Third Edition
CQ PressInstructors' ResourcesChaptersCh. 1 Logic of American PoliticsCh. 2 The ConstitutionCh. 3 FederalismCh. 4 Civil RightsCh. 5 Civil LibertiesCh. 6 CongressCh. 7 The PresidencyCh. 8 The BureaucracyCh. 9 The JudiciaryCh. 10 Public OpinionCh. 11 Voting, Campaigns and ElectionsCh. 12 Political PartiesCh. 13 Interest GroupsCh. 14 The News MediaAbout the BookAbout the Authors The Logic of American Politics by Samuel Kernell and Gary C. Jacobson

Chapter Eleven: Voting, Compaigns, and Elections

Exercises



Such Kind, Giving Individuals
The Federal Election Commission keeps records of donations from all individuals who contribute at least $200 directly to a candidate. Perform the following searches of FEC databases, noting patterns (number of people and total amounts) of contributions from the following groups of people:
  • Donors from your zip code
  • Donors from the Beverly Hills (90210) zip code
  • Donors with your last name
  • Donors with your parents' occupations
  • Donors who are also employed by your or your parents' employers
  • Your three favorite television or movie stars
  • Donors who work for Enron, WorldCom, or Halliburton (take your pick)


Who Am I? Why Am I Here?
Go to the House of Representatives home page, select the Web site of your member of Congress, and find that member's biography. Before running for Congress, what (if any) prior elected office had your member held? What is his or her demographic information (religion, age, marital status, occupation, and so on)? Then consult the Census Bureau's Web sites to find out the demographics of your congressional district. Finally, consult http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/ to find out what information you can about the challenger in this race, and the incumbent's margin of victory in the prior election. If you were the incumbent, what information might make you nervous heading into the next campaign? What information will likely help the incumbent?


Has Your Vote Been Rocked Today?
Go to the Census Bureau's statistics on demographics and voter behavior. Take note of your own state of residence, ethnic or racial origin, and age. Then go to the detailed file at http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/voting/proj00/tabA.txt and scroll down the list until you've found the line that matches your demographic information. Compare this information with the averages at the beginning of the document. Based on this information, are you more or less likely than average to register? To vote? Then look at the historical voting and registration characteristics of people like you since 1964. How have the rates of voting and registration changed among your peers over this time? How do you think this change affects the political influence of people sharing your demographics?