D5: Voter Turnout

1. Ways the Government has made it difficult to vote and reforms that could make it easier to vote.
• One way that government has made voting difficult is the stringent requirements for absentee ballots. One of the difficult requirements for absentee ballots is to register in person in your state. The point of absentee ballots is that you can't really show up in your state, or have a difficult time leaving your house to get to the polls. To make it easier for absentee ballots, people should be able to send their proof of residency in a state (i.e. An utilities bill, etc) and a proof or reason why they cannot make it to the polls.(Student ID copy, disability papers)
• Difficulty of registration is another reason voter turnout is so low. Even though it is the individual's responsibility to register, the government should put more emphasis on how important it is to go out and vote. From my experience, the government does not really push for its citizens to vote.
• Political parties can also stress the importance of voting and choosing who you want in office. Big parties such as the Democratic and Republican parties leave their support up to the individual states, which sometimes may not be for the best. 

Extra Credit Homework: Political parties

Communist Party of America

Beliefs:

• Interest of the American working class
• Replacing Capitalism with Socialism 
• Nationalization of Banks, Railroads, and Industry
• Clean the Environment after we fix our people

Notable Members:

• Fred Ellis- Cartoonist

Bill Ayers- American education theorist

Chairman: Sam Webb

D4: Political Ads

Advertisement 1

1. Kennedy for the Democratic party in 1960
2. It was a serious advertisement, kind of like a public address. Kennedy spoke to the people, telling them that America was doing well, but it could even get better, 

Advertisement 2

1. Carter for the Democratic party in 1976
2. This commercial is portraying Carter as a personable person, that is not afraid to get involved with the people. All throughout the commercial, he is shown in crowds, and shaking people's hands. 

Advertisement 3

1. Bush for the Republican Party in 2004
2. The commercial is more serious, and focuses on the issues that were plaguing America at the time. 

General Questions

1. Commercials back then were more personal instead of serious and negative. They were also very simple and plain instead of flashy and shocking. 
2. I think Carter's Ad was more effective. It was more personal, and it showed real people in the world approaching him. It made him feel like more of a people person, and I would vote for him. 

D2: Media Coverage & Campaign Finance

1. Open Secrets (I picked New York) 
1. New York tends to re-elect incumbent candidates to delegate offices. The opponents of the incumbent delegate usually raise less money (Thousands compared to the millions the Incumbent raises), and lose.  For example, in the congressional race for senate, Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand raise over 15 million dollars compared to her opponent, Republican Wendy Long, who only raised just over 700 thousand. The most interesting thing to me was that the state was more democratic in a really pronounced way. The differences between how much the Democratic party raised and how much the Republican party raised were ginormous. Having millions in donations compared to only thousands is something you do not see in most states. 
2. Virginia Public Access Project 
1. I picked the Attorney General race, and the results so far are too close to call. Both candidates have raised about the same amount of money, 2.4 Million dollars. Both candidates do not have a strong presence in the media, but Obenshain seems to spend more on advertisements than his democratic opponent Herring. 

C4

The difference between Democrats and Republicans

A huge difference that sticks out to me in the two parties beliefs are the issue of same sex marriage. In the Republican party, they say that is has been proven that families raised in a mother/father parent home are "more likely to go to college" and generally succeed in life. I highly disagree with that, but that is beside the point.
The democratic party stands heavilly against bullying the LGBT community and has no problem with same sex marriage. The differences are huge and do play a massive part in the elections today.
The ideals of the republican party seem really outdated,  and not something that the youth population of today would agree on.