Elections In The United States
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Transcript of Elections In The United States
Elections in the United States
Nicole Chidiac
Voting…• Do you think it is important to vote? Why?
• What do you think of Barack Obama winning the election?
How do the American Presidential elections work?
• The presidential elections in the United States happen on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Tuesday, November 4th 2008
• They take place every 4 years.
• This process began in the year 1792.
• The American elections for the president and the vice-president are indirect elections.
• This means that voters cast ballots for a group of electors.
• Then the electors vote for the president and vice president.
• The electors are part of the Electoral College.• The Electoral College has 538 electors. Every
state has a specific number of electors to represent it. For example, Illinois has 21 electors.
Voting booths
Democrats vs. Republicans
• It is the largest political party in the United States.
• 72 million people support this party
• It was founded by Thomas Jefferson who wrote the Declaration of Independence.
• It is leftist. This means it is a liberal party.
• It is also known as the Grand Old Party.
• 55 million people support this party.
• The Republican party came about in 1860, when Abraham Lincoln was elected.
• It is considered the right-wing party.
Who else is on the ballot?
• Democratic Party• Republican Party• Green Party• Libertarian• Constitution Party of Illinois• Independent: a person representing themselves. They
do not run for a political party.• And a blank
• This year, Barack Obama was elected on November 4th, 2008.
• Obama will be sworn in on January 20th, 2009.
• He was the Junior Senator of Illinois before running for the presidency.
• He worked as a civil rights attorney.
• “Yes we can!”
What does this political cartoon tell you?
What do you think of this political cartoon?
Debating time!
We are going to have a debate about a few important issues or topics from the United States.
•Same sex marriages
•Healthcare
•The War in Iraq
Same sex marriages
• Same-sex marriage, also referred to as gay marriage, is a marriage between two persons of the same sex.
• Today, the federal government of the United States does not recognize same-sex marriage, under the Defence of Marriage Act, but same-sex marriage is currently legal in three states, Massachusetts and Connecticut and California.
• Should same sex marriages be allowed in the United States?
Healthcare
• There are over 40 million Americans with little to no health insurance.
• This is almost the same as the population of Spain. • Health insurance is very expensive. • If you don’t have a job, you don’t have health
insurance. • “Because powerful, selfish, private economic and
professional interests have so far blocked the enactment of such a program.”
• Should there be universal healthcare in the United States?
The War in Iraq
• This war began in 2003• The War in Iraq has cost over 500 billion dollars. It
was predicted it would cost 100-200 billion dollars. • It is considered a war on terror. • Saddam Hussein was captured and executed.• The Iraqi military was defeated.
• What do you think? Should the War in Iraq be ended?
Casualties in IraqThe Human Cost of OccupationEdited by Margaret Griffis :: Contact
American Military Casualties in Iraq
Date Total In Combat
American Deaths
Since war began (3/19/03): 4193 3390
Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03) (the list)
4054 3282
Since Capture of Saddam (12/13/03):
3732 3084
Since Handover (6/29/04): 3335 2757
Since Election (1/31/05): 2756 2494
American Wounded Official Estimated
Total Wounded: 30774 Over 100000
Latest Fatality Nov. 8, 2008