This paper reports on the use of an electronic voting system (EVS) in a first-year computing science subject. Previous investigations suggest that students' use of an EVS would be positively associated with their learning outcomes. However, no research has established this relationship empirically. This study sought to establish whether there was…

This study uses a sequential transformative mixed methods research design to explain how political advertising fails to engage college students. Qualitative focus groups examined how college students interpret the value of political advertising to them, and a quantitative manifest content analysis concerning ad framing of more than 100 ads from…

The first item in this packet is a pamphlet on how to vote and the election process. The pamphlet includes comprehensive information at a reading level that can be understood by many adults who have not graduated from high school. The pamphlet was designed by volunteer tutors of adult literacy students in Maine. The tutors researched information,…

Most of the material for this issue of the "Goldfinch," which explores the life of Carrie Chapman Catt, came from the archives of the State Historical Society of Iowa. Carrie Chapman Catt (1859-1947) was an Iowan who advocated woman suffrage and spent 26 years actively working for that cause. The issue contains a biography of Catt, and…

Discusses the major milestones in the battle for voting rights focusing on the 15th, 19th, 24th, and 26th Amendments and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Considers the future role of direct voting, specifically initiatives and referendums, and questions whether initiatives and referendums will encourage voter turnout. (CMK)

The purpose of this dissertation research was to analyze a nationally representative dataset of first-year beginning students to examine the factors that affect Mexican-origin Latinos undergraduate students' persistence and degree attainment outcomes. Several theoretical perspectives are used in this research in order to address the complex…

Both spatial theories of voting and our intuitions lead us to expect that political parties' ideological positions should affect individuals' turnout decisions. Contrary to these expectations, existing research finds that neither feelings of alienation--that no party adequately represents an individual's ideological position--nor…

In this article, the author shares her views on the collected works on women suffrage from 1920-1930, which were collated by the activists at National Federation of Women Teachers (NFWT). She relates how she had been impressed by the NFWT activists' organizational capacity to coordinate 70 identically worded motions in support of women's suffrage,…

Low youth electoral turnouts are considered problematic in many democracies. Here I explore youth electoral engagement in the Australian context where the policy literature attributes low youth electoral enrolments to apathetic and disassociated youth, and the response is Civics and Citizenship education. This construction of youth and advocacy of…

Presents historical background about the path to universal suffrage and voting rights for all U.S. citizens. Addresses reasons citizens do not use their right to vote. Asserts the importance of democracy and discusses this ideal. Includes questions for discussion. (CMK)

Focuses on the issue of redistricting in the United States with the release of the 2000 census. Discusses the redistricting principles that states must follow: (1) population equality specifically for the congressional and legislative districts; (2) the Voting Rights Act with a focus on Sections 5 and 2; and (3) racial gerrymandering. (CMK)

Many studies of the United States voting have sought to explain why voter participation is declining. Recent research by Michael P. McDonald suggests that the much lamented "decline in voter participation" is an artifact of the way in which turnout rates have been measured. McDonald is an assistant professor of government and politics in…

In educational settings, it is becoming common for members of groups to be forced to choose among more than two candidates, programs, or objectives. When no majority favors any one of three or more alternative choices, there are several rational, although arbitrary, ways to proceed. The first attempt at making the choice ought to adopt the…

This resource booklet contains activities for elementary teachers who want to teach their students about voting and the election process. Part I consists of suggestions for conducting an election at different grade levels. All of the elections involve real choices that affect the student (e.g. choice of ice cream flavor or other treat for a class…

Reviews the history of these two papers and discusses the lives of their editors. (KS)