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Civics Benchmark 2.8Directions: With a partner, read the following article and answer the questions below. The Role of the Political Party in the United StatesThe role of the political party in the lives of ordinary Americans is an important one. Many people will grow up and identify themselves as dedicated “Republicans” or “Democrats” and even many more will never even think of voting for “the other guys”. This is different than in other western countries. There are a number of reasons for this. First, the American political system actually encourages ordinary Americans to get involved in picking the leader of the two major political parties. This is much different from elections in other countries where the public only votes for a national leader in the general election and does not vote for a party leader unless they are really interested in that political party. This means that people living outside of the United States are less likely to see themselves as a lifelong “Democrat” or “Republican” because they are not members of a political party when they cast a vote, unlike many people in the United States. Secondly, in most western countries, there are more political parties to choose from than just two! Therefore, when people get “tired” of a certain politician, they simply vote for “the other guys” in the next election and may even decide to “switch back” in the election after that.Based on the information above, why do you think people in other western countries are less likely to stick with the same political party their entire lives? What evidence can you pick from this article that supports your answer? In the United States, however, choosing a party leader who is interested in running for the top job in the country is a big deal, and an important part of the political process. People choose a leader by casting votes in a primary. This is the first stage of the presidential process. By registering with a political party, you not only get to vote for that party leader, you also become a member of that party and you begin to see yourself as “one of them.” It therefore is much more likely that you will continue to vote for that political party when you get older, and possibly for your entire life. According to the paragraph above, why do YOU think Americans are more likely to stick with one political party their entire lives?Most US states have a closed primary system. That means that you have to register with either the Republican or the Democratic Party in order to cast a vote in the state primary. If you aren’t registered to vote in either party, you will not be able to cast a vote unless you live in a state that has an open primary system. This means that as long as you are a registered voter, (where your name is on the voters list), you can choose to vote for the leader of either political party. Why is the primary an important part of the US presidential campaign? What do you think happens at a primary?How is a closed primary system different from an open primary system?What do you have to do to make sure you are allowed to vote in the United States?You must be 18 years of age in any US state or territory.You must be a US citizen at the time you wish to cast a vote in any US local, state or national election.You must make sure your name is on the voters list at least 25 days before Election Day (in most US states). You must provide a form of ID which proves who you, and that you are legally allowed to vote in the US state or territory in which you currently live.What is a registered voter? What are the requirements to be able to vote in the United States?You can register to vote online at: or you can register at any of the following places:County clerk office (Department of Motor Vehicles).State public assistance office.Any armed forces recruitment centre. You will be required to fill out a Voter Registration Card, which is different in every US state. However, when you do, you will receive a card in the mail and this card will let you know when and where you will be able to vote on Election Day. These eligible voter cards will look similar to the following card below: What are the ways that you can registar to vote in the United States?When you cast a vote for a candidate in the United States at any level, you do so by marking an “X” on a ballot. A ballot has all of the names of the candidates who are running for office in your area or precinct. When you cast your vote, you do so by way of a secret ballot. This means that no one will know who you voted for unless you tell them. The reason why we do this is to protect people from any harm or harassment they might otherwise receive from people who might disagree with whom they voted for. This is not always an option in other countreis which claim to have free and fair elections. People have, and continue to be verbally and even physically threated with harm if they do not choose a certain canadiate. So to prevent this, people in the United States are allowed to vote in secret and this keeps the process fair and safe for everyone. Why is it important for voters in the United States to vote using a secret ballot?Why should you vote?Firstly, voting is a responsibility of citizenship.Voting gives you a chance to choose your government leaders.It allows you to express your satisfaction or disatisfaction for the people who govern you. Why do people choose not to vote?Sometimes people choose not to bother to cast a vote in any election. They do this for a variety of reasons.They are not actually registared to vote due to having moved to a new place. You need to make sure you are registared to vote even if you have voted before, you may not be on the voters list in the new country or state in which you have moved to. People are just “too busy” to vote. Despite being allowed to vote early prior to the actual voting day, some people simply just do not bother to cast a ballot.Lack of interest. Some people are just not interested in the candidates and don’t see that anything will really change if they do vote, so they don’t bother. Voter registartion requirements make it tough for some voters to prove they are allowed to vote in some states. For some people, they don’t have access to transportation to get to the polling place on election day. In other cases, the ID that they do have is not sufficent to allow them to vote on election day.Historically low Voter Turn Out.In the United States, voter turn out is very low. This has not been a problem that has affected just the United States but has been an issue in other western contries as well. However, it is particularly bad here. Other than the last few presidential elections where there has been interest in the candidates that were running, many US elections have had increasingly low voter turn outs, some lower than 40% of all eligible voters. This has a negative impact on American democracy because it measns that people can be elected by less than half of all voters in the country. But this does not have to be this way. Some people have said that the way to change this is to do some of the following:Allow for third party candidates to run for office. More choose means people have a place to cast their vote than just for the two main political parties. Make it less expensive for ordinary people to run for office.Consider allowing all candidates for office the run to run for as long as the public wishes to elect them. (In 1951, Congress past an amendment to the US constitution which limits an president to just two terms in office.) Many western democracies believe that if the people want a certain candidate in office, they should have the right to vote them in or out when the voters are ready to do so. In your opinion, do you think people should get out and vote? If so, why? If not, why not?Why do you think should be done to make sure more people get out and vote? What might be some ways that we can improve voter turnout in the United States? ................
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