Today’s Agenda (04/25/18): Legislation Review Go over HW (Unclear Marijuana Law…) Today’s Central Questions Voting and Elections Extension Activity: How Do We Increase the “Voter Turn-Out?”

Tonight’s HW: Mandatory Voting Laws Debate article/question (due tomorrow)

Legislative Process: Review What would be some examples of “federal laws” passed by Congress? What about “state laws” passed by state legislatures? What is meant by the “Supremacy Clause” of the US Constitution (Article 6)? How does the executive branch and the judicial branch play a role in the legislative process?

HW: Unclear Marijuana Law analysis

Meanwhile in PA… On April 17, 2016, PA Gov. Tom Wolf (L) signed a bill that made Pennsylvania the 24th state in the US to allow for medicinal use of marijuana. The bill does not allow recipients of prescriptions to grow or smoke marijuana but does allow for pills, oils, vapors, ointments, and/or liquid forms to be consumed. Drafters of the bill state that it could take 2 years to write regulations and get retail dispensaries opened but that recipients could purchase/consume medicinal marijuana from neighboring NJ by May.

Today’s Central Questions: Why is voting considered to be by many “our most important legal right AND responsibility” as Americans? What “eligibility requirements” does one have to meet in order to vote in a US election? Is there any way to explain why only 55% of eligible voters in the US ACTUALLY voted in the 2016 US Presidential election (up by only 1% from 2012) and only 36% of eligible voters in the US ACTUALLY voted in the 2014 midterm election (lowest turn-out since WWII)?

Who Shows Up To Vote: By The Numbers 1. Belgium* 87% 2. Turkey* 86% 3. Sweden 83% 4. Denmark 82% 5. Australia* 81% 6 South Korea 80% 7. Iceland 8. Norway 78% 9. Israel 76% 10. New Zealand 73% 31. United States of America 55% Developed countries with the highest percentage of voting-age population that cast ballots in their most recent national election Source: Pew Research Center *Indicates nations with compulsory voting laws

By the Numbers: Voter Turn Out Since 1948 The statistics in the chart above represent the “voting-eligible population” (VEP), one method of measuring voter turn-out.

Voting and Elections

Why Vote? It is a Constitutional right given to all Americans 1. found in the 15th, 19th, 23rd, 24th, and 26th amendments 2. right to vote cannot be denied due to: Race or national origin Economic status gender

Vote (cont’d) Voting is the key element of any democracy; it allows us to choose leaders and express opinions on issues

Vote (cont’d) To be eligible to vote: 1. you must be at least 18 years old 2. you must be a US citizen 3. you must register in the town/city in which you live 4. you must be a permanent resident of one State only A sample Pennsylvania Voter Registration Card

Elections There are two each year in PA 1. Primary – party members vote to nominate people to run for political office On May 19th 2015, Democratic Party members in Philadelphia voted to nominate their candidate for the position of Mayor. They had to choose between Lynne Abraham, Nelson Diaz, James Kenney, Doug Oliver, and Anthony H. Williams.

Elections (cont’d) General - we choose from the primary winners who will win the office that is open On November 3, 2015, over 231,000 Philadelphians went to the polls to choose their mayor; 85.1% of the vote went to Democratic candidate Jim Kenney. He beat the Republican nominee Melissa Murray Bailey by over 173,000 votes. This really wasn’t a surprise due to the Democrats holding a 7-1 ratio over the Republicans in city-wide elections.

Elections (cont’d) In certain years, the entire country elects: 1. the President 2. the entire House of Representatives 3. one-third of the members of the Senate (about 33 seats) In 2016, the majority of Pennsylvania’s voters cast their Presidential ballots for Donald Trump (R.), elected or reelected 18 members of the House of Reps (including 8th District winner Brian Fitzpatrick – R.) and reelected Patrick Toomey (R.) for US Senate.

PA Electoral Map (2016) Of the 5.9 million ballots cast in PA in 2016, Donald Trump collected 2,912,941 popular votes over Hillary Clinton’s 2,844,705 (a difference of only 68,236 votes) and carried 56 of PA’s 67 counties. By doing so, he gained all of PA’s 20 electoral votes toward his 290 total (needing 270 to win)

Elections (cont’d) 2 years into a President’s term, we have what are called national midterm elections 1. the entire House of Representatives (again) 2. another 1/3 of the Senate (whose terms have expired) In our most recent midterm election (2014), the majority of 8th District residents reelected Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R.) as their district representative in the House. The Republicans won back control of the Senate for the first time since 2006 and gained their largest majority in the House of Representatives since 1928 (247 seats out of 435). Our next midterm is in November 2018.

Ballot Initiatives & Special Elections Legislatures will sometimes submit potential laws to the voters for final approval or rejection; this method is called a ballot referendum Campaign posters for and against Amendment 64, a 2012 ballot initiative in Colorado that would allow the state legislature to amend Colorado’s state constitution to allow the sale of recreational marijuana. The initiative passed 56% in favor.

BI and SE (cont’d) If more than one candidate runs, and no one gets a majority of votes, there will be a runoff election between the two top candidates to determine the winner