USA opportunities and equality in the political process Flashcards
If people in the USA wish to vote what should they do?
If people wish to vote in an upcoming election they must first register at a local government office.
Who registers to vote the most, white or minority groups?
Whites as before the 2012 election the registration rates were that 74% of whites registered to vote prior to the election compared to 56% of Asians.
Why may people in poverty choose not to register to vote?
Because in the past presidents have come and gone and promised change and nothing came of it so people began to believe that nothing would ever be changed to help them out. They begin to feel alienated.
People registering to vote is not always a good thing, why?
Just because someone has registered to vote does not always mean that they will follow through with it and use their vote. Therefore turn out figures are 10% less for whites in the 2012 election from 74% to 64% actually using their vote.
Why can poor education lead to people not voting?
A poor educations can lead to ethnic minorities not having an interest in politics, such as not reading a newpaper and being unaware of current affairs. High levels of illiterate people can make it hard for them to fill out the ballot paper or the voter registration forms as they do not understand them.
why may it be hard for hispanics to vote in elections?
Many hispanics do not speak english as their first language and will find it difficult to understand the forms and the ballot paper.
How has the importance of hispanics been shown recently?
By the fact that both parties run Spanish speaking elements in their campaigns, with advertisments on spanish speaking tv channels and spanish leaflets and billboards distributed.
What is the motor-voter law?
This allowed US citizens to register to vote at the same time as carrying out other federal actions, like renewing a drivers license or applying for social services, this would allow people with poor literacy to get help along the way and they are still being able the chance to vote.
What are celebrity endorsed campaigns?
Campaigns such as ‘vote or die’ set out to increase the number of young and disillusioned people registering to vote in the US by encouraging them to become more interested in politics and show them that they can make a difference. By involving popular black celebrities like p diddy, to join the campaign it was hoped that young black people would have someone for the first time speaking on their level, telling them why it is important to register.
Was the celebrity endorsed campaign successful?
This was seen as being very successful as the number of young people registering to vote increased by 4.6 million from 2000 to 2004 presidential elections.
Why do women often not put themselves forward to be a candidate?
Because the traditional role of a wife and mother is very strong in the USA.
What is good right now about the number of hispanics in congress?
It is the most there has ever been
Which ethnic minority has the highest amount of representatives?
African Americans have the highest
Name two examples of ethnic minority representatives, and state where they are from and what they do :
Cory Booker - African American Senator
Marco Rubio - Hispanic Senator
Mark Takano - Asian Congressman
