Ballot College Essays Samples For Students

INTRODUCTION

There are various means that the population of any country can take to become active participants in society. In the realm of democratic government, citizens’ participation at the polls is typically considered the cornerstone of democracy. Explain what democracy entails The United States is widely known to be lagging in the rate at which its citizens participate at the polls. In comparison to most other developed countries, only 53.6% of the voting-age population in the United States participated in the 2012 elections. Indicate the examples of the developed countries. This number is skewed from representing the number of registered, ...

During the sixties, the civil right movement has spread, throughout United States, recognizing awareness everywhere in the world, as the Black Americans’ socio-political and economic revolt against the white treatment. Years after the end of slavery in United States, the status of the African Americans knew little changes, as they had no democratic rights, such as the right to vote, and they were publicly humiliated and brutalized, while the segregation still disallowed them to enter restaurants or other public spaces, despite the avid work of activists as Martin Luther King Jr. (Malcolm X “The Ballot or the Bullet”). Blacks ...

Compulsory voting is that system of voting in elections where voters are forced to attend to a polling place or obliged to vote in elections. In the event that an eligible voter does not vote on the elections day or does not attend the police place, he/she may be subjected to punitive measures like community services or fines or even imprisonment. The main logic behind compulsory voting is to ensure that there is large voter turnout during elections. This will be an indication that the winning candidates during the population should clearly represent a majority of the population and not only a ...

Introduction

One of the earliest institutions of democracy in the United States is political parties. In simple definition, a political party refers to an association of individuals who come together on a single and common platform with an objective to contest elections. Every political party has three crucial components that include the leaders, the active members and finally the followers. The role of political parties is not just to take part in election contests. Political parties also forward programs and policies, make laws, establish or form governments, acts as the opposition, shares public opinion and finally take part in welfare activities. One ...

Introduction

The redistricting process borrows from a rich political history on the political systems and the democratisation of the state. Politics of redistricting and reapportionment have for a long time occupied the minds of scholars and critics. In his analysis of the political effects of redistricting, Engstrom (36) argues that one of the seminal effects of the redistricting process is the gerrymandering on the political platform. There are also other effects bound to occur. For instance, the process leads to new leaders assuming power with new leadership styles and collaboration among the new faces of leadership unlike the old regimes and also ...

Is our election process fair to everyone?

Introduction
The thesis of the paper is that despite the multitude of claims that the 2016 Presidential Election was rigged or unfair, America’s inclusive voter eligibility, the equal opportunity of citizens to run for office, and reliable ballot casting methods ensure that the election process in the United States is completely free and fair. The main purpose of the paper is to find a common ground among supporters and opponents of the basic research question. There are two different claims which support the fairness or unfairness of presidential elections in the United States, where the backing sides’ main ...

Voting Machines

An election is the primary means by which the voters give their mandate towards the formation of a government as a whole. In this sense elections are the means of communication between the government and the people who are governed. An election allows the citizens of a nation to be represented inside the political institutions. In democratic societies the citizens have their constitutional right to vote. In democratic systems the voting is a fundamental right of the citizens, and the right to vote symbolizes the expression of sovereignty of the people in the management of the public affairs. An ...

The Ballot or the Bullet is a speech given by the civil right leader Malcolm X at a symposium on April 3, 1964. In his speech, Malcolm stated that African Americans contine to exist as second class citizens deprived of their civil rights due to the failure of the Congress to grant it to them despite their promises made during previous elections. His tone was militant, and he used cold, precise logic to arouse anger within his audience to urge them to claim their rights even if they had to resort to violence because “time has run out” (Malcolm X). Fear ...

Introduction

The principle of democracy and promoting the rule of law are two aspects modern constitutions seek to achieve, whether at state or federal level. Democracy connotes majority consensus on the part of the citizens in defining and shaping key issues. It would be inaccurate to assume that the American constitution is inherently democratic (pure democracy for that matter). Essentially, elections are carried out by the majority of the citizenry who choose officials (Chiappinelli, 2007). These officials are given the responsibility of determining the country’s direction. This way, democracy is transformed from the determination of many to where few ...

Fire and Ice: A Rhetorical Analysis of Malcolm X’s “The Ballot or the Bullet” and J. F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address
Malcolm X and John F. Kennedy were two contemporaneous political leaders, who delivered powerful and memorable speeches in the United States of American, during the Cold War and the civil rights struggles. While both speak about freedom and human rights in their country and the world, While John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address is a rational division of waters between good and evil, going against poverty and enslavement, Malcolm X’s “The Ballot or the Bullet” looks ...

Electronic voting system is a system where votes are cast through electrical means rather than traditional paper ballots. Mostly of two types e.g. poll-site electronic voting conducted through touch screen where electronic voting terminal (Direct Recording Electronic Voting Terminal) is located in polling stations or remote electronic voting through any device such as PDA, mobile phone and personal computer with internet connections.
Electronic voting has numerous advantages to the electoral authorities and voters. It creates significant reduction and simplification of work since there are no tedious paper works such as making entries in voters register, stamping and sealing of ...

Life in East Berlin was quite different from that of West Berlin. Most of the citizens of East Berlin saw the state as being illegitimate, it was artificial and as a puppet of the Stalin regime. They were very opposed to the enforcement of a single party state of the ruling Socialist Unity Party. They viewed the state of West Germany as being more attractive. Most of the East Germans commonly viewed the Socialist Unity Party as the Russian party not as a German party (Ross 25). However this was not the only aspect of life in East Germany, in fact life ...

The 1960s was a vital period for civil rights movements in the USA. For black people it was perfect time for promoting equality and non-discrimination. There were many civil rights groups and leaders that had different opinions about how to deal with injustice that had dominated in the USA for many centuries. Martin Luther King was one of the most prominent civil activists, but there were many other influential people, including Malcolm Little. Both activists were assassinated in the 1960s. One may get familiar with some of their ideas by reading their speeches “The Ballot or the Bullet” (1964) ...

“The Play has been used to teach students about group behavior and the role of individual influence in group settings. What does the play have to offer as a representation of group behavior and the influence that individuals can have in group settings? Connect this idea to the Play and other life scenarios.”

The Play as a representation of Group behavior

Groups or teams are usually characterized by individuals with different characteristics, behavior and cultural backgrounds. The existence of these characteristics as well as behaviors means that people tend to think differently, a scenario that has a significant impact on group decision-making process. In the play, “Twelve ...

Trade unions play a significant role in enhancing the relations between the workers and the employers. The primary goal of the trade unions is to enhance good industrial relations. Besides, trade unions are critical in championing for the improvement of both social status and economic conditions of employees. Also, trade unions help in enhancing productivity for the benefit of the employer and the workers (Brown, 2015).In Singapore for example; there is no legislation that has provisions for civil unrest. However, workers unions in Singapore play a significant role in representing issues that are of concern to workers in ...

Political Policy in the USA and its impact (Marijuana)

Introduction
Although there are various polices and theories that have been formulated and implemented in relation to marijuana usage, evidence available suggest that the current removal of the prohibition of the possession of marijuana does not increase its usage amongst the citizens. Apparently, these prohibitions are more harmful than they were thought before. For instance, studies have shown that legalizing marijuana does not increase its usage. In 1973, around 13 USA states enacted versions of laws that led to the decriminalization of marijuana in their states. In each of these states, marijuana users did not have to face jail ...

The Affordable Care Act was a healthcare reform introduced in March 2010, widely known as Obamacare or PPACA (U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2018). The law has three significant objectives (U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2018):

1. Make affordable health insurance accessible to all people. It offers subsidies for households earning between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level, which lowers their costs.
2. It also expands the Medicaid program to cover all adults with income less than 138% of the federal poverty level.
3. It supports innovative medical care delivery methods that minimize healthcare costs

Stuart ...

Introduction

Overall voter turnout in the United States is considered to be quite low in comparison to other developed countries (Ginsberg, Lowi, Weir, and Spitzer 219). Voter turnout for the 2008 presidential election was close to sixty-two percent of registered voters, which was significantly lower than the seventy to ninety percent turnout in European nations (Ginsberg et al. 217). The Democrat and Republican parties dominate the U.S. political landscape and strive to motivate voters to cast their ballot support for the parties’ candidates. Interest groups that are in alignment with the political platforms and values of specific parties ...

Summary

Alvarez (2012, p. 1) article provides an argument on remaking of the Florida Supreme Court. Republicans are the ones who have campaigned for the removal of the three state Supreme Court justices by voters (Alvarez, 2012, p. 1). This move is aimed at ensuring that the Legislature has more power than the Supreme Court in terms of judicial rules and appointment procedures. This issue of remaking of Florida’s Supreme Court is regarded as a politically divisive matter, which Florida is experiencing currently. “President Obama’s health care law” (Alvarez, 2012, p. 1), was the foundation of political divisions in ...

Introduction

The voter identification laws have brought controversy and suits in the courts of law. The policy is seen as discriminative by those opposing it, while its supporters see it as a way of preventing voting fraud and malpractices. This paper shall analyze the voter identification law and policy, with focus on California State, in determining its value in the society.

Federal Identification Requirements

Help America Vote Act (HAVA) 2002, created the requirement of a voter ID for first time voters who register by mail. The requirements must be met the first-time one vote’s in any state in a federal election - even regardless of ...

Henry David Thoreau was the first nonviolent activist who actually formulated a coherent theory of what this philosophy would mean in action, and in the 20th Century both Mahatma and Gandhi and Martin Luther King followed similar principles. None of them claimed believed that nonviolent, direct action was identical to pacifism, passive resistance or inaction. It did not imply weakness or cowardice, but the exact opposite for only the bravest people would be willing to oppose the power of the state or the majority of popular opinion. Truth, justice and morality required that the minority or the individual take a stand ...

Labor Union

The reason why Union membership has not achieved 100% support and membership is opposition from employers and some section of the work populace. Each group gives its own reasons for not supporting the unions. Employers claim that Unions place restrictive sanctions and practices on employers regarding employment terms. Union security practices such as closed shop (pressure on employers to hire union members only), Union shop (forcing newly hired non-union members to join the union) Agency shop (non-members still pay union fee) and preferential shop (union members receive preferential treatment in hiring) raise accusations on unions for restricting employers ability ...

Pennsylvania is one of the states in the United States of America. Its location is in the north-eastern region of the U.S. It borders Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, Ohio and Ontario as well as New Jersey and New York. It is 33rd largest state in land area, but the 6th most populous and the 9th in population density in the U.S. Harrisburg is its capital.
The state is largely a Democratic Party region. It is a crucial state in the US politics. It is a swing state. It has only supported a losing candidate in the US presidential elections ...

Central to the conundrum facing politicians and political scholars in the United States is the low and evidently waning voter turnout. Apparently, between 1964 and 2012, the turnout in Presidential elections declined from an estimated 69.3 percent to 56.5 percent of the total registered and eligible voters (DeSipio 2016: Module 6, Lecture 1). Now, in answer, state and national officials have issued proposals for different institutional reforms including “early voting [and] voting by mail” in some States as a means to encourage Americans to vote (Ginsberg, Lowi, Weir, Tolbert, and Spitzer 2014: 219). Evidently, the mentioned tactics create a ...

Current events make us ponder over race relations and ethical issues more intensely. Nowadays, many of the historical facts cast light onto social, gender and racial turmoils in the past. The society of modern world battles to prevent any kind of disparity in high-developed countries, adopting different methods. It is a fine line, however, between defending and claiming the rights to vote for the future of the country you are living in or out.
The article tells us a story about a young Australian man working in the UK. As a non-UK citizen, he is planning to vote in ...

[History 202-V]
[Submission Date]

The concept of white supremacy governed racial relations in the United States during the antebellum period and as a result, black persons remained subject to an inferior status on which the whites grounded the slave system. Expectedly, even after emancipation, whites retained their position as the superior race while those of African descent remained a disfranchised lot since color segregation took roots in the United States. Still, unlike in the years of slavery, African Americans could finally fight and claim the same privileges enjoyed by their white counterparts. The problem was while some blacks entertained ...

Homestead exemption meant that peoples’ homes would not be taxed at a full charge although some of their households could be tax-free. In Texas, the current family exemption is $15,000, meaning that if one’s home tax is valued at $100, 000, they would only pay taxes of $85,000 (Texansforprop1.com). Proposition 1 would extend that exemption, meaning that one would even pay less tax than their actual house value.
Proposition 1 achieved four things. First, it ensured that property tax was decreased by increasing the homestead exemption from $15,000 to $25,000. Second, it ensured that ...

Organization of Unions

Management of the organization ensures that the wellbeing of the employees is addressed in an effective manner and when the management fails to do that, the employees turn towards the formation of union in order to ensure that their concerns are addressed by the organization. In this manner, it is encompassed that if management facilitates the employees in an effective manner then employees would be organized effectively and would incorporate the organizational citizenship behavior. The federal agencies are formed in order to ensure that the concerns of employees are addressed and the labor laws are practiced by the organization, ...

History

Civil Right Act
The fight for black civil rights is one that has been long and perilous, fought using different approaches by various activists. This paper seeks to look into the various approaches taken by different civil rights activists and how these approaches lead to the changes witnessed in history as well as today’s world.
The first activist, Booker T Washington believed that African Americans should exploit what they had at hand thus the Phrase “casting down the buckets where they were” and this would help them find what they were searching for which was political, social and ...

America in the 1920s: Radical Social Change as a Result of Technological Innovation

Important periods in American history are remembered with nostalgia and awe by the subsequent generations. The 1920s are mainly remembered in American culture for the changing attitudes of the youth, who embraced modern ideas and embraced the technological and ideological changes at the level of the society. Thus, America faced changes of an unprecedented scale in the 1920s (Palmer, 2006). The nation’s economic social and cultural identity underwent profound transformations during this time (Palmer, 2006). Americans enjoyed economic growth, political stability, and an unprecedented transformation due to the technological advancements. Novel technologies and inventions allowed people to spend ...

Try it #2: The poll for TIME magazine’s top 100 influential people for 2009 was hacked by members of 4chan website. They figured out the voting URL protocol and wrote auto voters, which were then used by others to vote, and spam links were posted everywhere tricking the competition into voting for those chosen by the members, so that the top 21 names spelt “marble cake, also the game” with their first letters. The top personality was moot, who was the founder of 4chan.
Try it #3: Pretty Good Democracy is a system that is a tradeoff between ...

Introduction

Before the 1997 general elections, the Labour party was viewed by the people as a party of reforms. The citizens of the UK had a lot of hope that once the party took over the government, reforms (especially constitution reforms) were inevitable. The party, fortunately, won the elections by a considerably large margin with more than 175 seats. Since then, various moves and provisions towards constitutional reforms have been made. Most of the reforms, as well as proposed reforms, revolve around the interests of the people including human rights, modernization, protection, democracy and decentralization of the government (Parpworth 2012).

Reforms Significance

...

It May Not Work in Politics

It May Not Work in Politics

Introduction

According to Frederick Kaiser (2003), James Madison envisioned Congress as a body of chosen individuals that the public could submit their ideas to for debate, refinement, and, ultimately, implementation for the public good. But the question still remains unanswered whether or not the Congress truly represents the people, and if courts ensure that justice prevails.

In this modern world where commercialism dominates, people tend to forget professional ethics just to get up the ladder of success. Even a number of politicians defy their oath in the Code of Conduct as stated in the ...

The article argues that is about time that racial preferences get to an end and even though affirmative action has played a crucial role in the society, jobs should be given on merit and not on race. Affirmative action has not entirely reduced the ever increasing racial disparities but has instead succeeded in minimizing diversity. It is argued that race remains to be the main reason for affirmative action debate since the doctrine originated from the civil rights movements of the 1960s that outlawed discrimination based on race, gender and ethnicity. According to Ward Connerly, a lead organizer of ...

“ He who neglects what is done for what ought to be done, sooner effects his ruin than his preservation; for a man who wishes to act entirely up to his professions of virtue soon meets with what destroys him among so much that is evil (Machiavelli 71).” Machiavelli talks about survival of the strongest, who must do anything to stay in power and not worry about being just or good. Machiavelli’s. The Prince’ is a treatise that talks about political philosophy, political power, the qualities of a leader and the actions that he must take in order to ...

I Have a Dream
“I Have a Dream” was Martin Luther King’s speech given on August 28, 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. The focus of the speech was about the dreams of every Black people living within the American society, such as freedom, equality, and justice, among others. He touched on all elements affecting the Black people during his time, a time rife with discrimination because of color and creed. Throughout that period, Black people were not allowed to mingle with the White people because the Blacks were commonly regarded as slaves. During his speech, ...

The concept of white supremacy governed racial relations in the United States during the antebellum period and as a result, black persons remained subject to an inferior status on which the whites grounded the slave system. Expectedly, even after emancipation, whites retained their position as the superior race while those of African descent remained a disfranchised lot since color segregation took roots in the United States. Still, unlike in the years of slavery, African Americans could finally fight and claim the same privileges enjoyed by their white counterparts. The problem was while some blacks entertained the idea of equality, ...

The problems that have since time immemorial faced the formation of third parties can be traced back to 1968 where the two major parties of the time; Democratic and Republican parties masterminded the making of the ballot access laws for new political parties (Bawn et al., 2012). It was mandatory that all contesting parties should have acquired ballot access in all the fifty states, a factor which most third parties could not adhere due to reasons like lack of the required registration fees and not meeting petition requirements (Bawn et al., 2012). Such a realization hindered the growth of ...

1. Ideological Differences between Republicans and Democrats
“In addition to the decline in competition, American politics today is characterized by a growing ideological polarization between the two major political parties.” – Thomas E. Mann
Political party affiliation is a viable way to find out the philosophy of a certain competing candidate, may he be Republican or Democratic. This in turn reflects upon his core beliefs. Republicans believe that each citizen is responsible for his/her position in the community. The government should enable them the ability to secure the benefits and securities of the society for themselves and their beloved, those who ...

1. Why was the term “gilded” an accurate description for the last quarter of the 19th century?
Mark Twain is credited with using the term ‘gilded’ to describe the last quarter of the 19th century America, particularly the years from 1870 to 1900. Twain had used the term ‘gilded age’ in a satirical manner. He draws an analogy with the thin covering of gold on various artifacts that provides a shiny veneer to the object and hides the baseness of the material used to make it. This is an apt description because towards the end of the 19th century, United ...

Question 1

Please fully discuss why it is beneficial for a nation that women be elected to political office.
Response:
It is beneficial for a nation to have women elected in the political office. In a global perspective, women are underrepresented in the world of politics, about 20 percent of the average percentage of women in the national parliaments. This underrepresentation is just one of the facts presented for women who are part of the politic arena. In addition, there are many argumentations about the representation of women in politics. On the contrary, justice arguments are clear for the representation of women.
...

About the Club

The Hong Kong Student Association (HKSA) being a Hong Kong cultural club serves to promote culture and heritage to all interested students from Hong Kong. The group’s core purpose is to provide a strong network for its student and staff members to interact and encourage high member participation. Nonetheless, the club is supposed to provide opportunities for their counterparts from other countries to experience more about their country and culture (HKSA 1).

The April 2014 Elections

As per the constitution, each office position that is to be elected is supposed to be publicized. In this respect, the constitution states that the mandatory election meeting(s) ...

The Constitution of the USA gives states the authority and delegates them the power to conduct elections. However, despite this, there are certain federal requirements that not only shape but also constrain a state’s authority and power to regulate.
The main aspect of the Constitution’s electoral regulation is that of protection. It makes sure that the rights of all those citizens who are qualified to vote are protected, in both federal and state-wide elections. Most specifically, Constitutional amendments prohibit:
- The denial of the right to vote due to race, color or previous condition of servitude ...

The Ballot or the Bullet is the title name of the speech by Malcolm X, a human rights activist. It was brought out in April 3, 1964 in Ohio at Cory Methodist Church. His speech was to advise the African-Americans to sensibly utilize their right to cast their vote, but he warned that if the government persisted to stop the African-American from achieving full equality, it might be essential for them to violate. The speech puts forward that not until the Black people become politically established, they will persist to be deceived into voting for politicians who are not interested ...

Democracy is one of the most prevailing form of government that is in place in majority of the countries. However there are number of variants being practiced in democracy. Some of these countries follow presidential form of government while others parliamentary form of democratic proceedings.

Question 1:

Country Chosen: Pakistan
Pakistan came into existence after the end of colonial rule from British rule. It has adopted a Parliamentary form of democracy. In such form of democracy the executive is the authority in place that comes into power through the direct voting of the people. Elections are held after a period of five ...

Introduction

Human rights can be said to be the rights that people enjoy to fulfill the values of life. They cover the relations between people and nature, other people and/ or the society. In a social context, they are the rights enjoyed by a nation and sovereign rights of a country (Cohen, 12).
The value of respect, freedom for human rights and the principle of holding periodic free and fair elections by universal suffrage are crucial elements of democracy (Cohen, 45). The election must be by secret ballot as the expression of the will of the people. In turn, democracy provides the ...

The Bush v. Gore case commenced following the November 2000 elections where George W. Bush was declared the winner. Gore sought for a physical recount of votes in various Florida counties: Nassau, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties. He requested the recount in a trial court in Florida, the Leon County Circuit trial court, relying upon one of its statutes that provided for contesting the election’s outcome. The statute allowed candidates to challenge election results if there were receipts of illegal votes, or rejection cases of legal votes that were significant to change the outcome of an election, or to put ...

Introduction

The 2012 Presidential election of US is over and we all know its Barack Obama who has made it to the White House, yet again. Japan’s election of Prime Minister will be happening in December 2012, which is being eagerly awaited. In lieu of this, lets study the present election systems in these two countries.
However, before proceeding, it is imperative that we understand the government in these countries. The US is a Two-party Federal Republic, while Japan is a Multi-party Parliamentary Republic. Japan’s head of the government is a member of the legislative body, but in US that ...

In today’s world, where democracy is the determinant of the political systems, voting processes are paramount political tools. There are various electoral systems used in the United Kingdom. Each of the electoral systems has various advantages, disadvantages, strengths and weaknesses. The different electoral systems have unique features that distinguish them from other systems. They vary from one another depending on criteria of determining the winner and the definition of majority under the system. The first electoral system used in the United Kingdom is referred to as first past the post (FPTP) (Quinn, 22). According to this system, the ...

Should voters have to present any other identification beyond a voter registration card when they show up at the ballot box? These cards do not have pictures, which means that, theoretically, anyone could show up with that registration card and vote. Because it takes time for county record keepers to purge the deceased from voter rolls, people could show up with the cards of others and cast illegal votes. To combat this, many have argued (mostly from the conservative side) that voters should also have to show a valid government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license, state-issued ID card or ...

Introduction

Debate of voting system change in the last western developed countries still employing single member plurality voting that is Canada, Britain, and the United States; perpetually revolve to the supposedly catastrophic experience with PR in Italy and Israel at some point. It is supposedly since the catastrophe is characteristically emphasized, devoid of benefit of information, scrutiny, or chronological background. This replicates both the prejudice of political elite and their unawareness of other countries and other voting systems. Neither has academic critics been without such prejudice. If we traced the connection linking English-language articles critical of PR and a talk about ...