Candidates seeking to reach younger voters will be undoubtedly more successful if they use the internet to connect. The majority of teens in the above graphs access the internet either through a home computer or mobile device. The internet is a growing medium for all age groups. From 2000 to 2012 the number of Americans who get their campaign news from the internet almost tripled. Younger voters are also more likely to get their news from social media like Facebook and Twitter. Candidates seeking to bring young voters to their campaign should utilize the internet and particularly social media.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 sought to increase voting access for African Americans by removing literacy requirements from voter registration. Previously, states had used these literacy tests to discriminate against African Americans seeking to vote. The courts used an injunction, or enforceable court order, in order to force states to comply with non-discriminatory voter registration policies. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 did not accomplish everything that civil rights leaders hoped. Following the passage of the law, efforts to register African Americans to vote in Selma, Alabama in 1965 were met with violence and murder. This motivated President Johnson to urge passage of even stronger legislation. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is the result.

Madison did not believe that factions could be totally removed without the consequential stamping out of liberty. This however would be, “worse than the disease” in his words. He believed that the best remedy to faction was to divide the powers of government so that no one group could monopolize the power of government and infringe on the interests of others. The basic principles of both separation of powers and checks and balances are found in this quote. Liberty allows people to form their own groups around shared ideals. Madison could see the forming of interest groups and factions rising within the new system and new that the separation of powers was the best remedy.

Franklin D Roosevelt was President of the United States from 1933 until 1945. President Roosevelt is an important figure in the development of media and government because of his clever use of media to push his policy agenda and sway public opinion. He spoke over radio during his “fireside chats” directly to the American public. His use of the media, primarily radio, is important because it changed how the public viewed the President. Listeners all over the country could hear the President speak directly from their living rooms. This was a new development that made the President seem more real and human.

Citizens can register to vote a variety of locations. Since 1995 voters have been able to register at the DMV while applying or renewing their license thanks to the Motor Voter Act. They can also register at the county clerk’s office, by mail, or at a myriad of events at which groups carry out voter registration drives. Citizens can register to vote as soon as they are eligible by age (usually 18 but 17 in some states depending on birth date). In many states, voters must be registered at least 20 or 30 days before the election. Some states like Maine and Wisconsin allow voters to register at any time including the day of the election. When registering, prospective voters must present their: name, address, age, place of birth, length of residence, and other potentially pertinent information.

The three universal criteria for voting in elections are; citizenship, residence, and age. You must be a citizen of The United States in order to vote. There may be differences regarding when you received citizenship and its effect on your ability to vote. For example, Pennsylvania requires that the voter have become a citizen at least a month before the election. In order to vote, you must be a resident of the state in which you plan to vote. Again, the length of time you must be a resident before eligible to vote differs state to state. States establish residency requirements in order to keep non-residents from coming in to vote and influencing the result. The third criteria is age. You must be 18 years old by the date of the election in order to vote. The 26th Amendment states, “The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.” Previous to this many states had a minimum age of 21 to vote. Making the voting age 18 was heavily influenced by WWII and Vietnam. If service members were old enough to go and fight, they should be allowed to vote.

The percentage of the population who vote is heavily dependent on the type of election that year. In 2012 56.5% of the voting age population turned out to vote in the Presidential Election. Two years earlier, just over 40% of the voting age population turned out for the Congressional midterm election. Voting is one of the key responsibilities of every citizen in a democracy or republic. Elected officials make decisions every day that influence everyone, and the voice of every eligible citizen is needed in order to make sure leaders are held accountable.

After the New Deal many Americans moved from rural areas into cities, and shifted urban voting patterns toward the Republican party. This was reversed in the 1950’s as Republican voters moved back out to the suburbs. Urban areas tend to attract large numbers of younger and minority voters. This gives Democrats an advantage in winning the urban vote as these groups trend toward the Democrats. In recent years, Democrats have won the majority of urban areas, regardless of the political leaning of the state overall. For example, in 2012 Texas as a whole went to Mitt Romney. However, President Obama won the counties surrounding the major cities of Houston, Austin, San Antonio, and El Paso.

Online voting has only been used in extremely rare situations. Astronaut David Wolf was able to vote by e-mail from space in 1997. In the year 2000, 84 service members stationed overseas were able to vote electronically. However, the military decided not to repeat the process due to security concerns. In 2010 a third party in Oregon held their primary entirely online. Online voting has the benefit of making voting easier and more accessible to those who have access to a computer. However, online voting would represent a barrier to suffrage for those without computer and internet access. Many have argued that the security concerns inherent in online voting make it a nonviable option.

The date of federal elections is set by Congress as mandated in the Constitution. Congressional elections are held on even numbered years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November. This prevents election day from falling on the 1st of the month or on a Sunday. The elections for Senators and President are held on this same day when the time for their election arrives. States can choose the dates for their elections. However, most hold their elections on the same Tuesday as federal elections. However, some states like Kentucky intentionally choose other dates. Kentucky elects their governor on odd years instead of even years like federal elections. Early voting is allowed at all levels of government, but varies greatly from state to state regarding dates and practices.

The League of United Latin American Citizens advocates for immigration reform that both streamlines the application process for visas and provides a path to citizenship for those who are undocumented. They argue that the streamlined visa process will bring in greater numbers of highly skilled workers who will start businesses and help the economy. The LULAC believe that providing a path for undocumented workers to become citizens will stop the abysmal working conditions and low wages that many undocumented workers are currently faced with. They advocate for immigration reform on the basis of the economic benefits that would occur. They link a stronger economy to immigration reform in an attempt to persuade others to their point of view.

Voting rights have expanded dramatically since the founding of the United States. The 15th Amendment nominally extended suffrage to African American men. It states, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” Then the 19th Amendment went further in extending the right to vote to women. “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” Voting rights have expanded in the United States, but not without significant struggle. Voting is important because it is one of the key responsibilities of every citizen living in a democracy or republic. Popular Sovereignty means that the power of government is derived from the will of the people. Voting is the expression of this will. Without voting, the voices of many Americans are not heard and therefore not represented in our government.

After the enactment of the United States Constitution in 1787, only adult men who owned any property had the right to vote. All other citizens were denied this right – women, members of racial minorities, etc.

It was almost a century before the 15th Amendment was passed in 1870, which gave the right to vote to men who were members of other races and who were slaves in the past.

This amendment was not supported by the necessary legal acts, so its application was limited. Despite the intentions he proclaimed, legal and other ways were founded to prevent racial minorities from voting.

Members of racial minorities, primarily African Americans, continued to fight for the right to vote and organized themselves through civil rights movements. This struggle lasted a long time, but it resulted in the Congress finally starting in 1957 with the adoption of a law that will enable the implementation of the 15th Amendment. After the adoption of these laws, members of racial minorities become actively involved in political life and society.

The illustration “The 15th Amendment and its results” symbolically depicts the inclusion of members of the African American minority in American society. Members of this minority are presented in several contexts: within education, science, the military.

Although the 15th Amendment itself does not list any specific racial groups, we can conclude that it was passed mostly because of the African-American population.

The illustration shows the clear intentions of the amendment to include members of this population in all spheres of society. In reality, that did happen, but only almost a century after its adoption.

Television is an important aspect of modern politics. The advent of television represented a change in politics when television replaced radio as the primary source of news. Still to this day, television is the medium through which a majority of Americans receive their news. However, the internet represents a massive challenge to the media dominance of television. While television is dominated by a few networks, the internet allows for the completely open and free exchange of ideas. Any single person can utilize social media to share their opinions. Young people in particular rely on the internet for their political news. This requires that campaigns place a concerted effort on reaching voters through his medium.

Political Socialization refers to how one develops their political beliefs and opinions. There are many factors that affect political socialization such as geographic location, race, income, level of education, and perhaps most importantly one’s family. The chances that a voter follows the voting patterns of their parents can be as high as 66%. The political opinions of one’s parents have an undeniable influence on future voting behavior. A child will grow up with the beliefs of their parents. This will cloud how they process all new information and opinions regarding politics and government. There are many people who do not share political beliefs with their parents, but for many their parents’ beliefs are the first introduction to politics and political parties.

Interest groups are organizations of people who have the same opinion on a particular topic and who would like to influence the public and the government on that topic.They are important factors in political life and can indeed have quite an impact on public opinion and legislation.

Interest groups exist in almost all spheres, and one of the world’s most famous is PETA – People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. This group fights for the rights of animals and opposes their abuse in the pharmacology, food industry, entertainment industry, fashion industry, etc. This interest group organizes various types of lobbying, direct and indirect, all with the aim of improving the treatment of animals.

Interest groups that have opposing interests are those behind companies that deal with pharmacy, clothing production, food industry, etc.
If we take the example of an interest group that represents the interests of pharmaceutical companies, it will have the biggest conflict with organizations such as PETA in terms of laboratory tests on animals.

While PETA considers it completely inhumane to try new drugs and products on animals, pharmaceutical companies believe that these tests are the only way to prevent endangering human lives.

Members of the PETA organization value animal lives as human, while pharmaceutical companies believe that human lives are more valuable and that animal testing in the past has led to the development of many drugs that save lives today. They see animal testing as a necessary sacrifice to help the human race.

Although animal testing is not banned, PETA members have managed to lobby for the adoption of certain rules in the treatment of animals in laboratories in order to treat them as humanely as possible.

The internet is an example of how cooperation between government and the private sector resulted in an improved consumer product. The internet has its roots in a Department of Defense research project that initially linked four computers in a network for security purposes. Two years late this technology was developed into a greater number of computers over a larger geographic area. Over time this network was broadened into the modern internet.

The American Medical Association worked to defeat proposals for national health insurance by leveraging their members and public opinion. The AMA convinced doctors to put pamphlets condemning a national system of health insurance in their waiting rooms. They also encouraged doctors to discuss the dangers of the proposals with their patients. AMA members wanted to maintain the existing policies of private health insurance. Patients would see these pamphlets and trust their doctor to know best. This influenced public opinion toward negatively viewing proposals for national health insurance. This effort can be considered a citizens movement because it influenced public opinion at the personal level rather than lobbying Congress directly.

It is important to be able to measure public opinion because if the power of government is derived from the will of the people, there needs to be a method to determine that will. Public policy can only accurately reflect public opinion if the tools to measure that opinion are sound. Public opinion is measured in a variety of ways. One method is elections. Who people choose to vote for is an indicator of public opinion. Members of Congress and the President also hear public opinion through calls and letters to their offices. Perhaps the best way to measure public opinion is through scientific polling. Polling results can affect public policy by influencing the policy positions of lawmakers. The actions and positions of Congress and the President are responsive to public opinion.

Voting is a prime example of the shared powers often found within a system of federalism. The Constitution has the following provisions regarding the right to vote. The 26th Amendment ensures the right to vote for anyone 18 years of age or older. The 15th Amendment prevents voting discrimination on the basis of race. The 19th amendment ensured women’s suffrage. The 24th Amendment bars states from instituting a poll tax. Article I Section 4 empowers Congress to set the date for federal elections. States are empowered to set the time and date for their local and state elections, although most hold their elections the same day as the federal. The actual process of voting is administered by the individual states. Additionally, the regulations regarding voter registration are determined by each state. Some states allow citizens to register the same day as the election while others cut off registration 30 days in advance.

**Public policy** is an action that the government makes in response to a political issue. The American state system is democratic, and in a democratic system, the supreme political authority belongs to the people. Therefore, the will of the people actually formulates public policy.

The influence of people on public policy can be achieved through the actions of individuals, political parties, interest groups, the media, etc.

An example of **individual** influence on public policy is certainly **Martin Luther King**. He was a member of the civil movement, but his personality was so strong and charismatic that we can consider that his personal influence outweighed his affiliation with the movement.

His speeches and publications have inspired many members of the African American minority to engage in an active struggle for the civil rights of this population. He also influenced members of the white majority, which eventually passed a set of civil laws in Congress that finally ban racial discrimination. Without the influence of such a person, the question is at what point would the will finally appear to change public policy regarding the position of the African American population.

**Political parties** participate in the creation of public policy through their elected representatives. Parties nominate their members for public office, so that after the elections, they, as members of the government, influence the creation of public policy.

As an example of the influence of **interest groups** on public policy, we can mention the Greenpeace organization. This organization stands for a healthy, green and peaceful planet. Her focus is on nature and the environment.

This organization carries out various activities in order to draw attention to certain threats to nature and the environment. In the past, they have repeatedly managed to contribute to the adoption of environmentally conscious laws. They have also been successful in preventing the formation of public policies that could jeopardize the values they stand for.

**The media** influence the creation of public policy by nominating topics that the public deals with. The media do not necessary form a public opinion on a topic, but they can certainly contribute to a topic being presented to the public. When a topic becomes public, it can also become important to citizens and the government can be expected to take a political stance on it. In this way, the media can influence policy-making.

The quote from Abraham Lincoln that we are considering refers to the influence of public opinion on shaping public policy. Lincoln saw that public opinion was an extremely powerful force. He considered political sentiment to be one of the most important concepts.This quote dates from 1858, but every word can be applied to the our modern world.

Citizens of the United States participate in government mainly through elections. Some of the citizens are running in the elections in order to get positions in the government, while the majority of the citizens are participating in the elections as voters.

Voting is not obligatory, but it is considered a basic civil duty. The practice of voting ensures existence of representative democracy.

It is desirable that as many citizens as possible use their right to vote in order for the elected citizens to be more representative.

The right to vote was initially reserved for a small number of citizens. Many decades of struggle and efforts have passed for all citizens to get this right. For this reason, this right should be seen as a privilege and responsibility.