Do-Now  We will complete a Do-Now after WSMS

Do-Now  Please work on your Do-Now silently.  If you finish early, you can take out your Op-Ed sheet.

Announcements  Good weekend?!  Donut Moneyz  Test corrections due tomorrow  Test Friday/Study guide Thursday  Review slides are up! ~ 3 points extra credit

Review  What did we do last class?  Information we learned about?  Activities we did?

VOTER REGISTRATION & PARTICIPATION Unit: Elections & Political Parties

Today’s Agenda  Do-Now  Announcements+ Review  Finishing up the role of the media  Op-Eds & Blind Dates  Voter Registration & Participation  A Virginia Voter  Red Light/Green Light & Agree/Disagree

Writing Op-Eds & Demonstrating Bias Blind Dates

What To Do  You’re writing a newspaper op-ed  It must involve the 2008 campaign or candidates  It must discuss an issue (real or made-up)  It should try to sway readers one way or another  It should include 3 examples of bias  After you finish writing, you will switch and read your date’s article to find 3 examples of bias

Op-Ed Example

“School Uniforms” by Ms. Mitchem  “I think if he is elected, Barack Obama will institute a mandatory nationwide school uniforms policy. He always favors equality over liberty, and that’s just the sort of thing he might do that could ruin our nation and our freedoms. The consequences of such a policy would be devastating for America’s children. They might grow up to be the same liberal-minded nillywillies as Obama and the rest of the Democrats.”

If You Finish Early…  You can draw a picture of the op-ed writer in the box  You can work on your study guide which is due Thursday.

Vocabulary  Voter Registration: the process of signing up to vote  Voter Qualifications: requirements a person must meet to be eligible to register to vote

So we’ve talked about…  Political parties & why they exist  How candidates get money to run for office  How to look at campaign materials for accuracy  The role of the media and how they can influence our opinions on campaigns & candidates  **BUT HOW DO YOU ACTUALLY VOTE and WHO USUALLY VOTES?**

Voting Statistics 2008 Presidential Election in Virginia Voting age population5,975,728 Registered voters5,034,660 Percent of voting age population registered84.3% Turnout3,752,858 Percent of registered population to vote74.5% Percent of voting age population to vote62.8%

To vote in Virginia:  Let’s think about the Virginian voter A Virginia voter!

November 2002  18 to 24 years  25 to 34 years  35 to 44 years  45 to 54 years  55 to 64 years  19.3%  31.8%  44.8%  53.4%  60.1% AgePercent of Age Group that Voted

Fill in the form for yourself! Voter Registration Form

Red light/green light Decide who can vote!

Red Light/Green Light  Bob is from California. He’s on vacation visiting his friend Ralph in Richmond, Virginia, and he realizes that it’s Election Day. Bob wants to go vote when Ralph goes to his local polling place.  Stop that voter! (Red) OR Let the man vote! (Green)

Red Light/Green Light  Jill is so excited to vote in the upcoming election. It will be her first time voting because she actually turns 18 the day before the general election. In fact, she was still 17 when she registered to vote.  Don’t let her vote! (Red) OR Cast that ballot! (Green)

Red Light/Green Light  Brandy never registered to vote, but since she’s been living in Charlottesville for 80 years, she figures that the town knows her well enough and that she can vote.  Stop that granny! (Red) or Let her vote! (Green)

Red Light/Green Light  Tony is a legal Italian immigrant to the United States. He’s been here ten years and has decided to begin the naturalization process. He won’t be finished until the end of next year, but he’s thinking about casting his vote in a few weeks on Election Day.  No way! Ciao, Tony! (Red) OR Sure, sounds fine! (Green)

Agree or Disagree? You decide! Voter Registration & Participation

Agree/Disagree  Even if you hate both the Republican and Democratic candidates for president, you should vote in the general election.

Agree/Disagree  It’s Election Day, but you don’t have the day off from work and you have a full schedule before and after work. You should skip voting this year.

Agree/Disagree  There are millions of voters out there, so my vote doesn’t even count in the grand scheme of things.

Agree/Disagree  Stanley lost his job 6 years ago. Now he is retired and living on minimum-wage money from Social Security. His wife passed away 2 years ago, and Stanley is waiting for death. He votes for the Democratic ticket because he heard a long time ago that Democrats help out the elderly. He shoots down bills that deal with young people.  Stanley should be allowed to vote.

Agree/Disagree  Jody travels with a motorcycle gang that includes a lot of members of the American Nazi Party. Gang members are teaching Jody that she should hate certain groups of people and told her to vote for Nazi Party members in the upcoming election.  Jody should be allowed to vote.

Take-Home Point  Do you think voting should be a civic DUTY? Explain.  Think about the process of registering (is it inconvenient?)  Think about who ends up voting  How many people don’t vote and their reasons for not voting