1. GO #5
Political Process
 Voters evaluate information presented in political campaigns to make _reasoned
choices_ among candidates.
 The media play an important role in the ___political process__.
Strategies for evaluating campaign speeches, literature, and advertisements for accuracy
 Separating fact from opinion
 Detecting bias
 Evaluating sources
 Identifying propaganda
Mass media roles in elections
 Identifying candidates
 Emphasizing selected issues
 Writing editorials, creating political cartoons, publishing op-ed pieces
 Broadcasting different points of view
Campaign Costs
 Running for political office is __expensive__
Rising Campaign costs
 Require candidates to conduce extensive _fund-raising_ activities
 limit __opportunities_ to run for public office
 give an _advantage_ to _wealthy__individuals who run for office
 encourage the development of _Political Action Committees__ (PACs)
 give issue-oriented special __interest groups_ increased influence
Campaign finance reform
 Rising campaign costs have led to efforts to _reform_ campaign finance _laws_
 Limits have been placed on the _amount__ individuals may __contribute_ to political
_candidates_ and __campaigns_.

2. Voting
 _Voting_ is a basic responsibility of citizenship.
 Voter _registration_ is required before a citizen may vote. Only citizens who
_register_ may participate in _primary_ and __general__ elections
 The _number_ of citizens who register and vote is related to how important
election __issues_ are to citizens.
Qualifications to How to Register to vote in Factors Reasons why
register to vote in Virginia predicting citizens fail to
Virginia which citizens vote
will vote
1. _Citizen_ of the 1. In person at the 1. Education 1. Lack of
United States registrar’s office, at the interest
Division of Motor
2. _Resident_ of Vehicles (DMV), or at 2. Age 2. Failure to
Virginia and other designated sites register
precinct
3. At least _18_ years 2. By _mail-in_ 3. Income
of age by day of application
general election
The _percentage _ of voters who participate in __presidential__ elections is usually
greater than the percentage of voters who participate in state and local elections.
Every Vote is ___important__
Electoral College Process:
The Electoral College process is used to select the __president_ and ___vice
president__ of the United States.
 A slate of electors for each state is chosen by __popular vote__.
 Most states have a ___winner-take-all__ system.
 The electors meet to ___vote_ for __president__ and __vice president__.
The _winner-take-all_ system lead to the targeting of __densely populated_ states for
campaigning, although candidates must pay attention to __less populated__ states whose
__electoral__ votes may make the difference in tight elections.
The number of electors of each state is based on the size of the state’s __Congressional__
representation, which is based on the state’s population.
The requirement for a majority vote win in the Electoral College favors a ___two-party
system__.