U.S. Presidential elections, 1992-2000.On November 2, 2004, most voters cast ballots for either President Bush or Senator Kerry. This balloting is called the popular vote. The popular vote does not directly decide the winner. Rather, it determines the electors electors, in the history of the Holy Roman Empire, the princes who had the right to elect the German kings or, more exactly, the kings of the Romans (Holy Roman emperors). who will participate in the Electoral College electoral college, in U.S. government, the body of electors that chooses the president and vice president. The Constitution, in Article 2, Section 1, provides: "Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, . The electors cast the official votes for President and Vice President. To be elected President, a candidate must win a majority of the 538 electoral votes (at least 270). Below is a table showing the results and voter VOTER. One entitled to a vote; an elector. turnout of each presidential election from 1992 to 2000. Write your answers to the questions on a separate sheet of paper. Before you begin this activity, it is important to note that some students who read Junior Scholastic today will be old enough to vote in the next U.S. presidential election. For those future voters, mark down the date: November 4, 2008.
YEAR CANDIDATES (PARTY) POPULAR ELECTORAL VOTER TURNOUT
1992 Bill Clinton (D) 44.9 million 370 55.9 percent
George H.W. Bush (R) 39.1 million 168
H. Ross Perot (i) 19.7 million 0
1996 Bill Clinton (D) 47.4 million 379 49.0 percent
Bob Dole (R) 39.2 million 159
H. Ross Perot (RF) 8.1 million 0
2000 George W. Bush (R) 50.5 million 271 50.7 percent
Al Gore (D) 51.0 million 266
Ralph Nader (G) 2.8 million 0
2004 George W. Bush (R) 59.4 million 286 59.6 percent
John F. Kerry (D) 55.9 million 252
Ralph Nader (i) 400,691 0
RF=Reform Party G=Green Party i=independent candidate
QUESTIONS 1. Which presidential election had the highest voter turnout? 2. How many more electoral votes did President Bush win this year than he did in 2000? 3. Which candidate won the most popular votes in 2000, but failed to win the election? Explain why this happened. 4. Between which two elections did the sharpest decrease in voter turnout occur? 5. Which third-party or independent candidate has won the most popular votes in a presidential election since 1992? 6. In which election did the number of Electoral College votes total less than 538? 7. During which election was there the largest margin in the electoral vote? 8. Which candidate listed in the table won the most popular votes? 9. Why do you think the voter turnout is not higher? Explain your answer. 10. How might third-party or independent candidates affect the outcome in a close presidential election? BONUS: On a separate sheet of paper, create a broken-line graph representing the voter turnout percentages from 1992 to 2000. 1. 2004 2. 15 3. Al Gore Noun 1. Al Gore - Vice President of the United States under Bill Clinton (born in 1948) Albert Gore Jr., Gore won about half a million more popular votes than George W. Bush in 2000. But according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the U.S. Constitution, a candidate must win a majority of the electoral votes (today at least 270 of 538) to become President. 4. between 1992 and 1996 5. H. Ross Perot H. Ross Perot (born June 27, 1930) is an American businessman from Texas, who is best known for seeking the office of President of the United States in 1992 and 1996. Perot founded Electronic Data Systems (EDS) in 1962 and later sold the company to General Motors and founded Perot in 1992 6. There was one more electoral vote this year. (In 2000, a Washington, D.C., "faithless elector A faithless elector is a member of the United States Electoral College who casts an electoral vote for someone other than the person whom they have pledged to elect. " turned in a blank ballot in protest.) 7. In 1996, Bill Clinton defeated Bob Dole dole, distribution to the poor, usually of food or money. In medieval times doles were usually from bequests of money or land, and the income was given to charity or distributed to the local poor at funerals. by a margin of 220 electoral votes. 8. In 2004, George W. Bush won 59.4 million votes. 9. Answers will vary. 10. George H.W. Bush Noun 1. George H.W. Bush - vice president under Reagan and 41st President of the United States (born in 1924) George Herbert Walker Bush, President Bush, George Bush, Bush and Al Gore would have carried the 1992 and 2000 elections had they won the votes cast for the third-party candidates. Third-party or independent candidates rarely have a chance of winning. Ironically i·ron·ic also i·ron·i·cal adj. 1. Characterized by or constituting irony. 2. Given to the use of irony. See Synonyms at sarcastic. 3. , their greatest impact is in taking electoral votes away from candidates to whom they are closest in philosophy. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion