Lanea Bridges, Taylor Miller, Chynna Swayne

Government 1
13 November 2014

Unit 3: Civil Participation

A couple of ways that citizens can participate in the government is by participating in a
political discussion. This way citizens can share their views on political issues, also by
participating in ways to solve problems in the government. Or to suggest ways to resolve
problems in the government. Another possible way citizens can participate in the government is
by signing a petition. This can vary from signing a petition for a cause, such as feeding the
needy, or by signing a petition for several interest groups. Finally another possible way that
citizens can participate in the government is by writing letters to elected representatives. Many
examples that correlate to this is by writing a letter to elected representatives for something that
your state or town needs that the elected representative can offer to fix for the state or town.
There are numerous ways for citizens to participate in the government.There are no limited
ways to do so, citizens can participate in many ways that are not listed above.
The United States Electoral College is the institution that officially elects the President
and Vice President of the United States every four years. The President and Vice President are
not elected directly by the voters. Instead they are elected by electors who are chosen by
popular vote on a state-by-state basis. There are 538 electors chosen in every presidential
election. Some of the ways the electoral college encourages political participation is by certainty
of results, discouraging the 3rd party, preventing the possibility of national recount of votes.
Keeping the small states as visible participants, providing the chosen candidate with a majority.
Also some of the ways the the electoral college discourages political participation by sometimes
it can twist the popular choice, discouraging the 3rd parties, can allow presidential election to be

decided by the House of Representatives where each state has one vote, giving undue power to
swing states.
The media, political parties and family all impact political participation greatly. If a
persons family are mainly republicans, then its more likely that their children who do not know
much about politics. They are more likely to fall more towards what their family believes in. Also
political parties influence a person to vote a straight ticket, meaning a ballot on which all votes
have been cast for candidates of the same party. Many people who do so find it the easiest way
to vote. The media may have the most impact on political participation out of all options. There
are ads in the newspaper, internet, radio and television. Some of the ads contain miss
information, and or somewhat false advertising. Which to some people call stretching out the
truth. By the time the ads are taken from any media source the damage has already been
done to someone that it was intended for.
A Public Opinion is a collective opinion of many people on issues, problems, etc. The
attitude of the public, especially as a factor in determining the actions of the government. For
an example there are a series of people who share theiropinion on gay marriage. Some
people believe that gay marriage should be legal in the United States, While some people
believe that gay marriage should not be legal and permitted to people.
Major political parties can open their parties to non-affiliated voters and this is done in
other states. While in Minor political parties are those that have less than five percent of the total
number of registered voters. Major political parties include Democratic Party and the Republican
Party. There are many Minor political parties, but some include Libertarian Party, Green Party,
and Freedom Socialist Party.
In conclusion, there are many roles in the political process. There are many shapes
political opinion and how it influences political action.

Works Cited
"Electoral College: Pros & Cons." Electoral College: Pros & Cons. N.p., n.d. Web. 17
Nov. 2014.
"Electoral College (United States)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Nov. 2014.
Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
"Star-Telegram.com | News, Videos & Commentary about Fort Worth, Arlington,
Dallas, Texas, Cowboys & More." Fort Worth Star-Telegram. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov.
2014.
"Common Cause National." Common Cause. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2014.