***POL 201 American National Government***DISCUSSION 1The U.S. has one of the lowest voter turnout

rates among modern democratic political systems. One study ranks the U.S. 120th on a list of 169 nations compared on voter turnout (Pintor, Gratschew, & Sullivan, 2002). During the last decade, many initiatives have been undertaken to increase voter participation, yet concerns about the possibility of election fraud have also increased. Additionally, some political interests feel threatened by the increase in turnout among some traditionally low-turnout ethnic minorities. Several states have recently passed legislation imposing new registration and identification requirements. This has sparked debate about whether these are tactics intended to suppress turnout or to prevent fraud. Think about the media’s role in the election process and how both mass media and social media can impact the election process.

In your initial post, summarize recent developments in several states enacting voter ID laws. Analyze and describe the pros and cons on both sides of the debate about these laws. Is voter fraud a major problem for our democracy or are some groups trying to make it harder for some segments of society to vote? What impact has the media (mass and social) had in influencing public opinion regarding voter ID laws? Draw your own conclusion about the debate over voter ID laws and justify your conclusions with facts and persuasive reasoning.

Fully respond to all parts of the prompt and write your response in your own words. Your initial post must be at least 300 words. Support your position with at least two of the assigned resources required for this discussion, and/or peer reviewed scholarly sources obtained through the AU Library databases. Include APA in-text citations in the body of your post and full citations on the references list at the end. Support your position with APA citations from two or more of the assigned resources required for this discussion. Please be sure that you demonstrate understanding of these resources, integrate them into your argument, and cite them properly.

***POL 201 American National Government***

FINAL PAPER

America’s Democracy: Your Report Card

The primary goal of your last assignment is to critically analyze the primary features of the American national government. The results of your analysis will indicate what you have learned over the last five weeks. In order to accomplish this task, it is important to critically evaluate the key facets of our American democracy.

You have been preparing for this final assignment each week by constructing a detailed outline of the Final Paper’s main points through the weekly Learning Activities. In addition, you have read the course text and course readings, reviewed videos, and researched additional material for each week’s assignments and for this paper. This week, you will put all of those outlines, readings, reviews, and research together into a one summative paper.

As we wrap up our course, reflect back on what you have learned about the key structures, systems, roles, and processes that embody our national government. Focus on the strengths and weaknesses, advantages and disadvantages, and positive and negative impacts of these aspects of our democracy. Use what you have learned so far to evaluate our national government and recommend ways to enhance what works and repair what is not working well. It is important to understand that this paper is not simply a cut and paste of your four Learning Activities. While the research you have completed can serve as a strong base it is important that you implement any comments from the instructor, as well as further expand on the material. Appropriate transitions and headings are needed to ensure a cohesive paper.

Construct a six-page paper based on the detailed outlines that you created over the last four weeks. It is important to utilize APA headings major sections of your paper in order to ensure that the paper is easy to follow. A model POL201 Final Paper Guide is provided for you to download and utilize when completing your Final Paper.

Scaffold your paper around the following outline:

• Title page
• Introduction (half page)
  • Describe the paper’s overall thesis.
  • Provide an overview of main points.
• The Constitution (1 to 1.5 pages) (Week One)
  • Describe one strength and one weakness of the U.S. Constitution.
  • Recommend one option to maintain the strength and one to correct the weakness.
• Federalism (1 to 1.5 pages) (Week Two)
  • Describe one advantage and one disadvantage of a national policy that must be implemented by one agency of the federal bureaucracy.
  • Recommend one option to maintain the advantage and one to improve the disadvantage.
• Branches of Government (1 to 1.5 pages) (Week Three)
  • Describe one strength and one weakness of one branch of our government: Executive, Legislative, or Judiciary.
  • Recommend one option to maintain the strength and one to correct the weakness.
• Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Elections (1-1.5 pages) (Week 4)
  • Describe one positive impact and one negative impact of one of the following: political parties, interest groups, or federal elections.
  • Recommend one option to accentuate the positive impact and one to lessen the negative impact.
• Conclusion
  • Review your main points.
  • Review your overall thesis.
• References page

The America’s Democracy: Your Report Card paper

• Must be at least six double-spaced pages in length (not including title and references pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
• Must include a separate title page with the following:
  • Title of paper
  • Student’s name
  • Course name and number
  • Instructor’s name
  • Date submitted
• Must use at least eight scholarly sources in addition to the course text. A minimum of six of the resources must be from peer-reviewed scholarly sources from the Ashford University Library
  • The Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment.
• Must document all sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
• Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

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