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| Chapter 3: Federalism |
| Get Involved |
| As you learned in Chapter 2, it’s useful to know the specifics of the American constitution. Aspects of Federalism can be found throughout the document. Article I, Section 4 states, for instance, that “The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Place of Chusing [sic] Senators.” In other words, one of the most fundamental forms of American political participation, that of organized elections, may be conducted along different lines by the states. In the twenty-first century, federalism allows states to experiment with different technologies and models for voting.
While the Internet is not yet a source of major variation between state governments’ electoral systems, the web is a useful resource to understand other differences that currently exist between states. |
| 1. A good source for comparative data on different states’ electoral processes is the Pew Center on the States, located at http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/ and their other website, http://www.electionline.org.
Using these two sites above, compare differences between states regarding their election laws: Which states currently allow voters election-day registration (the ability to register and vote on Election Day itself)? |
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| 1b. Which states currently require photo identification in order to vote? |
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| 1c. What state conducts all its elections through the mail? |
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| 1d. The Pew website also compares states on features like government performance, secondary education, and access to preschool, to name just a few, at the following website: http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/states.aspx What letter grade did Pew give your state? |
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| 2. The United States government increasingly posts good comparative data on the states online for quick reference. Use the Census Bureau website to research more demographic differences between the states, located at: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/, and answer the following questions:
What is the estimated population of your state? What is the median household income of your state? What percent of the people in your state are under 18 years old? How do you think these statistics affect state policies and procedures? |
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