formal expression of preference for a candidate that is made known through a marked ballot We assume that we as...
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...In the U.S. citizens are not randomly distributed by territory, even tough they are generally concentrated in certain areas according to their economic status, race, origin, language, and so on. Voting is strictly individual, but voting trends are social. Therefore, the geography of electoral districts can influence the outcome of elections. Who controls how districts will probably check the result of the elections are made. In the United States they have a word for every concept, and modifying the boundaries of an electoral district to favor a particular political party, also has its word, it is called gerrymandering. The creation of a district is a matter of demographics and geography. That is, population and territory. Electoral districts...
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...Voting in the Sunshine State, Florida Erika Malka Bilchik Liberty University Recent Political History The State As many states the principal political parties that make a part of their government are the Democrats and the Republicans, Florida is no different, dating back to 1948 the voters have been consistently supporting the republican candidates but 1996 during the presidential election of Bill Clinton that changed, since then the fight between a Democrat and Republican parties has been very close. “In 2004, there were 10,301,000 registered voters; an estimated 41% were Democratic, 38% Republican, and 21% unaffiliated or members of other parties. In addition to the Democratic and Republican parties, organized groups include the Green, Reform, and Libertarian parties. Minor parties running candidates for statewide office can qualify by obtaining petition signatures from 3% of the state's voters.” (Florida, 2007) Today Florida’s Congressional officials out of a total of twenty seven districts, seventeen of them have Republicans representatives versus the ten districts that have Democrat representatives, the state has Senior Senator is a Democrat and the Junior Senator is Republican. District 12th District 12th in Florida covers both north and east of Tampa, it is mainly populated by people who live in Pasco County, and today the county has both suburban areas as well as areas full of green. Although it is considered to be underdeveloped since 2012 many companies based...
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...The Electoral College Andie Downs ENG 105 Research Paper Final Every four years on the Tuesday after the first Monday of November, the election for the next President and Vice President of the United States takes place. Although thousands of individuals cast their vote for their candidate of choice on this day, it is really Electors that they are voting for. The electors that are selected will go on to choose the next President and Vice President of the United States. For example, the candidate that could win the popular vote of a state is not guaranteed because election is actually decided by the group of electors, called the Electoral College. The U.S Electoral College is the division of the government that selects the President and Vice President of the United States. It consists of 538 electors, where the amount from each state equals its number of members in its congressional delegation. In two states, Nebraska and Maine, the candidate is determined by majority vote and the winner of the popular vote receives 2 electoral votes (“What is the Electoral College?”). Allotting a number of votes to each state in this way is inaccurate and doesn’t properly represent the vastly larger or smaller states. Although the use of an Electoral College during a presidential election is considered a key element to democracy, its application to the process makes it unrepresentative of the voters and elections should instead be based on the popular vote of the people. When the constitution...
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...College: How Our System of Elections Needs to be Changed Richard Brookman Metropolitan State University of Denver Author Note This paper was prepared for ENG 1020, Section 031, taught by Professor Clark. Abstract Article two, section one of the Constitution details the creation and operation of the Electoral College. Each representative of each state, both senators and representatives, cast a vote for the President based on the wants of their constituents. This is the basis for the Electoral College; however our forefathers had little insight into the problems that can arise from crafting a quick solution to the problem of electing the commander-in-chief. Over the past 200 years, many changes have been made to the Electoral College when a problem has risen to give us the Electoral College of today. The people of the United States have seen what the Electoral College has become and want the election process to change into a popular vote system. The popular vote system isn’t the answer. Only a combination of the two systems will help to give fair representation to all of the states, while keeping the essence of majority rule that the people desire. This system includes a single vote for districts that are won by popular vote, getting rid of the human form of electors, and using today’s technology to make it easier to maneuver through the complexities of the voting process. The Electoral College: How Our System of Elections Needs to be Changed ...
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...popular vote. The purpose of this essay is to explain both voting systems and explain both in the best and most detail possible, as well as my personal opinion on the two, and if the current...
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...the state legislatures. The second method has never been used. Ratification can occur by one of two methods: (1) by a positive vote in three-fourths, of the legislatures of the various states or (2) by special conventions called in the states and a positive in three-fourths of them. The second method has been used only once, to repeal Prohibition (the ban on the production and sale of alcoholic beverages). That situation was exceptional prohibitionist forces were in control of the legislatures in many states where a majority of the population actually supported repeal. Nevertheless, congress has considered more than eleven thousand amendments to the Constitution. Only thirty-three amendments have been submitted to the states after having been approved by the required two-thirds vote in each chamber of congress, and only twenty-seven have been ratified. It should be clear that the amendment process is very difficult. Because of competing social and economic interests, the requirement that two-thirds of both the House and the Senate approved the amendments is hard to achieve. Likewise, I would alter the constitution by (1). Term Limits to members of the U.S. House and Senate (4 terms {2-year terms} =House; 2 terms {6-year terms} =Senate). This shouldn't apply to incumbents at the date of ratification. (2) Resubmit the Death Penalty Abolition Amendment (a proposed Amendment to the US Constitution in 1992, but it failed): The death penalty shall not be imposed by the United States...
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