Citizen Nation

Thanks for taking the time last week to ask some pre-election day questions. I got some good ones – some were predictive or philosophical or concerned about what will happen on or after the election (so I can’t really speak to those), but others sought clarification on the issues, political views, or processes. And those I’m happy to address or have us consider together.

Voting in Massachusetts
State Elections Division Information (MA Secretary of State)
Official Voter Guide
Information on the 4 Ballot Questions (WBUR)
How do ballot questions get on the ballot, anyway?
Who are your elected officials?
What and who will be on your ballot? – use the My Election Info search engine to generate a sample statewide ballot; your actual ballot may also have local candidates on it
How can you find out more about the people running for office on your ballot? Head to BallotPedia, VoteSmart.org, League of Women Voters, or individually Googling the candidates to reach their campaign websites, news coverage, and political ads.

Conservative v. Liberal – Definitions and Social Psychology Perspective
Where do you fall on the political spectrum? (Pew Research quiz)
Do conservatives and liberals use language differently? (UK Daily Mail)
Are liberal and conservative brains measurably different? Studies suggest yes (ProCon.org)
How do early life experiences affect eventual political views? (Psychology Today)
Is political preference born, wired, or made? (ABC News Nightline)

How the Primary & Nomination Process Works
A really basic overview (Washington Post)
A more detailed description (Council on Foreign Relations)
A lesson plan (New York Times)

Crash Course on the Electoral College
How the electoral college works, several versions: ABC News (2016) / TED-ED (2012) / National Archives / CommonCraft (a bit old, from 2008) / Prager University (posted in 2015 by a conservative, for-profit, nonaccredited organization) / VoteSmart
Interactive Prediction Map (National Archives)

Official Party Platforms 2016 (alphabetical order)
Democratic
Green
Independent Evan McMullin
Libertarian
Republican

What Happens After Nov 8?
Electoral College Voting and Election Certification (December 19, 2016)
Transition Team
Outgoing President becomes a “Lame Duck”
New President is Inaugurated (January 20, 2017)
New President Appoints People to Serve in Cabinet and other Appointed Positions

Of the attendees to class on November 7, here are our voting results for Election 2012: Continue reading →

Joey mentioned he’d caught part of this radio program, and I thought I’d post it for everyone. The author of our textbook The Right to Vote, Harvard professor Alex Keyssar, appeared on the WBUR NPR radio program “Radio Boston” on 2/13/12 to talk about voting rights. Specifically, he argues that we are currently in a period of contraction of the voting right, which could matter for the outcome of the 2012 election, and he also published an op-ed piece this week in the New York Times that explores these ideas, called “The Strange Career of Voter Suppression.”

Listen to the Radio Boston interview here