Ballot Design

Re: The complexity of ballots in the United States

This interactive ballot "identifies common design problems" and allows readers to see the alternatives recommended by the United States Election Assistance Commission.

Some of the problems noted include "misleading page design," "complex language" and "confusing images." Presumably these problems are made worse by the number of candidates and issues on most American ballots.

Elections

Suffrage and the Constitution

Two turnout predictors: education and age

Regulation of elections

• State administration of elections
• Just two make things complicated, the federal government has an Election Assistance Commission, a Federal Election Commission, and a Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice
• Federal contribution limits -- but note constraints of First Amendment

Redistricting

Hall of Shame

Forecasting presidential elections

2008 General Election Messages V4

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Felons and Voting Rights

Our discussion in class reminded me of an interesting opinion article I read in The Economist last week. I always like The Economist because it offers an international perspective on many of the things we take for granted in the U.S.

The most interesting part of the article, I thought, was the closing paragraph:

"Serving prisoners are not numerous enough to swing many elections. But once a government uses disenfranchisement as a sanction, it is tempted to take things further. Consider those American states where the suspension of prisoners’ votes has morphed into a lifelong ban: in Republican-controlled Florida, for instance, nearly a third of black men cannot vote—enough to have swung the 2000 presidential election. Even those who don’t care much about prisoners’ rights should be wary of elected officials exercising too much say over who makes up the electorate."

You can read the entire article here.

The New Mickey Mouse

Re: Disney's Political Interests and Powers

The New York Times reports that Mickey Mouse is undergoing a makeover and being "[re-imagined] for the future." They describe his appearance in the video game Epic Mickey as "cantankerous and cunning."

A picture of the updated mouse is below. I think the new Mickey better represents the (lobbying) power of Disney:

Electoral Process

Complications

• Number of governments in the United States
• Primary elections
• Direct democracy

And so: A sample ballot

Voter Turnout and detailed demographics

Air Midterm

Relax. This “air midterm” does not count toward your grade; do not even turn it in. Instead, use it to appraise your own progress in the course. Try out this test, either in your head or on paper. If you flounder, then you should take more care with class sessions and assigned readings.

I. Identifications. Explain the meaning and significance of the following items. What is fair game for an identification?

• Items that we have discussed in class or on the blog;
• Items that appear in bold or italics in the readings;
• Items that cover several pages in the readings.

1. Dual federalism
2. “Energy in the executive”
3. Markup
4. “Selective incorporation”
5. Self-evident truths
6. “Brutus”
7. Moeurs
8. Spaghetti chart
9. Ninth Amendment
10. Federal Register
11. The Three-Fifths Clause
12. The Supremacy Clause

II. Quotations. For each of the following passages, note the source and explain its meaning within the context of the course.

1. “Now I confess myself as belonging to that class in the country who contemplate slavery as a moral, social, and political evil, having due regard for its existence among us and the difficulties of getting rid of it in any practical way, and to all the Constitutional obligations which have been thrown about it...”
2. “[A]nd to render them, by different modes of election and different principles of action, as little connected with each other as their common functions and their common dependence on the society will admit.”
3. “The President of the United States possesses almost royal prerogatives which he has no occasion to use, and the rights of which he has been able to make use so far are very circumscribed; the laws allow him to be strong, but circumstances have made him weak.”

III. General Essays

1. According to Tocqueville, what are the main causes that maintain a democratic republic in the United States? Explain.
2. Is federalism beneficial? Explain.

IV. Bonus questions (one point each)

Jay Topkis, Jim DeMint, Christopher Brundage, John M. Harlan, Janet Napolitano

House Passes Health Care Bill

Here's the breakdown.