Select ONE of the following topics for your class writing assignment submission. Your writing assignment response must be a minimum of 750 words that answer ALL writing prompts and questions posed for the topic you select.
Your writing assignment response must use grammatically-correct sentences and paragraphs. Refer to the Writing Assignment directions and the MLA guide for guidance on grammar and formatting of your Writing Assignment submission.
You must use information from the textbook to answer all of the questions and to complete the assignment. You can use other sources, as well, but are required to answer all questions using what you read and learn from the course textbook.
Use the MLA format to provide in your writing assignment submission a Works Cited bibliography page identifying sources used to write the Writing Assignment submission. Use in-text parenthetical citations to identify where you in the body of your writing assignment submission you borrowed words, thoughts, data, or ideas from another person or source.
Follow the Writing Assignment Instructions when preparing your Writing Assignment submission.
Topic 1
Read Chapter 5’s subchapters “Features of Elections in Texas” and “Participation in Texas Elections” on pages 145-162 of the class textbook then use information from this reading to answer these questions about Texas municipal government.
**Define and explain these election terms: “electoral cycle,” “primary election,” “runoff primary,” “general election,” and “special election.”
**When are Texas primary elections held? When are most general elections in Texas held? Why are major State of Texas officials elected in non-presidential election years?
**Define, compare, and contrast an “open primary” and a “closed primary.” How are Texas primaries considered both open primaries and closed primaries?
**Define and describe “early voting” in Texas. What has been the impact on Texas elections of early voting since it was adopted in the late 1980s?
**Define and describe “straight-ticket voting.” Who in 2017 sought to eliminate straight-ticket voting and why did they do this?
**Define “reapportionment.” After the 2020 Census, how many seats did Texas gain in the U.S. House of Representatives because of reapportionment?
**Define “redistricting.” What percentage of population growth in Texas between 2010-2020 was the result of growth among racial and ethnic minorities?
**Some Texas leaders have proposed moving elections for major State of Texas officials to presidential election years to increase voter turnout during these elections. Do you support or oppose this change? Why?
**Many city, school, board, and other local government entity elections take place at different times than the national and state elections in November, resulting in low voter turnout in these local elections. Do you support or oppose making all local government entities hold elections in November when state and national general elections are held to increase voter turnout for these jurisdictions? Why?
**Redistricting in Texas is a political procedure that often results in single-member districts drawn and gerrymandered to support the political party that controls Texas executive and legislative offices. Do you support or oppose taking the redistricting process away from politicians and allowing it to be completed by an independent redistricting commission such as what Arizona and California do? Why?
Your Writing Assignment submission must be written in 12-point Times New Roman font that is double-spaced and uses one-inch margins on all four sides of the paper. The Writing Assignment submission must be formatted according to the Modern Language Association (MLA) style which includes page numbers in the upper-right of every page, a heading in the upper-left of the first page, in-text and parenthetical citations to identify the source of information, a Works Cited bibliography page which is a separate final page identifying all sources used in the body of the writing assignment, and NO title page. Students should research the MLA style to ensure they know how to properly format the Writing Assignment submission.
You must offer evidence to support each answer and argument with the course textbook serving as your key source. The course textbook MUST be used as as a major and critical source for your Writing Assignment responses. Since the questions posed for your analysis and response in this writing assignment are based on information presented in the course textbook, the textbook MUST be used as the main source for your answers and must be properly cited as the source of any information you provide from the textbook. You can also use other sources to respond to the Writing Assignment questions, but the main source for your Writing Assignment responses MUST be our class textbook.