Voting at home and abroad.New Members Welcome! The U.S. Congress has always had members of different parties. For most of its history, though, all those members were white men. Times have changed. The 535-member 109th Congress (currently in office) has record numbers of women and minorities. Here is a breakdown: * Women: Senate: 9 D (Democratic), 5 R (Republican); House: 45 D, 23 R. Total 82. * African-Americans: Senate: 1 D, 0 R; House: 42 D, 0 R. Total: 43. * Hispanic Hispanic Multiculture A person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race Social medicine Any of 17 major Latino subcultures, concentrated in California, Texas, Chicago, Miam, NY, and elsewhere Americans: Senate: 1 D, 1 R; House: 19, 5 R. Total: 26. * Asian Americans This page is a list of Asian Americans. Politics
n. 1. A native or inhabitant of any of the Polynesian, Micronesian, or Melanesian islands of Oceania. 2. A person of Polynesian, Micronesian, or Melanesian descent. See Usage Note at Asian. : Senate: 2 D, 0 R; House: 3 D, 1 R. Total: 6. * Native Americans: Senate: 0 D, 0 R; House: 0 D, 1 R. Total: 1. Oldest and Youngest The oldest U.S. Senator is Robert Robert, Henry Martyn 1837-1923. American army engineer and parliamentary authority. He designed the defenses for Washington, D.C., during the Civil War and later wrote Robert's Rules of Order (1876). Noun 1. C. Byrd (D, W. Va.), who will turn 89 in November. (He has held office since 1959--longer than anyone else currently in Congress.) The youngest Senator is John Sununu John Sununu is the name of two U.S. politicians:
At 83, Ralph Hall (R, Tex.) is the oldest member of the U.S. House of Representatives. The youngest is Patrick McHenry (R, N.C.), who will turn 31 on October 22. (The Constitution sets minimum ages for anyone who "shall be a Senator" and "shall be a Representative." Senators must be at least 30 years old. House members must be at least 25.) How Low Do We Go? The U.S. encourages free and fair elections all over the world. Yet when it comes to exercising our own right and responsibility to vote, Americans set a poor example. Voter-turnout statistics are available for 172 of the world's 194 independent countries. With "1" being the country with the highest turnout and "172" being the one with the lowest, the U.S. sinks pretty low--in 139th place. Dollars or Disgrace DISGRACE. Ignominy, shame, dishonor. No witness is required to disgrace himself. 13 How. St. Tr. 17, 334; 16 How. St. Tr. 161. Vide Crimination; To Degrade. ? Concerned citizens have been debating ways of boosting voter VOTER. One entitled to a vote; an elector. turnout. Mandatory-voting laws (see "Vote--or Else!") and shorter campaign periods are two common suggestions. Arizona Arizona (âr'əzō`nə), state in the southwestern United States. It is bordered by Utah (N), New Mexico (E), Mexico (S), and, across the Colorado R., Nevada and California (W). and Michigan Michigan (mĭsh`ĭgən), upper midwestern state of the United States. It consists of two peninsulas thrusting into the Great Lakes and has borders with Ohio and Indiana (S), Wisconsin (W), and the Canadian province of Ontario (N,E). have a couple of other ideas. Arizona legislators are considering giving each voter a chance to win a million-dollar prize. Michigan has proposed using fear of embarrassment to get people to the polls. People in a neighborhood would receive a letter naming community members who registered to vote but didn't. Vote--or Else! In many countries, voting is mandatory. Some countries strictly enforce their voting laws--Australia and Bolivia, for example. Australia: People who don't vote (without an officially acceptable reason) must pay a fine. The first offense is only about $15, but the fee increases with each election in which a person fails to cast a vote. That doesn't mean Australians are forced to vote for someone on the ballot. They can write in another name or choose the "none of the above" option. Bolivia: Citizens are given a special ID card upon voting. For up to three months, they may be required to show it before being allowed to withdraw their wages from a bank. |
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