Help America Vote Act

Examples of Help America Vote Act in the following topics:

• The Disputed Election of 2000

  • Though Gore came in second in the electoral vote, he received 543,895 more popular votes than Bush.
  • As the final national results were tallied the following morning, Bush had clearly won a total of 246 electoral votes, while Gore had won 255 votes. 270 votes were needed to win.
  • Florida's 25 electoral votes became the key to an election win for either candidate.
  • A count of overseas military ballots later boosted his margin to about 900 votes.
  • In the aftermath of the election, the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) was passed to help states upgrade their election technology in the hopes of preventing similar problems in future elections.

• Latinos

  • On average, Latino citizens continue to vote at significantly lower rates than non-Latino white voters.
  • However, recently naturalized citizens from South and Central America, and their children, make up the largest group of Latino voters in the US.
  • Others examine the question of the rationality of voting: does voting serve the self-interest of any given individual, and what are the interests or issues that might change someone's voting patterns?
  • As such, people may live for many years in the US without being able to vote.
  • One important institutional change aimed at lowering the cost for Latino voter participation is the Language Minority Provision of the Voting Rights Act, first introduced in 1975, and then amended in 1992 and 2006.

• African Americans

  • In examining African American voting patterns it is helpful to consider all of these factors.
  • Between 1955 and 1968, acts of nonviolent protest and civil disobedience produced crisis situations between activists and government authorities.
  • In 1964, the Civil Rights Act was passed.
  • In 1965, the Voting Rights Act established federal oversight of election regulations, and banned voter qualifications or prerequisites that limited the right to vote on account of race or color.
  • This act removed a large institutional barrier to voting and helped to further protect voting rights.

• Voting as Political Participation

  • Voting is the most quintessential form of political participation, although many eligible voters do not vote in elections.
  • A unique and special political act, voting allows for more people's views to be represented than any other activity.
  • In 1993, Congress passed the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, also known as the "motor voter" law, allowing citizens to register at motor vehicle and social service offices.
  • Still, many people do not vote regularly.
  • Since America's founding, voting has been a primary avenue for citizen participation in politics.

• The 2012 Presidential Election

  • Requiring 270 electoral votes to win the election, Obama received 303 electoral votes, while Romney earned 206.
  • The economic crisis, the growing deficit, and America's longest undeclared war were the biggest obstacles to Obama's re-election.
  • The major policy issues at stake in the 2012 election included the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and health care reform, the ongoing economic condition, tax reform, women's rights, and American foreign policy.
  • Census changed the apportionment of votes in the Electoral College, potentially altering the allocation of votes among swing states.
  • For example, Florida and Iowa banned felons from voting, and various states shortened their voting periods, eliminating the option of early voting.

• Low Voter Turnout

  • It tends to be lower in the United States, Asia and Latin America than most of Europe, Canada and Oceania.
  • Western Europe averages a 77% turnout, and South and Central America around 54% since 1945.
  • Furthermore, voters who do cast ballots may abstain, deliberately voting for nobody, or they may spoil their votes, either accidentally or as an act of protest.
  • This trend has been significant in the United States, Western Europe, Japan and Latin America.
  • Western Europe averages a 77% turnout, and South and Central America around 54% since 1945 .

• Postwar Politics and the Election of 1920

  • Internationally, politicians were arguing over peace treaties and the question of America's entry into the League of Nations, which produced an isolationist reaction.
  • To help his campaign, Cox chose future President Franklin D.
  • Britain had already passed an Irish Homerule Act in 1914, which was suspended for the war's duration, and they passed another in 1920.
  • The Irish Americans, bitterly angry at Wilson's refusal to help Ireland at Versailles, sat out the election.
  • Numbers indicate the number of electoral votes allotted to each state.

• Examples Revisited

  • Saunders' political science class, the unit on voting rights begins with a lecture.
  • In the next class, they watch an episode of the PBS series "Eyes on the Prize" entitled "Mississippi: Is this America?
  • " This program depicts the efforts of black and white college student volunteers to help African American Mississippians register to vote during the "Freedom Summer of 1964. " These student workers serve as role models for the student viewers.
  • They are able to voice positive statements about the importance of voting rights and to have these statements reinforced.
  • Gibson realizes that even when her students know the importance of making healthy food and exercise choices, they may not have the freedom to act on this knowledge.

• Legislative Change

  • The goal of the 1957 Civil Rights Act was to ensure that all Americans could exercise their right to vote.
  • The Civil Rights Act of 1960 addressed some of the shortcomings of the 1957 act.
  • Johnson helped secure passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
  • The Act prohibited racial discrimination in voting and Congress later amended the Act five times to expand its protections. 
  • Analyze the gains and limitations of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957, 1960, and 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

• The Immigration Act of 1965

  • Despite controversy amidst the public, the House of Representatives voted 326 to 70 (82.5%) in favor of the act, while the Senate passed the bill by a vote of 76 to 18.
  • The act had bi-partisan support in the senate, with 52 of 67 Democrats and 24 of 28 Republicans voting "yes."
  • Most of the "no" votes were from the southern belt, which was then strongly Democratic.
  • The Immigration and Nationality Act did change American demographics, leading to increases in immigration from Mediterranean Europe, Latin America, and Asia.
  • By the 1990s, America's population growth was more than one-third driven by legal immigration, as opposed to one-tenth before the act.