Day 23: Halloween!

I am making a list of the things I need to know about the presidential campaigns.
Platform requirements (what do they have to make clear about their ideas? Are candidates required to present a plan of action for, say, the first year of office? What documents must be present on their site? Are there requirements to have plans verified for efficacy by experts in the field?)
Also, we learned about slander and laws against it in government and I'm curious to see how political ads are actually legal.

Also looked at the alternate vote system (when you rank candidates by preference). This article talks about pros and cons of using it the UK, but the United States has the additional issues of, well, states, so I need to find a source that discusses its use in the US.

Day 22: Presidential Debates

I am going to look at the debates for 2008 and 1992 (the most recent new president and a random pick from two classmates.)
If I thought candidates sidestepped issues in the gubernatorial debates, the issue is multiplied by ten in the presidential debates. A lot of time is spent blaming the problem on other officials or parties and  the amount of times a question was restated or repeated was really upsetting. The candidates often state similar goals or ideals and then fail to elaborate on how they plan to achieve them. Another common issue is the usage of statements by an opponent (candidate x will say that candidate y said this or supports that when it has nothing to do with actually answering the question).
Also looking up some of the paperwork and requirements a candidate has to fulfill to run for office.


Obama McCain first debate fact check
Biden-Palin fact check
Obama McCain second debate fact check
NPR discusses the debates

Day 21: Gubernatorial Debates

I have obtained the transcripts for the debates between Greg Abbott and Wendy Davis, since I am a resident of Texas.
After I read them, I will read one of the presidential debates as well.
--- Notes ---
Standardized testing: both candidates want less standardized tests. Davis asserts that Abbott wants standardized testing for 4 year olds. Abbott denied this and Davis said that he stated that as part of his education plan on page 21. The plan states that he wants assessments for pre-K and provided three options, one of which was standardized testing. Davis stated that she wants testing as a measure of teacher success to be less high stakes.
Overall (I suppose this happens in every debate) each candidate had moments where he/she avoided the question, was vague about a plan, started an attack on the other candidate, or blamed a problem on something or someone else instead talking about what they would do, which are things that should be avoided in debates. This was most often seen when faced with direct questions, especially during the ethics questions.
I think requiring clear written proposals for every issue is a must for all candidates and each debate should be fact checked by multiple, unbiased sources. Also, each candidate's plan for any issue should be verified for efficacy by experts in the field.
Politifact fact check for the second debate
Houston Chronicle fact check for the second debate

Houston Chronicle fact check for the first debate
(seriously need another one to verify, but first debate analyses with fact checks are scarce...)

I also helped Stephen by doing his survey for thesis.

Organization, More Essays

Today I worked on an outline I am making so I can get a basis for my timeline. This will help me keep things in order because my reading notes are starting to get really long.
I've got some questions about the congressional elections that I will be referring to my mentor. I will be watching debates as soon as I get some time. If I can't watch them it will be faster for me to read transcripts. I will also be checking out the old presidential debates afterwards.

Also worked on more college essays.

Picture Day, College Essays

We took our senior pictures for the yearbook today. I also worked on college essays. I also continued reading the book from last class and took more notes.
I will be looking into the debates and campaigning portion of the election soon because of the congressional elections. I will have a lot of material from the Republican and Democratic parties if I do that in October and November.
Wednesday update: I was in the car and I heard this report about absentee voting on the radio.

Day 18: More research

We received our grades for our presentations (95 for me).
I am taking more notes on this book. Right now I'm in the part where it discusses improvements for voter registration. The reform implementation in some states also cost a lot, so I have to remember to look into costs for each reform.
In order to get more organized I put some additional documents on my Google Drive, including notes on reading material and a list of goals to look back on to evaluate the reforms.
One of the polls used for the book (it asked why people did not vote in 2000 election) is a little old so I need to find a more recent one if there is one available. The problem of access to voting for disabled persons should have decreased in recent years, so it is likely that the poll results would be different now.

Presentation

It's day 3 so I presented today. I was really nervous so it is kind of a blur but I answered my questions so I think it went well. Mr. Correa says we have to send him a copy of our senior surveys so I will do that when I get home.

Presentations Day 2

The presentations continued today. We also filled in ACT score sheets.

Thesis Presentations: Day 1

Our class started presentations today (mine is on Friday) and so I saw what mine should sort of look like and what it should cover. Also I am going to be well-prepared for questions, because it seems that my class asks a lot of them.
There are some concerns about timing, apparently a lot of the presenters were under 3 minutes and I'm not sure how big of a problem that is.
I do have a working presentation right now so it should be fine.
(Looking for more sources that find problems with the NPV compact)
Notes: The NPV does not take into account the fact that each state has different voting processes and requirements.

Reading, Bibliography, Presentations

Notes from why the NPV should be constitutional: while states cannot make treaties or alliances with other states, they can have an interstate compact agreement, as long as it does not interfere with the powers of other/non-participating states. NPV does not encroach on federal powers, although it may interfere with interests. The electors are approved by the state legislature and are not exercising federal powers. The states are not creating a new power for themselves that they did not have individually or disenfranchising voters of non-member states. 

Electoral Choice, Ideological Conflict, and Political Participation notes: The author concludes that ideological polarization of candidates actually lowers voter turnout, challenging an earlier study conducted in the 1950s. However, he concedes that more research needs to be done.

Working on several essays and should submit the Apply Texas apps this week. Submitted the bibliography!