- Outline the process by which states eliminated property requirements for voting. Do any still exist?
- Discuss the struggle over the implementation of the 15th Amendment.
- Outline efforts to undermine the intent of the 15th Amendment.
- Discuss conflicts in Texas over the placement of voting centers on college campuses.
- From the Texas Legislature Online: Registration and Suffrage Bills introduced in 89R.
Showing posts sorted by date for query suffrage. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query suffrage. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
Sunday, October 4, 2026
The Activities of the First Congress
A good look at how the early governing institutions were developed.
- ChatGPT: Describe what happened between the ratification of the U.S. Constitution and the convening of the First Congress.
- ChatGPT: Describe the election to the first Congress of the United States.
- ChatGPT: Describe the campaigns for offices in the first Congress.
- ChatGPT: Describe the rules regarding suffrage in each of the original states at the time of the election to the First Congress.
- Wikipedia: 1788–89 United States House of Representatives elections.
- Wikipedia: 1788–89 United States Senate elections.
- Wikipedia: 1788–89 United States presidential election.
- Wikipedia: First United States Congress.
Wednesday, September 17, 2025
Subjects of Election Laws passed by the Texas Legislature
The links take you to the specific bills introduced in the 89th Regular Session.
- Elections--Administration
- Elections--Campaign Financing
- Elections--Candidates
- Elections--Early Voting
- Elections--Election Officers
- Elections--General
- Elections--Initiative, Referendum & Recall
- Elections--Judicial
- Elections--Political Parties
- Elections--Presidential
- Elections--Primaries
- Elections--Registration & Suffrage
- Elections--School District
- Elections--Voting Systems
- Elections--Administration
- Elections--Campaign Financing
- Elections--Candidates
- Elections--Early Voting
- Elections--Election Officers
- Elections--General
- Elections--Initiative, Referendum & Recall
- Elections--Judicial
- Elections--Political Parties
- Elections--Presidential
- Elections--Primaries
- Elections--Registration & Suffrage
- Elections--School District
- Elections--Voting Systems
Tuesday, September 9, 2025
Sunday, April 27, 2025
From the Texas Tribune regarding recent election legislation in the Texas Leg.
- Requiring voters to prove citizenship spurs concern that eligible Texans won’t be able to cast ballots.
The Bill would amend the Texas Election Code.
Subject Areas:
- Elections--Administration.
- Elections--Election Officers.
- Elections--Registration & Suffrage.
Democratic lawmakers and Texas voters spent nearly four hours at a legislative hearing Thursday demanding to know how a GOP-backed bill to require citizenship proof from voters would work, and warning that it could disenfranchise eligible Texans.
. . . House Bill 5337 goes further than the laws and proposals in some other states, in that it would apply retroactively to already-registered voters in Texas, not just new applicants. Texas has more than 18 million registered voters.
Officials with the Texas Secretary of State’s Office told lawmakers Thursday that they estimate around 500,000 currently registered voters who don’t have a driver’s license number or Social Security number in their voter registration record would have to provide proof of citizenship.
- HB 5337.
- SB 16.
The federal courts have blocked similar laws due to allegations these amount to voter suppression.
- Court blocks Arizona’s laws requiring proof of citizenship to vote for president.
See also:
- Texas lawmakers consider barring counties from mailing unsolicited voter registration forms.
- Verifying hand-counted ballots in Texas elections may be easier under GOP bill.
- Republican lawmakers revive effort to give attorney general more power to prosecute election crimes.
- Texas countywide voting bill would allow fewer polling sites.
- Some Texas lawmakers want to ban countywide voting on Election Day. Local officials are pushing back.
The Bill would amend the Texas Election Code.
Subject Areas:
- Elections--Administration.
- Elections--Election Officers.
- Elections--Registration & Suffrage.
Democratic lawmakers and Texas voters spent nearly four hours at a legislative hearing Thursday demanding to know how a GOP-backed bill to require citizenship proof from voters would work, and warning that it could disenfranchise eligible Texans.
. . . House Bill 5337 goes further than the laws and proposals in some other states, in that it would apply retroactively to already-registered voters in Texas, not just new applicants. Texas has more than 18 million registered voters.
Officials with the Texas Secretary of State’s Office told lawmakers Thursday that they estimate around 500,000 currently registered voters who don’t have a driver’s license number or Social Security number in their voter registration record would have to provide proof of citizenship.
- HB 5337.
- SB 16.
The federal courts have blocked similar laws due to allegations these amount to voter suppression.
- Court blocks Arizona’s laws requiring proof of citizenship to vote for president.
See also:
- Texas lawmakers consider barring counties from mailing unsolicited voter registration forms.
- Verifying hand-counted ballots in Texas elections may be easier under GOP bill.
- Republican lawmakers revive effort to give attorney general more power to prosecute election crimes.
- Texas countywide voting bill would allow fewer polling sites.
- Some Texas lawmakers want to ban countywide voting on Election Day. Local officials are pushing back.
Sunday, February 23, 2025
Elections related legislation introduced so far in the 89th Legislative Session.
Topcs:
Elections--Administration
Elections--Campaign Financing
Elections--Candidates
Elections--Early Voting
Elections--Election Officers
Elections--General
Elections--Initiative, Referendum & Recall
Elections--Judicial
Elections--Political Parties
Elections--Presidential
Elections--Primaries
Elections--Registration & Suffrage
Elections--School District
Elections--Voting Systems
Sunday, November 10, 2024
To prepare for our look at public policy
The enumerated powers:
lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises
pay the debts
common defense
general welfare
borrow money on the credit of the United States
regulate commerce with foreign nations
among the several states
with the Indian tribes
uniform rule of naturalization
uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States
coin money
regulate the value
foreign coin
fix the standard of weights and measures
punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States
establish post-offices and post-roads
promote the progress of science and useful arts
securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries
constitute tribunals inferior to the supreme court
define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas
offences against the law of nations
declare war
grant letters of marque and reprisal
make rules concerning captures on land and water
raise and support armies
- but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years:
provide and maintain a navy:
make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces
provide for calling forth the militia to
- execute the laws of the union
- suppress insurrections
- repel invasions
provide for organizing, arming and disciplining the militia
exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United States,
exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the state in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock-yards, and other needful buildings
make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers,
enforce prohibition on slavery
enforce
- privileges and immunities
- due process
- equal protection
enforce right to vote race, color, previous condition of certitude
collect an income tax
[liquor prohibition]
enforce suffrage
- women
- presidential vote for DC
- no poll tax requirement
- 18 - 20
lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises
pay the debts
common defense
general welfare
borrow money on the credit of the United States
regulate commerce with foreign nations
among the several states
with the Indian tribes
uniform rule of naturalization
uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States
coin money
regulate the value
foreign coin
fix the standard of weights and measures
punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States
establish post-offices and post-roads
promote the progress of science and useful arts
securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries
constitute tribunals inferior to the supreme court
define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas
offences against the law of nations
declare war
grant letters of marque and reprisal
make rules concerning captures on land and water
raise and support armies
- but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years:
provide and maintain a navy:
make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces
provide for calling forth the militia to
- execute the laws of the union
- suppress insurrections
- repel invasions
provide for organizing, arming and disciplining the militia
exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United States,
exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the state in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock-yards, and other needful buildings
make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers,
enforce prohibition on slavery
enforce
- privileges and immunities
- due process
- equal protection
enforce right to vote race, color, previous condition of certitude
collect an income tax
[liquor prohibition]
enforce suffrage
- women
- presidential vote for DC
- no poll tax requirement
- 18 - 20
Monday, September 23, 2024
Fall 2024 - GOVT 2305 Week Four Recap
What we covered last week
- Civil Liberties
- Substantive Liberties
- Procedural Liberties
- Habeas Corpus
- Bills of Attainder
- Ex Post Facto Laws
- U.S. Bill of Rights
- Texas Bill of Rights
- 14th Amendment.
- Selective Incorporation.
- Criminal Justice Policy
What we will cover week 5
Introduction to the Second Section.
The Political Institutions
- Political Ambition
Function of a Constitutional System
- Indirect Democracy
- Suffrage
- Elections
- Political Freedom
- First and 14th Amendment protections
Free Speech
Free Press
Right to Peaceful Assembly
Right to Petition for Grievances
Public Opinion
Information (Media)
Factions (Interest Groups)
Political Parties
Governmental Relations
- Civil Liberties
- Substantive Liberties
- Procedural Liberties
- Habeas Corpus
- Bills of Attainder
- Ex Post Facto Laws
- U.S. Bill of Rights
- Texas Bill of Rights
- 14th Amendment.
- Selective Incorporation.
- Criminal Justice Policy
What we will cover week 5
Introduction to the Second Section.
The Political Institutions
- Political Ambition
Function of a Constitutional System
- Indirect Democracy
- Suffrage
- Elections
- Political Freedom
- First and 14th Amendment protections
Free Speech
Free Press
Right to Peaceful Assembly
Right to Petition for Grievances
Public Opinion
Information (Media)
Factions (Interest Groups)
Political Parties
Governmental Relations
Friday, August 9, 2024
Notes From the 1875 Texas Constitution
- Click here for a transcript.
9/6/1875
- Proclamation by Richard Coke
- - Richard Coke.
- - Charles S. West.
- - John Wilkins Whitfield.
- - 81 delegates "answered their names"
- - Edward Bradford Pickett.
- - Leigh Chalmers
- - Joe Owens (AA?)
9/7/1875
- - John Reagan.
- -
21 Committees established
- Federal Relations
- State Affairs
- Bill of Rights
- Legislative Department
- Judicial Department
- Executive Department
- General Provisions
- Suffrage
- Education
- Agriculture and Stock-raising
- Publie Lands and Land Office
- Immigration
- Crime and Punishment
- Counties and County Lands
- Municipal Corporations
- Railroad Corporations
- Private Corporations
- Revenue and Taxation
- Printing and Contingent Expenses
- Engrossed and Enrolled Ordinances
- Style and Arrangement
Committee structure and assignments made by:
- E L Dorothy, Chairman
- L. W. Moore
- Geo. McCormick
- N H Darnell
- John Henry Brown
- Jno L Henry
9/8/1875
- discussions of the proper per diem.
- high per diem argued to lead to more legislation
- not interested in talent
- "retrenchment"
9/9/1875
- resolutions sent to committees
9/10/1875
- discussion of contracting a printer
9/11/1875
-
9/13/1875
-
9/14/1875
-
9/15/1875
- a member resigned - how to replace him?
-
9/16/1875
-
Sunday, June 2, 2024
Fall 2024 - Weekly Schedule
This applies to both GOVT 2305 and GOVT 2306
This will be adjusted regularly, but it'll give you an idea of what we will cover in my face to face class, and where I think you should be in my online class.
Don't hesitate to ask questions and make suggestions.
Here's how I think things will go
Intro:
- access the textbook
- review syllabus
- review Blackboard layout
- discuss first active learning assignment.
- discuss essay assignment
Week One: August 26
- Texas Declaration of Independence.
- Article 7: Texas Constitution.
- Texas Education Code.
- An Overview of the History of Public Education in Texas.
Power
- What is Power?
- - Types of Power
- - Max Weber: Traditional, Legal-Rational, and Charismatic Authority.
Government
- What is a Government?
- - Aristotle's Typology
- - The Iron Law of Oligarchy.
Politics
- What is Politics?
- - Values
- - Interests
- - Means to control governing institutions
Week Two: September 2
Constitutions
- What is a Constitution?
- - Limited Government
- - U.S. Constitution
- - Texas Constitution
- - Municipal Charters
Week Three: September 9
Week Four: September 16
Week Five: September 23
Week Six: September 30
Week Seven: October 7
Week Eight: October 14
Week Nine: October 21
Week Ten: October 28
Week Eleven: November 4
Week Twelve: November 11
Week Thirteen: November 18
Week Fourteen: November 25
Week Fifteen: December 2
Week Sixteen: December 9
Day 1: Monday, July 15
- What is Power?
- - Types of Power
- What is a Government?
- - Aristotle's Typology
- What is Politics?
- - Values
- - Interests
- - Means to control governing institutions
- What is a Constitution?
- - Limited Government
- - U.S. Constitution
- - Texas Constitution
- - Municipal Charters
Day 2: Tuesday, July 16
- What is Federalism
- - discuss the three levels of government
- - review the roles of each level of government
- - review areas where they overlap
- Constitutional Federalism
- - Granted / Enumerated Powers
- - Expressed Powers
- - Inherent Powers
- - Delegated Powers
- - Implied Powers
- - Concurrent Powers
- - Prohibited Powers
- The Legal Relationship Between the Nation, and the State and Local Governments
- - National Supremacy Clause
- - The 10th Amendment
- - Strict or Loose Construction
- The Legal Relationship Between the State and Local Governments
- - What is a City?
- - What is a County?
- - What is a Special District?
- - Dillon's Rule
- - Texas Constitution, Articles 9 and 11.
- - Local Government Code
- - City Ordinances
- Federalist Papers.
- Notes of the U.S. Constitutional Convention.
Day 3: Wednesday, July 17
Fiscal Federalism
- revenue
- expenditures
- budgeting
Taxation over history
Debt over history
US Tax Code
Texas Constitution: Article 8
Texas Tax Code
Local Taxes
State and Local Debt
Day 4: Thursday, July 18
Civil Liberties
- Definition
- Limited Government
- Original Constitution
- - Habeas Corpus
- Bill of Rights
- - US
- - Texas
- Fundamental Liberties
- - Clearly Defined
- - Undefined: 9th Amendment
- - penumbras and emanations / original intent
- Due Process
- - Security in one's persons, houses, places, and effects.
- - unreasonable search and seizures
- - indictment
- - Jury Trial
- - Cruel and Unusual Punishment
Day 5: Friday July 19
- 11th - 27th Amendments
Landmark cases
- Federalism
- Establishment Clause
- Free Exercise Clause
- - Speech: Chaplinsky
- - Search and Seizure: Terry / Riley
- - Riley
Day 6: Monday, July 22
Politics and the Political Institutions
What is Politics?
- Preview
Groups, Interests, Passion, and Conflict
- Federalist 10.
- - Washington's Farewell Address
Citizenship
- Privileges and Immunities
- Voting
- Holding Office
- Jury Service
- Equal Treatment: non-citizenship.
Public Opinion
Direct and Indirect Democracy
Day 7: Tuesday, July 23
Suffrage
- - hierarchy
- - early America
- - justifications for property ownership
- - expansion
- - - relevant amendments
- - - relevant laws
- - - relevant agencies
- - - relevant court cases
- - contraction
- Texas Constitution
- - Pre 1836
- - 1836 - 1876
- - Article 6 (1876)
- - Amendments
- - Article 6 (2024)
Is there a Right to Vote?
Day 8: Wednesday, July 24
Elections
- Basic Facts
- Elections Prior to the Constitution
Elections in the U.S. Constitution
- relevant amendments
- relevant laws
- relevant court cases
Election in the Texas Constitution
United States Election Code
Texas Election Code
Local Elections
Candidates and Campaigns
Day 9: Thursday, July 25
The Collective Action Problem
The Political Institutions
- Political Parties
- Interest Groups
- The Media
- Campaign Consultants
Campaigns and Campaign Funding
Political Movements
Day 10: Friday, July 26
A Look at the Political History of the US, Texas, and the Greater Houston area
Day 11: Monday, July 29
The Governing Institutions
The Three Powers of Government
- The Legislative
- The Executive
- The Judicial
The Importance of Separating Powers
- What is Tyranny?
- The Spirit of the Laws
- Federalist 51
Day 12: Tuesday, July 30
The Legislative Power
- Components
- - Lawmaking
- - Representation
- - Power of the Purse
- - Create the Executive and Judicial Branches
- - Checks and Balances
- Legislative Federalism
- - Congress - Article 1
- - Texas Legislature - Article 3
- - Local Legislatures
- - - City Councils
- First Congress.
- Judiciary Act of 1789.
Day 13: Wednesday, July 31
The Executive Power
- Chief Executive
- Powers
- - Constitutional
- - Extra Constitutional
Singular v Plural
- U.S. President - Article 2
- Texas Plural Executive - Article 4
Presidential Advising.
- Cabinet: Executive Departments.
- Executive Office of the President
- White House Staff
Powers of the Texas Governor
- Appointments
- Filling Vacancies
- Line Item Veto
Local Executive Power
- Mayors
- County Judges
- Boards
- Independent agencies of the United States government.
- United States federal executive departments.
Day 14: Thursday, August 1
The Executive - The Bureaucracy
- Civil Service
- Public Sector
The Civil Service
- Numbers
- Organization
- Functions
US:
Texas:
Local:
Day 15: Friday, August 2
The Judiciary
Courts
Arbitration and Adjudication
Trials and Appeals
- U.S. Constitution: Article 3
- Texas Constitution: Article 5
- Local Courts
Judiciary Acts
- Current Design
- Current Justices
- Judicial Process
- Current cases
Criminal Justice
Day 16: Monday, August 6
Public Policy
Markets: Supply and Demand
Types of Goods
- Private
- Public
Market Failure
- Public Goods
- Monopoly
- Information
- Externalities
Social Policy
- Morality
- Poverty
- Personal Behavior
- The Extent of Individual Liberty
Political Culture and Public Policy
- Traditionalistic
- Individualistic
- Moralistic
Day 17: Wednesday, August 7
Federalism and Public Policy
- National
- - Delegated
- State
- - Reserved
- Local
Police Powers
- Health
- Welfare
- Safety
- Morals
Day 18: Thursday, August 8
Equal Treatment
- Hierarchy: What justifies unequal treatment?
- Laws that maintain inequity
- -
14th Amendment
- Protected Classes
- Strict Scrutiny, Heightened Scrutiny, Rational Basis Review
Day 19: Friday , August 9
Fiscal and Monetary Policy
Budgeting
Department of the Treasury
Revenue
- Tax Policy
- - Constitutional
- Borrowing
- - Deficits
- - Debt
- Expenditures
- - Appropriations
- - Appropriations Committees
- Budgeting
- - Budget Committees
- - Deficits, Surpluses, Debt
- Graphics
Day 20: Monday, August 12
National
- External Defense
- Foreign Affairs
- Insurrection
- Commerce
State / Texas
- Education
- Health and Human Services
- Economic Development
- Criminal Justice and Public Safety
- Natural Resources
- Regulatory
Local
- Alvin Code of Ordinances
- Pearland Code of Ordinances
- Houston Code of Ordinances
Day 21: August 13, Tuesday
- Commerce and Labor
- Public Health
- Public Education
Review:
Sunday, May 5, 2024
Questions from my 8 week online class - please note that I'm still in the process of answering these. If you are a student, try pasting these questions into Chat GPT. See what you find.
- What is the difference between lobbying and interest groups?
An interest group is a political organization. They are somewhat similar to political parties except that they do not recruit candidates to run under a label. Instead, they attempt to influence candidates and members of the three governing institutions.
Click here for more: Interest Groups.
Lobbying is a tactic used by interest groups to influence government, specifically the legislative and executive branches. A lobbyist is a person whose skill set includes the ability to effectively communicate with office holders and staffers in those institutions.
Click here for more: Lobbying.
- What is a special session?
In Texas, a special session is one that occurs after the end of the regular session. The governor, and only the governor can call one if there are unresolved issues remaining after the end of the regular session. They can only last for 30 days, and can only deal with issues approved by the governor. Governors can call as many as they wish.
Click here for regular sessions.
Click here for special sessions.
Click here for Texas Legislature 101: Understanding the state government and how it passes laws.
- Why would someone go to an appellate court?
The purpose of an appellate court is to hear allegations that a procedural irregularity of some sort occurred in a trial. Someone would go to an appellate court if, after being found guilty of a crime, or liable of a civil infraction, they believe a procedural error has occurred. The result may be a reversal of the trial decision, or a new trial. Or the appellate court could rule that the trial was fine.
Click here for more: Texas Courts of Appeals.
- Which political parties and interest groups dominate Texas politics, and what impact do they
have on policy decisions?
Texas has a history of social conservatism and traditionalism. In its early years, it had an agrarian economy, but over the past century, it has become more business oriented. The parties and interest groups that support those positions tend to be dominant, at least statewide. This in not necessarily true for the cities.
Statewide, the Texas Democratic Party was dominant until it reacted against the national party's shift towards equal protection and civil rights. Conservative Democrats in Texas slowly shifted towards the Texas Republican Party in the 40s and 50s. By the 90s and early 2000s, the statewide shift was complete, though Democrats continue to be strong in the cities.
The oil and gas sector continues to be the dominate interest group in the state, but other business groups are powerful as well. These include real estate, finance, and hi tech. Groups that support labor and the public sector - teachers for example - are less powerful.
- What are the consequences for representation and political power, and how does Texas'
redistricting process operate?
Building off the previous answer, the consequences are that public policy in the state tends to favor the interests on business, as well as people who promote traditional conservative lifestyles.
Redistricting occurs every 10 years following each national census. The simply purpose of the census is to reapportion each state's representation in the United States House of Representatives according to its population. The numbers are then used to guide the redrawing of each district in order to ensure that each district has the same number of people in it. This process is done by the legislature of each state.
Each state also takes that data and uses it to redraw the districts in their respective legislatures and any other districts that might apply. The process is overseen by the Texas Redistricting Board.
- Click here for their website.
Question 1: What are the various levels of the judiciary system and what does each level do? I
noticed this was on the quiz and wanted a better understanding of these levels.
The levels of the Texas Judiciary are established - but not laid out - in Article 5 of the Texas Constitution. The levels are laid out more thoroughly in Texas Government Code, but the best way to answer your question is to check out the following map;
- Court Structure of Texas.
Question 2: Why is the lieutenant governor important, what does he dictate over? On the quizzes,
the role of lieutenant governor seems significant since there were several questions about this
position.
The Texas Lieutenant Governor is one of several positions created in Article 4 of the Texas Constitution. It is independently elected, meaning that the governor has not control over it. The position is established to be the presiding officer of the Texas Senate, which contains the power to appoint people to committees, designate committee chairs, and steer legislation through the bill making process. That is the key to the position's power.
Click here for more.
Question 3: What is the largest difference between the parties in terms of views like tradionalists
and individualists or are they more alike than different? I have noticed they have a lot in
common in the textbook and quizzes where their radical ideas are different, but others are the
same.
Interesting question. Texas is primarily a traditionalist / individualist state, with pockets of moralism in the urban areas. Policies that preserve traditional values - which includes opposition to same-sex marriage and equal treatment in general - and create favorable conditions for business, tend to be adopted by the Republican Party while those that directly focus on the well being of individuals tend to be adopted by the Democratic Party.
Sometimes there is overlap between the two major parties in the positions they take. Sometimes - like now - there is less. This is a measure of polarization. If the positions of the two parties are extreme, and there is no middle ground, then we say that's a time of party polarization. The parties have little in common. If not, and there is middle ground - opportunity to compromise - then there is less polarization. The parties have more in common.
Why do they agree sometimes and disagree others? Lots of people study this. Generally its a consequence of the nature of politics at a particular moment in time, and what it takes to win a specific election.
For more on the Texas Democrats click here.
For more on the Texas Republicans click here.
My first topic is understanding the organization of the political parties.
There are things that should help you understand parties in Texas, as well the rest of the nation.
1 - Their principle purpose is to win elections and control the governing apparatus.
2 - The winner take all system favors the development of two major parties, that is, parties that are in fact competitive and likely to win elections. In Texas these are the Republican and Democratic Parties. Smaller - minor parties - exist as well, but do not get enough votes to actually win elections. However. they can have an influence on elections by having an impact on the number of votes received by major party candidates.
- Click here for more on winner take all elections.
- Click here for more on the two party system.
3 - Parties exist on the national, state, and local (county) levels. Since the United States has a federal system of government, and elections occur on all levels, parties exist on all levels in order to coordinate attempts to control each level of government. This means that there is a national party, 50 state parties, and over a thousand county parties in the nation. In addition, there are small clubs and other affiliated organizations.
4 - The major parties are divided into permanent and temporary organizations. The former consists of the staff required to run day to day operations, the latter is composed of people who vote in primaries and participate in party conventions.
- Click here for more.
The next topic is the purpose of government sessions and special sessions.
Look at the answer above for special sessions.
If you want more:
Legislative sessions and years.
Special Sessions of the Texas Legislature.
My last topic is understanding the difference between the 1845 constitution and the Texas constitution.
I assume you mean the current Texas Constitution which was written in 1876 and amendment about 520 times since then. In structural terms, they are very similar, meaning that they establish three governing institutions and are based on "the people." There are other such similarities.
They are also significantly different in many areas. The 1845 constitution was the Texas' first state constitution and bore similarities to other state constitutions. Recall that the 1836 Constitution was a national constitution. The 1876 Constitution was the last of three constitutions Texas offered as a condition for allowing it to be officially re-recognized by the national government. Two previous attempts had failed.
Other differences include that after the rebellion, the article on slavery became the article on suffrage. After the ratification of the initial 1876 constitution, which favored the interests of farmers, it was modified gradually over time to favor the interest of business.
There's much more. Hopefully this helps you get a handle on that. For more, you should check out the following website: Tarlton Law Library.
I linked you to the page which contains further links to al the Texas Constitutions
You might also get something out of these:
- Constitution of 1845.
- Constitution of 1876.
I still get a little confused on how the voting works in order to vote someone in office, a higher office in Texas. Each role seems so different.
Each role is different. That's why you are confused - it's confusing, but there is a reason for it. Review the material in the chapters on each of the governing departments, as well as the chapter on elections. Then think about it. I want you to be prepared for the tests and quizzes, but really understanding this stuff takes time. It will makes much more sense the more you participate.
For now just understand that for state office, each major office - with exceptions - is elected to office first by being nominated by the voters of their party in a primary election, then by all voters in a general election. This happens every even numbered year. Often national and local positions are determined then as well. The individuals who can vote, must meet qualifications laid out in the Texas Constitution and register to vote.
The length of terms varies depending on what we expect from each position.
2 year terms - House of Representatives
4 year terms - Senate and Executive Positions
6 year terms - Appellate courts
Check out this page in the Texas Secretary of States' website, it list all of the candidates for office in Texas in the 2024 election.
- Offices up for Election in 2024.
How many Texas constitutions where there? Or modifications? Some readings make it seem like so many but other readings make it seem like one.
The best way to find out is to look through the info you can find here: Constitutions of Texas 1824 - 1876.
You'll notice there have been 8.
In addition, the current constitution has been modified over 500 times since it was originally written and ratified in 1876. For more click here:
Why was the permit university fund created?
The Permanent University Fund was created to be a funding source for UT and Texas A&M.
Click here for more.
What is the difference between lobbying for federal policy and state policy specifically in Texas?
Obviously the biggest difference is what the purpose of the lobbying is. To impact national policy or state policy. Those are different and involve different sets of players, under different sets of rules.
If you want to jump into it:
- LOBBYING IN TEXAS - A GUIDE TO THE TEXAS LAW.
- 2022 Lobbying Disclosure.
- Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995.
According to Chat GPT, these are the basics of any lobbying regulations:
1 - Registration: Lobbyists typically need to register with government authorities, disclosing who they are representing and what issues they are lobbying on. This ensures transparency and accountability in the lobbying process.
2 - Disclosure: Lobbyists may be required to disclose their activities, including whom they're lobbying, the issues they're advocating for or against, and the resources they're using (such as funding or support).
3 - Ethical Standards: Many jurisdictions have codes of conduct or ethical standards that lobbyists must adhere to. This can include rules about conflicts of interest, gifts or favors, and honesty in communications.
4 - Reporting Requirements: Lobbyists might be required to report their activities at regular intervals, detailing their interactions with government officials, expenditures, and any other relevant information.
5 - Restrictions on Gifts and Contributions: To prevent undue influence, there may be limits on the value of gifts or contributions that lobbyists can offer to public officials.
6 - Cooling-off Periods: Some jurisdictions impose cooling-off periods, during which former government officials or employees cannot immediately transition into lobbying roles. This is to prevent the revolving door phenomenon and conflicts of interest.
7 - Anti-Corruption Measures: Lobbying regulations often include anti-corruption measures to prevent bribery, kickbacks, or other forms of illicit influence.
8 - Penalties for Non-Compliance: There are usually penalties for violating lobbying regulations, which can range from fines to criminal charges, depending on the severity of the offense.
How are people with left and right political ideologies dispersed in Texas?
Generally the more conservative people - especially regarding social policy - can be found in rural and suburban areas, and the more liberal individuals are found in urban areas.
For more detail:
- Political ideology among adults in Texas.
- SOME NOTES ON THE POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE 2022 ELECTION IN TEXAS.
- The seven political states of Texas.
- The New Political Geography of the Lone Star State.
- Analysis: The blue dots in Texas’ red political sea.
What methods are used to incentivize political participation?
Great question. Interest groups and political parties ask it also. There are many factors that reduce engagement, but often its simply because people don't always feel that they will have no impact, or that they don't have to. They can free ride on the participation of others. This is an inevitable problem with working within groups.
For interest groups I'd suggest reviewing the material on selective incentives. These are designed to provide a tangible benefit for people in order to encourage them to work for a group's goals.
Type this into Chat GPT and see what answer you get: What are the selective incentives to group participation?
For increasing voter turnout, type this: how can voter participation be increased?
It's a great tool, use it.
What is the struggle for Texas?
I really don't know what that question is supposed to mean unless it pertains to political disputes and attempts to win elections and control the apparatus of the government.
If it's about struggling to retain some sort of "Texan" identity, then we have to define what the identity is. It's a pretty big and diverse state.
What does federalism mean?
The division of government into three levels: the national, state, and local.
What are Texas political parties?
Political organizations that recruit candidates to compete in elections for government office.
How does the influx of people migrating to Texas with Democratic views affect the future of
Texas as a “Republican” state? What are some of the biggest threats to the identity of Texas?
If the newcomers are mostly Democrats, then that jeopardizes the ability of the Republican Party to continue to dominate the state.
Is the Plural Executive an effective way to govern a state like Texas? Is there a more effective model out there?
No it is not, but that why Texas has it. A plural executive makes the execution of the laws less efficient, but that also makes it more controllable but the general population. Dispersing power makes it easier to limit.
It is more efficient to have a singular executive, like exists on the national level.
How does the structure of the Texas government impact the policymaking process? I think specifically the plural executive and a bicameral legislature confuse me a little. Related to this, I also wonder how they balance the power between all these officials.
The simple purpose of the structure of Texas politics is to limit its power by slowing it down. Both the plural executive and the bicameral legislature slow the policy making process down by separating power in the executive and legislative branches respectively. Doing so helps balance power within each branch since one often needs the others in order to establish and implement policy.
In what ways does the Texas Constitution of 1876 continue to influence contemporary Texas politics and governance in current times? I want to learn what policies have persisted all of these years and what we had to modify.
Double check the info in your textbook chapter. Recall that it has been amended over 500 times since 1876, so its impact had changed in significant ways.
What hasn't changed is the basic structure and duties of the each of the governing institutions, the relationship between the Texas government and the people of Texas. the relationship between the Texas government and local governments in the state, the requirement that free public education be provided, that the state controls its public lands, and a handful of others.
But the amendments have changed many things over time.
Texas can now get in debt, bail has been restricted, the issuance of property taxes has been narrowed, the terms of executive officials has been expanded, the income tax has been prohibited, some forms of gambling have been allowed, funding has been made available to business interests, as well as a handful of others.
For more, try comparing the original 1876 document to the current document.
- 1876 version.
- 2024 version.
What role do interest groups play when shaping Texas government policies? How can they contribute to our political outcomes on controversial topics like immigration, healthcare, etc?
Assume that behind any area of public policy is a set of groups organized to protect the various interests. They fight amongst each other to ensure that whatever is being considered will best secure the interests of that group. They do so in a variety of ways.
I just pasted this into Chat GPT: What tactics do interest groups use to influence public policy?
Give it a try, I found lots of good stuff.
How may political ideologies and/or partisan divisions affect Texas public policy, more specifically on health and education, and how does Texas's approach to public policy compare to other states? Lastly, are there any very recent discussions regarding healthcare in Texas?
Read through this: State Political Culture.
Here's one place you can go to catch up on health care policy in Texas: Texas Tribune.
An interest group is a political organization. They are somewhat similar to political parties except that they do not recruit candidates to run under a label. Instead, they attempt to influence candidates and members of the three governing institutions.
Click here for more: Interest Groups.
Lobbying is a tactic used by interest groups to influence government, specifically the legislative and executive branches. A lobbyist is a person whose skill set includes the ability to effectively communicate with office holders and staffers in those institutions.
Click here for more: Lobbying.
- What is a special session?
In Texas, a special session is one that occurs after the end of the regular session. The governor, and only the governor can call one if there are unresolved issues remaining after the end of the regular session. They can only last for 30 days, and can only deal with issues approved by the governor. Governors can call as many as they wish.
Click here for regular sessions.
Click here for special sessions.
Click here for Texas Legislature 101: Understanding the state government and how it passes laws.
- Why would someone go to an appellate court?
The purpose of an appellate court is to hear allegations that a procedural irregularity of some sort occurred in a trial. Someone would go to an appellate court if, after being found guilty of a crime, or liable of a civil infraction, they believe a procedural error has occurred. The result may be a reversal of the trial decision, or a new trial. Or the appellate court could rule that the trial was fine.
Click here for more: Texas Courts of Appeals.
- Which political parties and interest groups dominate Texas politics, and what impact do they
have on policy decisions?
Texas has a history of social conservatism and traditionalism. In its early years, it had an agrarian economy, but over the past century, it has become more business oriented. The parties and interest groups that support those positions tend to be dominant, at least statewide. This in not necessarily true for the cities.
Statewide, the Texas Democratic Party was dominant until it reacted against the national party's shift towards equal protection and civil rights. Conservative Democrats in Texas slowly shifted towards the Texas Republican Party in the 40s and 50s. By the 90s and early 2000s, the statewide shift was complete, though Democrats continue to be strong in the cities.
The oil and gas sector continues to be the dominate interest group in the state, but other business groups are powerful as well. These include real estate, finance, and hi tech. Groups that support labor and the public sector - teachers for example - are less powerful.
- What are the consequences for representation and political power, and how does Texas'
redistricting process operate?
Building off the previous answer, the consequences are that public policy in the state tends to favor the interests on business, as well as people who promote traditional conservative lifestyles.
Redistricting occurs every 10 years following each national census. The simply purpose of the census is to reapportion each state's representation in the United States House of Representatives according to its population. The numbers are then used to guide the redrawing of each district in order to ensure that each district has the same number of people in it. This process is done by the legislature of each state.
Each state also takes that data and uses it to redraw the districts in their respective legislatures and any other districts that might apply. The process is overseen by the Texas Redistricting Board.
- Click here for their website.
Question 1: What are the various levels of the judiciary system and what does each level do? I
noticed this was on the quiz and wanted a better understanding of these levels.
The levels of the Texas Judiciary are established - but not laid out - in Article 5 of the Texas Constitution. The levels are laid out more thoroughly in Texas Government Code, but the best way to answer your question is to check out the following map;
- Court Structure of Texas.
Question 2: Why is the lieutenant governor important, what does he dictate over? On the quizzes,
the role of lieutenant governor seems significant since there were several questions about this
position.
The Texas Lieutenant Governor is one of several positions created in Article 4 of the Texas Constitution. It is independently elected, meaning that the governor has not control over it. The position is established to be the presiding officer of the Texas Senate, which contains the power to appoint people to committees, designate committee chairs, and steer legislation through the bill making process. That is the key to the position's power.
Click here for more.
Question 3: What is the largest difference between the parties in terms of views like tradionalists
and individualists or are they more alike than different? I have noticed they have a lot in
common in the textbook and quizzes where their radical ideas are different, but others are the
same.
Interesting question. Texas is primarily a traditionalist / individualist state, with pockets of moralism in the urban areas. Policies that preserve traditional values - which includes opposition to same-sex marriage and equal treatment in general - and create favorable conditions for business, tend to be adopted by the Republican Party while those that directly focus on the well being of individuals tend to be adopted by the Democratic Party.
Sometimes there is overlap between the two major parties in the positions they take. Sometimes - like now - there is less. This is a measure of polarization. If the positions of the two parties are extreme, and there is no middle ground, then we say that's a time of party polarization. The parties have little in common. If not, and there is middle ground - opportunity to compromise - then there is less polarization. The parties have more in common.
Why do they agree sometimes and disagree others? Lots of people study this. Generally its a consequence of the nature of politics at a particular moment in time, and what it takes to win a specific election.
For more on the Texas Democrats click here.
For more on the Texas Republicans click here.
My first topic is understanding the organization of the political parties.
There are things that should help you understand parties in Texas, as well the rest of the nation.
1 - Their principle purpose is to win elections and control the governing apparatus.
2 - The winner take all system favors the development of two major parties, that is, parties that are in fact competitive and likely to win elections. In Texas these are the Republican and Democratic Parties. Smaller - minor parties - exist as well, but do not get enough votes to actually win elections. However. they can have an influence on elections by having an impact on the number of votes received by major party candidates.
- Click here for more on winner take all elections.
- Click here for more on the two party system.
3 - Parties exist on the national, state, and local (county) levels. Since the United States has a federal system of government, and elections occur on all levels, parties exist on all levels in order to coordinate attempts to control each level of government. This means that there is a national party, 50 state parties, and over a thousand county parties in the nation. In addition, there are small clubs and other affiliated organizations.
4 - The major parties are divided into permanent and temporary organizations. The former consists of the staff required to run day to day operations, the latter is composed of people who vote in primaries and participate in party conventions.
- Click here for more.
The next topic is the purpose of government sessions and special sessions.
Look at the answer above for special sessions.
If you want more:
Legislative sessions and years.
Special Sessions of the Texas Legislature.
My last topic is understanding the difference between the 1845 constitution and the Texas constitution.
I assume you mean the current Texas Constitution which was written in 1876 and amendment about 520 times since then. In structural terms, they are very similar, meaning that they establish three governing institutions and are based on "the people." There are other such similarities.
They are also significantly different in many areas. The 1845 constitution was the Texas' first state constitution and bore similarities to other state constitutions. Recall that the 1836 Constitution was a national constitution. The 1876 Constitution was the last of three constitutions Texas offered as a condition for allowing it to be officially re-recognized by the national government. Two previous attempts had failed.
Other differences include that after the rebellion, the article on slavery became the article on suffrage. After the ratification of the initial 1876 constitution, which favored the interests of farmers, it was modified gradually over time to favor the interest of business.
There's much more. Hopefully this helps you get a handle on that. For more, you should check out the following website: Tarlton Law Library.
I linked you to the page which contains further links to al the Texas Constitutions
You might also get something out of these:
- Constitution of 1845.
- Constitution of 1876.
I still get a little confused on how the voting works in order to vote someone in office, a higher office in Texas. Each role seems so different.
Each role is different. That's why you are confused - it's confusing, but there is a reason for it. Review the material in the chapters on each of the governing departments, as well as the chapter on elections. Then think about it. I want you to be prepared for the tests and quizzes, but really understanding this stuff takes time. It will makes much more sense the more you participate.
For now just understand that for state office, each major office - with exceptions - is elected to office first by being nominated by the voters of their party in a primary election, then by all voters in a general election. This happens every even numbered year. Often national and local positions are determined then as well. The individuals who can vote, must meet qualifications laid out in the Texas Constitution and register to vote.
The length of terms varies depending on what we expect from each position.
2 year terms - House of Representatives
4 year terms - Senate and Executive Positions
6 year terms - Appellate courts
Check out this page in the Texas Secretary of States' website, it list all of the candidates for office in Texas in the 2024 election.
- Offices up for Election in 2024.
How many Texas constitutions where there? Or modifications? Some readings make it seem like so many but other readings make it seem like one.
The best way to find out is to look through the info you can find here: Constitutions of Texas 1824 - 1876.
You'll notice there have been 8.
In addition, the current constitution has been modified over 500 times since it was originally written and ratified in 1876. For more click here:
Why was the permit university fund created?
The Permanent University Fund was created to be a funding source for UT and Texas A&M.
Click here for more.
What is the difference between lobbying for federal policy and state policy specifically in Texas?
Obviously the biggest difference is what the purpose of the lobbying is. To impact national policy or state policy. Those are different and involve different sets of players, under different sets of rules.
If you want to jump into it:
- LOBBYING IN TEXAS - A GUIDE TO THE TEXAS LAW.
- 2022 Lobbying Disclosure.
- Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995.
According to Chat GPT, these are the basics of any lobbying regulations:
1 - Registration: Lobbyists typically need to register with government authorities, disclosing who they are representing and what issues they are lobbying on. This ensures transparency and accountability in the lobbying process.
2 - Disclosure: Lobbyists may be required to disclose their activities, including whom they're lobbying, the issues they're advocating for or against, and the resources they're using (such as funding or support).
3 - Ethical Standards: Many jurisdictions have codes of conduct or ethical standards that lobbyists must adhere to. This can include rules about conflicts of interest, gifts or favors, and honesty in communications.
4 - Reporting Requirements: Lobbyists might be required to report their activities at regular intervals, detailing their interactions with government officials, expenditures, and any other relevant information.
5 - Restrictions on Gifts and Contributions: To prevent undue influence, there may be limits on the value of gifts or contributions that lobbyists can offer to public officials.
6 - Cooling-off Periods: Some jurisdictions impose cooling-off periods, during which former government officials or employees cannot immediately transition into lobbying roles. This is to prevent the revolving door phenomenon and conflicts of interest.
7 - Anti-Corruption Measures: Lobbying regulations often include anti-corruption measures to prevent bribery, kickbacks, or other forms of illicit influence.
8 - Penalties for Non-Compliance: There are usually penalties for violating lobbying regulations, which can range from fines to criminal charges, depending on the severity of the offense.
How are people with left and right political ideologies dispersed in Texas?
Generally the more conservative people - especially regarding social policy - can be found in rural and suburban areas, and the more liberal individuals are found in urban areas.
For more detail:
- Political ideology among adults in Texas.
- SOME NOTES ON THE POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE 2022 ELECTION IN TEXAS.
- The seven political states of Texas.
- The New Political Geography of the Lone Star State.
- Analysis: The blue dots in Texas’ red political sea.
What methods are used to incentivize political participation?
Great question. Interest groups and political parties ask it also. There are many factors that reduce engagement, but often its simply because people don't always feel that they will have no impact, or that they don't have to. They can free ride on the participation of others. This is an inevitable problem with working within groups.
For interest groups I'd suggest reviewing the material on selective incentives. These are designed to provide a tangible benefit for people in order to encourage them to work for a group's goals.
Type this into Chat GPT and see what answer you get: What are the selective incentives to group participation?
For increasing voter turnout, type this: how can voter participation be increased?
It's a great tool, use it.
What is the struggle for Texas?
I really don't know what that question is supposed to mean unless it pertains to political disputes and attempts to win elections and control the apparatus of the government.
If it's about struggling to retain some sort of "Texan" identity, then we have to define what the identity is. It's a pretty big and diverse state.
What does federalism mean?
The division of government into three levels: the national, state, and local.
What are Texas political parties?
Political organizations that recruit candidates to compete in elections for government office.
How does the influx of people migrating to Texas with Democratic views affect the future of
Texas as a “Republican” state? What are some of the biggest threats to the identity of Texas?
If the newcomers are mostly Democrats, then that jeopardizes the ability of the Republican Party to continue to dominate the state.
Is the Plural Executive an effective way to govern a state like Texas? Is there a more effective model out there?
No it is not, but that why Texas has it. A plural executive makes the execution of the laws less efficient, but that also makes it more controllable but the general population. Dispersing power makes it easier to limit.
It is more efficient to have a singular executive, like exists on the national level.
How does the structure of the Texas government impact the policymaking process? I think specifically the plural executive and a bicameral legislature confuse me a little. Related to this, I also wonder how they balance the power between all these officials.
The simple purpose of the structure of Texas politics is to limit its power by slowing it down. Both the plural executive and the bicameral legislature slow the policy making process down by separating power in the executive and legislative branches respectively. Doing so helps balance power within each branch since one often needs the others in order to establish and implement policy.
In what ways does the Texas Constitution of 1876 continue to influence contemporary Texas politics and governance in current times? I want to learn what policies have persisted all of these years and what we had to modify.
Double check the info in your textbook chapter. Recall that it has been amended over 500 times since 1876, so its impact had changed in significant ways.
What hasn't changed is the basic structure and duties of the each of the governing institutions, the relationship between the Texas government and the people of Texas. the relationship between the Texas government and local governments in the state, the requirement that free public education be provided, that the state controls its public lands, and a handful of others.
But the amendments have changed many things over time.
Texas can now get in debt, bail has been restricted, the issuance of property taxes has been narrowed, the terms of executive officials has been expanded, the income tax has been prohibited, some forms of gambling have been allowed, funding has been made available to business interests, as well as a handful of others.
For more, try comparing the original 1876 document to the current document.
- 1876 version.
- 2024 version.
What role do interest groups play when shaping Texas government policies? How can they contribute to our political outcomes on controversial topics like immigration, healthcare, etc?
Assume that behind any area of public policy is a set of groups organized to protect the various interests. They fight amongst each other to ensure that whatever is being considered will best secure the interests of that group. They do so in a variety of ways.
I just pasted this into Chat GPT: What tactics do interest groups use to influence public policy?
Give it a try, I found lots of good stuff.
How may political ideologies and/or partisan divisions affect Texas public policy, more specifically on health and education, and how does Texas's approach to public policy compare to other states? Lastly, are there any very recent discussions regarding healthcare in Texas?
Read through this: State Political Culture.
Here's one place you can go to catch up on health care policy in Texas: Texas Tribune.
Tuesday, February 20, 2024
Was the Founding Undemocratic? The Property Requirement for Voting
- Click here for the link.
Quotes:
Alexander Hamilton:
"If it were probable that every man would give his vote freely, and without influence of any kind, then, upon the true theory and genuine principles of liberty, every member of the community, however poor, should have a vote… But since that can hardly be expected, in persons of indigent fortunes, or such as are under the immediate dominion of others, all popular states have been obliged to establish certain qualifications, whereby, some who are suspected to have no will of their own, are excluded from voting; in order to set other individuals, whose wills may be supposed independent, more thoroughly upon a level with each other."
John Adams:
It is certain in theory, that the only moral foundation of government is the consent of the people. But to what an extent shall we carry this principle? Shall we say, that every individual of the community, old and young, male and female, as well as rich and poor, must consent, expressly, to every act of legislation? No, you will say. This is impossible. How then does the right arise in the majority to govern the minority, against their will? Whence arises the right of the men to govern women, without their consent? Whence the right of the old to bind the young, without theirs?
why exclude women? You will say, because their delicacy renders them unfit for practice and experience, in the great business of life, and the hardy enterprises of war, as well as the arduous cares of state. Besides, their attention is so much engaged with the necessary nurture of their children, that nature has made them fittest for domestic cares. And children have not judgment or will of their own. True. But will not these reasons apply to others? Is it not equally true, that men in general in every society, who are wholly destitute of property, are also too little acquainted with public affairs to form a right judgment, and too dependent upon other men to have a will of their own? If this is a fact, if you give to every man, who has no property, a vote, will you not make a fine encouraging provision for corruption by your fundamental law? Such is the frailty of the human heart, that very few men, who have no property, have any judgment of their own. They talk and vote as they are directed by some man of property, who has attached their minds to his interest…
James Madison:
The right of suffrage is a fundamental article in republican constitutions. The regulation of it is, at the same time, a task of peculiar delicacy. Allow the right exclusively to property, and the rights of persons may be oppressed. The feudal polity alone sufficiently proves it. Extend it equally to all, and the rights of property or the claims of justice may be overruled by a majority without property, or interested in measures of injustice. Of this abundant proof is afforded by other popular governments and is not without examples in our own, particularly in the laws impairing the obligation of contracts.
In civilized communities, property as well as personal rights is an essential object of the laws, which encourage industry by securing the enjoyment of its fruits: that industry from which property results, and that enjoyment which consists not merely in its immediate use, but in its posthumous destination to objects of choice and of kindred affection.
In a just and a free government, therefore, the rights both of property and of persons ought to be effectually guarded. Will the former be so in case of a universal and equal suffrage? Will the latter be so in case of a suffrage confined to the holders of property?
Monday, October 23, 2023
UH - terminology module 3
- Fed Chapter 5: Civil Rights.
discrimination
civil rights
equal protection clause
civil rights movement
civil rights amendments
Jim Crow laws
separate but equal rule
NAACP
NAWSA
Brown v Board
de facto segregation
de jure segregation
Civil Rights Act of 1964
public accommodations.
- Know Your Rights: Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
employment.
- employment discrimination.
housing
- housing discrimination.
- Fair Housing Act.
-
marriage.
mass incarceration.
rational basis test
intermediate scrutiny
suspect classifications
strict scrutiny
affirmative action
valid government purpose
- Fed Chapter 6: Public Opinion
public opinion
values
beliefs
liberty
equality of opportunity
political ideology
attitudes
opinion
liberal
conservative
libertarian
socialist
political socialization
agents of socialization
gender gap
political leaders
marketplace of ideas
responsiveness
polls
random sample
social desirability effect
selection bias
push polls
bandwagon effect
- Fed Chapter 7: The Media
media
journalism
the profit motive
public media
political news
mass media
media conglomerates
online news
social media
digital media
digital divide
newspapers
advertising revenue
television
broadcast media
narrowcasting
radio
partisan press
penny press
citizen journalism
quality
fake news
misinformation
disinformation
propaganda
impact
trust
agenda setting
gatekeeping
framing
priming
leaks
adversarial journalism
regulations
FCC
Telecommunications Act
equal time rule
right of rebuttal
- Fed Chapter 8: Political Participation and Voting
protest
voting
suffrage
turnout
traditional political participation
digital political participation
expressive politics
who votes?
socioeconomic status
age
race and ethnicity
African Americans
Whites
Latinos / Latinas
Asian Americans
Gender
Religion
mobilization
electoral competition
ballot measures
registration
felony convictions
absentee ballots
early voting
discrimination
civil rights
equal protection clause
civil rights movement
civil rights amendments
Jim Crow laws
separate but equal rule
NAACP
NAWSA
Brown v Board
de facto segregation
de jure segregation
Civil Rights Act of 1964
public accommodations.
- Know Your Rights: Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
employment.
- employment discrimination.
housing
- housing discrimination.
- Fair Housing Act.
-
marriage.
mass incarceration.
rational basis test
intermediate scrutiny
suspect classifications
strict scrutiny
affirmative action
valid government purpose
- Fed Chapter 6: Public Opinion
public opinion
values
beliefs
liberty
equality of opportunity
political ideology
attitudes
opinion
liberal
conservative
libertarian
socialist
political socialization
agents of socialization
gender gap
political leaders
marketplace of ideas
responsiveness
polls
random sample
social desirability effect
selection bias
push polls
bandwagon effect
- Fed Chapter 7: The Media
media
journalism
the profit motive
public media
political news
mass media
media conglomerates
online news
social media
digital media
digital divide
newspapers
advertising revenue
television
broadcast media
narrowcasting
radio
partisan press
penny press
citizen journalism
quality
fake news
misinformation
disinformation
propaganda
impact
trust
agenda setting
gatekeeping
framing
priming
leaks
adversarial journalism
regulations
FCC
Telecommunications Act
equal time rule
right of rebuttal
- Fed Chapter 8: Political Participation and Voting
protest
voting
suffrage
turnout
traditional political participation
digital political participation
expressive politics
who votes?
socioeconomic status
age
race and ethnicity
African Americans
Whites
Latinos / Latinas
Asian Americans
Gender
Religion
mobilization
electoral competition
ballot measures
registration
felony convictions
absentee ballots
early voting
Sunday, October 8, 2023
Political Machines
These proliferated once suffrage expanded to wage earners in the early 1830s. These networks bound together parties, voters, and the civil service.
- Britannica:
. . . in U.S. politics, a party organization, headed by a single boss or small autocratic group, that commands enough votes to maintain political and administrative control of a city, county, or state. The rapid growth of American cities in the 19th century, a result of both immigration and migration from rural areas, created huge problems for city governments, which were often poorly structured and unable to provide services. In those conditions, political machines—such as Tammany Hall, run by boss William Magear Tweed (1823–73) in New York City—were able to build a loyal voter following, especially among immigrant groups, by performing such favors as providing jobs or housing.
Political machines are characterized by a disciplined and hierarchical organization, reaching down to neighborhood and block organizers, that enables the machine to respond to the problems of individual neighborhoods, or even families, in exchange for loyalty at the polls. The term refers to their ability to elect candidates or enact measures with mechanical efficiency and predictability.
- Wikipedia.
In the politics of representative democracies, a political machine is a party organization that recruits its members by the use of tangible incentives (such as money or political jobs) and that is characterized by a high degree of leadership control over member activity. The machine's power is based on the ability of the boss or group to get out the vote for their candidates on election day.
While these elements are common to most political parties and organizations, they are essential to political machines, which rely on hierarchy and rewards for political power, often enforced by a strong party whip structure. Machines sometimes have a political boss, typically rely on patronage, the spoils system, "behind-the-scenes" control, and longstanding political ties within the structure of a representative democracy. Machines typically are organized on a permanent basis instead of a single election or event. The term "machine" usually is used by its reform-minded enemies in a pejorative sense. The terms "machine" and "boss" in the 19th century were negative epithets used by their reform-minded opponents. However in the 20th century these became standard terms for scholars and analysts who sometimes emphasized their positive contributions.
“Machine politics” is a phenomenon sometimes seen in an urban political context, especially in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Political machines are characterized by tight organization and a strong centralized leadership, typically in the form of a “boss.”
They operate by dominating the political landscape. The “machine” gets its name from its ability to reliably, even mechanically, turn out the votes needed to get its members elected and its measures passed.
- The Rise and Fall of Urban Political Patronage Machines.
- Tammany Hall.
- Byrd Machine.
- TSHA: Boss Rule.
- The Origins of the Parr Machine in Duval County, Texas.
Wednesday, August 23, 2023
From Teaching America: The Educational Background of the Framers (of the U.S. Constitution)
Almost everyone of them had an elite education, and intended suffrage to be limited to those with similar levels of education.
This was accomplished with allowing states to use property ownership as a requirement to vote. The expansion of voting to non-property owning white males over 21 allowed wage earners to vote for the first time. This occurred in the late 1820s and facilitated the rise of Andrew Jackson and the creation of the Democratic Party.
Here is a description of the educational background of the people who wrote the original U.S. Constitution - prior to the addition of amendments.
- Click here for article.
The Delegates Arranged by School
Harvard
Elbridge Gerry (1762)
Rufus King (1777)
William Samuel Johnson (M.A. 1747)
Caleb Strong (1774)
George Washington (Honorary LLD 1776)
Yale
Abraham Baldwin (1772)
Jared Ingersoll (1766)
William Samuel Johnson (1744)
William Livingston (1741)
Roger Sherman (Honorary MA 1768)
William Livingston (Honorary LLD 1788)
College of New Jersey (Princeton)
Gunning Bedford, Jr. (1771)
William R. Davie (1776)
Jonathan Dayton (1776)
Oliver Ellsworth (1766)
William C. Houston (1768, M.A. 1771)
James Madison Jr. (1771)
Alexander Martin (1756, M.A. 1759)
Luther Martin (1766)
William Paterson (1763)
David Brearly (Honorary M.A. 1781)
John Dickinson (Honorary LLD)
Middle Temple (London)
John Dickinson (1757)
John Rutledge (1760)
John Blair (Juris Doctoris)
Jared Ingersoll (Juris Doctoris 1776)
College of William and MaryJohn Blair
James McClurg (1762)
John F. Mercer (1775)
William L. Pierce (attended)
Edmund J. Randolph (attended)
King’s College (Columbia)
Gouverneur Morris (1768, M.A. 1771)
Alexander Hamilton (attended)
College of Philadelphia (University of Pennsylvania)
Thomas Mifflin (1760)
Hugh Williamson (1757, M.A. 1760)
James Wilson (Honorary M.A. 1766)
Dartmouth
John Langdon (Honorary LLD 1805)
Newark AcademyJames McHenry (1772)
Inner Temple (London)William Houstoun (1776)
Oxford (England)Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (1764)
St. Andrews (Scotland)James Wilson
Glasgow (Scotland)Richard Dobbs Spaight (1778)
Edinburgh (Scotland)James McClurg (M.D. 1770)
College of Saint Omer (Netherlands)Daniel Carroll (1747)
Tutor or Professor
Abraham Baldwin
William C. Houston
James McClurg
Hugh Williamson
James Wilson
George Wythe
This was accomplished with allowing states to use property ownership as a requirement to vote. The expansion of voting to non-property owning white males over 21 allowed wage earners to vote for the first time. This occurred in the late 1820s and facilitated the rise of Andrew Jackson and the creation of the Democratic Party.
Here is a description of the educational background of the people who wrote the original U.S. Constitution - prior to the addition of amendments.
- Click here for article.
The Delegates Arranged by School
Harvard
Elbridge Gerry (1762)
Rufus King (1777)
William Samuel Johnson (M.A. 1747)
Caleb Strong (1774)
George Washington (Honorary LLD 1776)
Yale
Abraham Baldwin (1772)
Jared Ingersoll (1766)
William Samuel Johnson (1744)
William Livingston (1741)
Roger Sherman (Honorary MA 1768)
William Livingston (Honorary LLD 1788)
College of New Jersey (Princeton)
Gunning Bedford, Jr. (1771)
William R. Davie (1776)
Jonathan Dayton (1776)
Oliver Ellsworth (1766)
William C. Houston (1768, M.A. 1771)
James Madison Jr. (1771)
Alexander Martin (1756, M.A. 1759)
Luther Martin (1766)
William Paterson (1763)
David Brearly (Honorary M.A. 1781)
John Dickinson (Honorary LLD)
Middle Temple (London)
John Dickinson (1757)
John Rutledge (1760)
John Blair (Juris Doctoris)
Jared Ingersoll (Juris Doctoris 1776)
College of William and MaryJohn Blair
James McClurg (1762)
John F. Mercer (1775)
William L. Pierce (attended)
Edmund J. Randolph (attended)
King’s College (Columbia)
Gouverneur Morris (1768, M.A. 1771)
Alexander Hamilton (attended)
College of Philadelphia (University of Pennsylvania)
Thomas Mifflin (1760)
Hugh Williamson (1757, M.A. 1760)
James Wilson (Honorary M.A. 1766)
Dartmouth
John Langdon (Honorary LLD 1805)
Newark AcademyJames McHenry (1772)
Inner Temple (London)William Houstoun (1776)
Oxford (England)Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (1764)
St. Andrews (Scotland)James Wilson
Glasgow (Scotland)Richard Dobbs Spaight (1778)
Edinburgh (Scotland)James McClurg (M.D. 1770)
College of Saint Omer (Netherlands)Daniel Carroll (1747)
Tutor or Professor
Abraham Baldwin
William C. Houston
James McClurg
Hugh Williamson
James Wilson
George Wythe
Thursday, August 10, 2023
Is Voting a Right Guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution?
Simple answer: No.
Less simple answer: It's complicated.
- The Missing Right: A Constitutional Right to Vote.
Amendments to the Constitution have required “equal protection,” eliminated the poll tax, and made it unconstitutional to restrict voting based on race, sex, and age for those over 18. For years the Supreme Court relied on these amendments to expand the franchise, and the broadening of voting rights, which was associated with the civil-rights movement, was widely accepted as a marker of progress toward a just society until about 2000. More recently, in an environment of increasingly rigid partisan loyalties, controlling who votes offers more leverage than persuading voters to change their minds, and thus access to the ballot itself has become an arena of intense political conflict. These conflicts constitute what the election scholar Richard Hasen calls “the voting wars.” Most of these wars end up in the courts, where the rules of engagement—defined by our Constitution—do not sufficiently protect voters’ rights to exercise their franchise. In the absence of an explicit right to vote, the Court has found no issue with a variety of regulations that unnecessarily interfere with voting.
- What Does the Constitution Say About the Right to Vote?
If you were to look for a right to vote in the U.S. Constitution or Bill of Rights, you might have trouble finding one. Surprisingly, nowhere in the original text does it say that U.S. citizens have a right to vote. Instead, much of the government’s authority to protect voting rights stems from amendments adopted following the civil war and legislation passed during the civil rights movement. But thanks to a voting-rights skeptical U.S. Supreme Court and the Senate’s failure to pass new voting legislation, this authority has been severely weakened.
- Does the Constitution Guarantee a Right to Vote? The Answer May Surprise Yo
The Constitution makes reference to voting 15 times in the original document and another 22 in the amendments. But somewhat surprisingly, none of those mentions makes an explicit declaration that Americans have a right to vote — something many politicians and their supporters consider fundamental to democracy.
. . . If it seems odd that such a fundamental right was not enshrined in writing, the explanation is simple enough: The authors of the Constitution, many of them deeply suspicious of universal suffrage, could not agree on a single standard for the right to cast a ballot.
. . . Gouverneur Morris, a New Yorker who wrote the preamble to the Constitution, argued that “the ignorant and the dependent can be as little trusted with the public interest” as could children, Dr. Klarman wrote. James Madison warned that voting should be restricted to the wealthy, “the safest repositories of republican liberty,” because the poorer classes would be swayed by populist appeals. Benjamin Franklin, the most prominent dissenter, pointed out that it was the commoners who had fought for and won American independence and that the rich were hardly immune to corrupting influences.
- The Right to Vote Amendment.
Voting is an American principle and a basic democratic right that should be protected, promoted, and practiced, which is why many people are surprised to learn that the U.S. Constitution provides no explicit right to vote. This leaves voting rights vulnerable to the whims of politicians, and some citizens with fewer rights than others.
More than a decade ago, FairVote became the leading institutional voice calling for the establishment of an explicit individual right to vote in the U.S. Constitution. We believe that a grassroots movement to establish such an amendment would go a long way in ending the “voting wars” that plague us today. FairVote continues to serve as a trusted resource in support of activists, organizations, and elected officials working toward a right to vote amendment. Through our Promote Our Vote project, we work to build widespread support for a right to vote amendment, while advocating for pro-suffrage innovations at the local level.
Saturday, July 22, 2023
Videos on the expansion of democracy in 1600s Britain
You Tube: What were the Putney Debates? | English Civil War.
- The Putney Debates: The Putney Debates, which took place from 28 October to 8 November 1647, were a series of discussions over the political settlement that should follow Parliament's victory over Charles I in the First English Civil War. The main participants were senior officers of the New Model Army who favoured retaining Charles within the framework of a Constitutional monarchy, and radicals such as the Levellers who sought more sweeping changes, including one man, one vote and freedom of conscience, particularly in religion.
You Tube: The forgotten radicals of the English Civil War | The Levellers.
- The Levellers: a political movement active during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms who were committed to popular sovereignty, extended suffrage, equality before the law and religious tolerance. The hallmark of Leveller thought was its populism, as shown by its emphasis on equal natural rights, and their practice of reaching the public through pamphlets, petitions and vocal appeals to the crowd.[1]
The Levellers came to prominence at the end of the First English Civil War (1642–1646) and were most influential before the start of the Second Civil War (1648–49). Leveller views and support were found in the populace of the City of London and in some regiments in the New Model Army. Their ideas were presented in their manifesto "Agreement of the People". In contrast to the Diggers, the Levellers opposed common ownership, except in cases of mutual agreement of the property owners.
Video: The Last Armed Rebellion in Britain | The Newport Rising.
- Chartism: a working-class movement for political reform in the United Kingdom that erupted from 1838 to 1857 and was strongest in 1839, 1842 and 1848. It took its name from the People's Charter of 1838 and was a national protest movement, with particular strongholds of support in Northern England, the East Midlands, the Staffordshire Potteries, the Black Country and the South Wales Valleys. The movement was fiercely opposed by government authorities, who finally suppressed it.
Support for the movement was at its highest when petitions signed by millions of working people were presented to the House of Commons. The strategy employed was to use the scale of support which these petitions and the accompanying mass meetings demonstrated to put pressure on politicians to concede manhood suffrage. Chartism thus relied on constitutional methods to secure its aims, though some became involved in insurrectionary activities, notably in South Wales and in Yorkshire.
Monday, July 17, 2023
What is Democracy? What Types Exist? What is Democratization?
Some terminology first:
- Democracy Cambridge:
the belief in freedom and equality between people, or a system of government based on this belief, in which power is either held by elected representatives or directly by the people themselves.
- Democracy Merriam-Webster:
government by the people, especially : rule of the majority
a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections
- Democracy Wikipedia:
a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy") or to choose governing officials to do so ("representative democracy"). Who is considered part of "the people" and how authority is shared among or delegated by the people has changed over time and at different rates in different countries.
Features of democracy often include
- freedom of assembly,
- association,
- property rights,
- freedom of religion
- speech,
- citizenship,
- consent of the governed,
- voting rights,
- freedom from unwarranted governmental deprivation of the right to life and liberty,
- minority rights.
- Direct Democracy:
a form of democracy in which the electorate decides on policy initiatives without elected representatives as proxies. This differs from the majority of currently established democracies, which are representative democracies.
In direct democracy, the people decide on policies without any intermediary or representative, whereas in a representative democracy people vote for representatives who then enact policy initiatives. Depending on the particular system in use, direct democracy might entail passing executive decisions, the use of sortition, making laws, directly electing or dismissing officials, and conducting trials.
- Representative Democracy:
a type of democracy where elected people represent a group of people, in contrast to direct democracy. Nearly all modern Western-style democracies function as some type of representative democracy
Representative democracy is a form of democracy in which people vote for representatives who then vote on policy initiatives; as opposed to direct democracy, a form of democracy in which people vote on policy initiatives directly.
The American Revolution led to the creation of a new Constitution of the United States in 1787, with a national legislature based partly on direct elections of representatives every two years, and thus responsible to the electorate for continuance in office. Senators were not directly elected by the people until the adoption of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913. Women, men who owned no property, and Black people, and others not originally given voting rights, in most states eventually gained the vote through changes in state and federal law in the course of the 19th and 20th centuries. Until it was repealed by the Fourteenth Amendment following the Civil War, the Three-Fifths Compromise gave a disproportionate representation of slave states in the House of Representatives relative to the voters in free states.
- Democratization:
the democratic transition to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction.
Whether and to what extent democratization occurs can be influenced by various factors, including economic development, historical legacies, civil society, and international processes. Some accounts of democratization emphasize how elites drove democratization, whereas other accounts emphasize grassroots bottom-up processes. How democratization occurs has also been used to explain other political phenomena, such as whether a country goes to a war or whether its economy grows.
The opposite process is known as democratic backsliding or autocratization.
- Waves of Democratization:
major surges of democracy that have occurred in history.
Democratization waves have been linked to sudden shifts in the distribution of power among the great powers, which created openings and incentives to introduce sweeping domestic reforms.
The first wave of democracy (1828–1926) began in the early 19th century when suffrage was granted to the majority of white males in the United States ("Jacksonian democracy"). This was followed by France, Britain, Canada, Australia, Italy, and Argentina, and a few others, before 1900. At its peak, after the breakup of the Russian, German, Austrian, and Ottoman empires in 1918, the first wave saw 29 democracies in the world. Reversal began in 1922, when Benito Mussolini rose to power in Italy. The collapse primarily hit newly formed democracies, which could not stand against the aggressive rise of expansionist communist, fascist, and militaristic authoritarian or totalitarian movements that systematically rejected democracy. The nadir of the first wave came in 1942, when the number of democracies in the world dropped to a mere twelve.
The second wave began following the Allied victory in World War II, and crested nearly twenty years later, in 1962, with 36 recognised democracies in the world. The second wave ebbed as well at this point, and the total number dropped to thirty democracies between 1962 and the mid-1970s.
The third wave began with the 1974 Carnation Revolution in Portugal and the late-1970s Spanish transition to democracy. This was followed by the historic democratic transitions in Latin America in the 1980s, Asia-Pacific countries (Philippines, South Korea, and Taiwan) from 1986 to 1988, Eastern Europe after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and sub-Saharan Africa, beginning in 1989. The expansion of democracy in some regions was stunning. In Latin America, only Colombia, Costa Rica, and Venezuela were democratic by 1978, and only Cuba and Haiti remained authoritarian by 1995, when the wave had swept across twenty countries.
Monday, July 3, 2023
Texas Constitution - Article 6 - Suffrage
- Click here for it.
- Click here for the version in 1876.
- Previous Constitutions.
Sections:
Sec. 1. CLASSES OF PERSONS NOT ALLOWED TO VOTE.
Sec. 2. QUALIFIED VOTER; REGISTRATION; ABSENTEE VOTING.
Sec. 2a. VOTING FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS AND STATEWIDE OFFICES AND PROPOSITIONS BY PERSONS QUALIFIED EXCEPT FOR LOCAL RESIDENCE REQUIREMENTS.
Sec. 3. QUALIFICATIONS OF VOTERS IN MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS.
Sec. 3a. QUALIFICATIONS OF VOTERS IN LOCAL ELECTIONS REGARDING PUBLIC DEBTS OR EXPENDITURES.
Sec. 4. ELECTIONS BY BALLOT; PURITY OF ELECTIONS; REGISTRATION OF VOTERS.
Sec. 5. VOTERS PRIVILEGED FROM ARREST.
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