Mail-in elections are prompting school officials to communicate their message to a wide variety of audiences. Many of the states using vote-by-mail have also made it much easier for citizens to cast absentee ballots. Discusses the advantages and disadvantages of voting by mail. (MLF)

Discusses a study of the voting attitudes of students at several southwestern New Mexico high schools. Reports that most respondents had not voted on an issue of particular importance to themselves while in school. Indicates that most expected to vote in the next presidential election, but few were able to define democracy. (SG)

A Colorado school district attracted over 2,000 volunteers to work on a winning campaign for a mill increase to make up for a $7 million shortfall in state funds. Offers 10 key lessons along with pointers for putting them to work in other school districts. (MLF)

Compares respondents who watched the first 1996 presidential debate with respondents who did not. Finds (1) those who watched the debate could more accurately recognize issue positions of Clinton and Dole than nonwatchers; (2) differences in the groups' assessment of character traits of the leading candidates; and (3) more respondents gave policy…

Among 2,321 Russian adults surveyed, about half supported market institutions and about a third supported state-based economic institutions. Higher educational level was associated with proreform attitudes. Economic ideology strongly affected voting behavior, party choice, income, Communist party membership, and prodemocracy views, and also…

This article describes the accomplishments of Lani Guinier, Bennett Boskey Professor of Law at Harvard University law school. The first and only African American woman to hold a tenured faculty position at the Harvard University law school, Guinier has put her visibility to use by speaking out on issues of race, gender and democratic…

During the past 35 years, Seymour Martin Lipset and his collaborators have generated a series of studies and reports on the political alignment in academia. They have all found the social sciences and humanities to be preponderantly Democratic. In the past decade there has been little scholarly inquiry into the political orientation of faculty.…

The year 2000 US presidential election between Al Gore and George Bush has been the most intriguing and controversial one in American history. The state of Florida was the trigger for the controversy, mainly, due to the use of the misleading "butterfly ballot". Using prediction (or confidence) intervals for least squares regression lines…

Maintains that, while women and African Americans have often had common political interests, the alliance of their movements has not always been easy. Discusses the competing interests and racism that caused friction and estrangement among these groups between 1848-1920. Includes primary source selections. (CFR)

Maintains that during the early 20th century the work of women teacher activists brought issues of social reform to the forefront. Describes the work of five Chicago women who helped advance women's rights, women's suffrage, and other social reform efforts. Contends that their work has not be adequately recognized. (CFR)

Presents a secondary school lesson based on the Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments. Provides lesson objectives and step-by-step instructional procedures. Includes quoted sections of the Declaration of Sentiments. (CFR)

Discusses the resources available from the ERIC System on issues related to women's suffrage and women's rights. Includes an annotated bibliography of six resources, including lesson plans and historiography reviews. (CFR)

This paper examines patterns of annexation, including municipal "underbounding," in nonmetropolitan towns in the South; that is, whether blacks living adjacent to municipalities are systematically excluded from incorporation. Annexation--or the lack of annexation--can be a political tool used by municipal leaders to exclude disadvantaged or…

This study focused on the role of school-based required community service in promoting adolescents' prosocial behavior and intended future civic involvement when service is differentiated by types and by adolescents' perceived experience. A longitudinal data set of high school students (N = 603) was analyzed to investigate the developmental steps…

Immigrant adolescents are one of the fastest growing segments of our population, yet we know little about how schools prepare them for citizenship. Although prior research suggests that high school civics education, academic achievement, and a sense of connection increase political participation in early adulthood, we do not know if these…