Date Printed: 06/16/2009 JTS Box Number: IFES 79 Tab Number: 87 Document Title: Vote Smart Studies Document Date: nd Document Country: United States -- General Document Language: English 1FES 1D: CE02005 1111111 A 2 A C , II' . ~ 0 0' . I» • . .. , . v oJ. ~ , • - _" - ~ ~ • ~ ~~~. ' Voter's Self-Defense Manual . and MORE! 2 CNIP PROJECT VOTE SMART r:::~ - , HONORARY Dear Educator, CO-FOUNDERS JIMMY On common ground, a unique and unlikely gathering is taking place_ CARTER Thousands of citizens and statesmen, conservatives and liberals, traditional GERALD enemies with vastly different backgrounds and points of view, are joining for battle. II successful, Americans will experience a re-emergence of political FORD power unknown to them for many decades_ FOUNDERS Barrv Goldwat.:r This battle is for that most essential and precious element in our struggle to ron",.,r (..:5. ~N>J~ G.:org.:. McGovern self-govem: information. At this effort's core are those citizens most FQ'MN V.s.. s,.lIa/or disenfranchised and least likely to participate in future elections, YOUR WilIillm Proxmj~ Fonllu c. S. ~NUO' STUDENTS. Jim L..:ach IJ. s. CDII.rrtn"'m Peggy Lampl After five years of planning and testing, Project Vote Smart is introducing to F_~r E:.r..-('fIJj.-, dj'~o;r(M', Uap' 4 WClI,"" l'ot..-rs the nation a Voter's Self-Defense System_ The system includes a Voter Irene Natividad F_, p,tI. ,.. 'atiClW Information Hotline and Voter's Self-Defense Manuals that provide citizens W(JI'Ib!'It'I !'pJiJicnl C"ucw with direct and independent access to the candidates' voting records, Wamm Rustand ..4""""""""1$ !>terTiary 10 biographies, campaign finances, position statements and pelformance Pr«ithnt Cfl",u Ftwd Esteban Tol'1't;s evaluations done by over sixty competing special interest organizations_ ,.~s. C""pn_ John Echohawk :<011"" AIow"riCfft Iflpr.r r... We have discovered that this system has the ability to make politics and Claudin.: Schneid':f" government come to life in the classroom_ F_.. U.s. a..~I7"""_ Kenneth Adelman Of,..-rfor, u.s. AnII1 CQllrroI .tD~Ar""'Y. Students are able to choose for themselves the issues of concern to them RtapM.u. Nancy Johnson and then quickly review the pelformance and stated poSitions of their elected U.s. C"""n.t.. _ leaders on those issues_ During elections, Project Vote Smart will provide the Harry Paehan Sill" ArlOI:'. <if Lotim;. factual information needed to make direct comparisons between incumbent , ({(<:tM &. App. 0.17iddh Edward Brooke representatives and the challenger candidates. At other times during the F_,U.S-St_ year, the Vote Smart system will continue to be updated with current Charles Mathias . , Fomrff' v,s. &ntJlor information that will help voters assess the performance of their elected William Clinger officials. V.s. ,:",I&'tll"...1 Mom! Udall . r~r 1,.',5. Rtprnml(J/fw Max Baucus I hope you will both use the voter education resources we are providing v.s, StoIlOJIW Sonia jarvis through a major grant from the Camegie Corporation and report back on how Ex!!/:. Dir., S(V'I CO(t{/tioo we might improve this effort to aid our most difficult and vital charge as a UI!lDd: \'OfU PtP'nPpariOtl' G.:.raldim: Femro nation, preparing our youth for the responsibility of self-govemment. Fomru v.s. CmJ.tfS"""'_ Andrew Hernandez PT<'.Ji.u.u Socorlt-*<-II y."", Sincerely, Rt JistmdOf1 p,.ritc/ Alb.:" Bustamante u.s, C~J3.tn.""" Mal)' D~nt Crisp FomuCo-Chtzj., .\~'I Rtpubtlt:;QIIlWry Bill Frenzel Fonrcer u.s. RCp't#N(lriw Richard Kimball and 18.758 Board President other memb<!rs 3 VOTE SMART STUDIES Voter's Self-Defense Manual and MOREl 'Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government.• Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) 3rd President of the U.S. Contents • Introductory Quiz & Game 4 • Project Vote Smart Tools 5 • Voter's Self-Defense Manual 6-20 • National Political Awareness Test 21-25 • U.S. Political Parties 26 • Leaming Activities 27 • Scoring a Political Debate 28 • Issues Assessment Chart 28 • Discussion Questions for Videotape 29 • Glossary 30-31 • Additional Sources 31 To order additional free copies of this study guide, please contact: 129 NW 4th Street #204 Corvallis, Oregon 97330 (503) 754-2746 Vote Smart Studies may be freely copied. 4 TO BEGIN VOTE SMART STUDIES: Please Quiz Yourself My name is .1 am __ years old. I get my information QUIET PLEASE! about political candidates and public issues from: (Please circle all that apply.) DEMOCRACY IS ~&.JU Newspaper stories and editorials, news magazines, network TV news and interviews, teachers and classroom research assignments, cable TV news, MTV's Day in Rock, Comedy Central, youth magazines, talking to friends and family, meeting the candidates, working on campaigns, listening and watching political debates, campaign ads, campaign litera­ ture, contacts from special interest groups (letters, ads), using the Project Vote Smart Voter Information Hotline. If you are like most citizens, you learn about the candidates for national office Studentsl Prepare for discussion of Vote (President and U.S. Congress) from TV Smart Studies by familiarizing yourselves coverage and candidate-financed ads that with the relevant vocabulary (see primarily convey images and impressions, Glossary). with very little real information about candidates, their stands on issues, or their Vocabulary Game personal history. ASSign 5 words to a "study" group/team of Our increasing dependence on the mass as many &tudents. Distribute index cards media and other changes in American with a word on the front side and its society have changed the way we get our definition on the back. Begin by reading political information. the word and its definition. The tearn/study group discusses what the word means and VOTE SMART STUDIES is designed to gives examples. Feel free to act out help you look beyond the "image" cam­ examples or to create cartoons or visual paign to help you discover ways in which images based on the definition. Quiz each you, a citizen in a democratic society, can other in different ways: holding the word learn what you want and need to know up, reading the definition and guessing about political candidates and the problems what word it is, etc. Each group should facing our nation. teach its words to the rest of the class. 5 PROJECT VOTE SMART TOOLS Voter's Self-Defense Manual. A brief discussion of the modem tactics used by candidates to win votes and thus acquire political power. A review of the bio­ graphies, campaign finances, and perfor­ mance evaluations on every sitting mem­ ber of the United States Senate and an abridged version of the Manual is part of VOTE SMART STUDIES. (Other cate­ gOries and information on House members are available through our 1-800 number, but please, only the instructor or one class- deSignated caller per assignment). Voter Information Hotline. A 1-800-786- Exercise Your Right. A ten minute video­ 6885 toll free number that furnishes you or tape which promotes the power of Voting a class-designated caller with direct Smart, featuring Edward James Olmos, access to a researcher who can Instantly review a candidate's: star of the film Stand and Deliver. This videotape is available in most states through the state department of education. ·Biography ·Voting recor~ in 21 key issue areas For additional information, contact Project Vote Smart, 129 NW 4th Street, #204, ·Campaign funding ·Position statements on issues Corvallis, Oregon 97330 (503) 754-2746. ·Performance evaluations done by 60 The Campaign Game. An enjoyable competing special interests. classroom exercise in which the players run for President against the real candi­ dates. Students go through the election process with challenging thinking activities to learn strategies of today's political candidates and the dilemmas they face. The Campaign Game will be published in newspapers across the country and should be available in your area. Complete games are also available free from Project Vote Smart. 6 VOTERIS SELF DEFENSE MANUAL Abridged version WHY DO VOTERS NEED A well as seek options for dealing with them, are no longer stable. As our society has SELF-DEFENSE MANUAL? become highly mobile and dependent on WHAT ARE THE THREATS? television for Information, our Institutions have begun to fail their historic education­ Over the last twenty years, the political al purpose to provide a forum for public landscape has changed dramatically. A discussion or community action. " high-tech climate (including scientific poll­ Ing and tailoring of "images", TV sound­ bites, and television advertising) has CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL REALITY encouraged negative, issueless cam­ paigns which have left voters with little These new politiCS require that a can­ guidance in making the informed choices didate for federal office raise millions of so necessary to successful l?elf-govern­ dollars to finance a successful campaign. ment. During the pOlitical campaign sea­ As much as 70% of the candidate's time son, Americans find themselves assaulted will be spent on the phone, in private from all sides by hype, baiting, mudslinging meetings, and at events with wealthy Inter­ and rumor-mongering, all in the name of ests, trying to raise the money needed to "the democratic process." win. Today, unlike the first two hundred '" years of American history, little of this Two major changes have allowed this to money comes from small contributors like occur: you. 1) These high-tech campaigns have The money is used in 3 ways: allowed many candidates to measure what their different constituencies want to buy in 1) Pollsters are hired to measure what the pOlitical marketplace. Today's candi­ the voters want to purchase in the political dates, backed by sophisticated surveys marketplace.