Question

1. explain the electoral college system and how it works by answering the following - use the electoral college video and worksheet to answer these questions.

a) what is the electoral college system? what does it do?
b) how many electoral college votes are needed to win a presidential election?
270
c) how is the number of electors calculated for each state?
2
d) how does the electoral college system make it difficult for third parties to win national elections?
e) why are swing states important?
f) why was the electoral college created in the first place? how did slavery impact its development?

1. a) what were the specific problems that the voting rights act was created to address?

d) what was the immediate impact of the voting rights act once it was passed?
e) how did the supreme court decision in 2013 change the way the voting rights act was enforced?

Explanation:

This problem is about the Electoral College System and the Voting Rights Act, which are related to political systems and laws. The subfield of Social Science that best applies is Politics, as it deals with political systems, elections, and legal aspects of governance.
For question 3a: The Electoral College System is a group of electors chosen to elect the President and Vice - President of the United States. It translates popular votes into electoral votes to determine the election outcome.
For question 3b: To win a Presidential election, a candidate needs 270 electoral college votes (since the total number of electoral votes is 538, and a majority is more than half, so 538/2 = 269, and thus 270 is the majority).
For question 3c: The number of electors for each state is calculated as the sum of the number of its U.S. Senators (which is always 2) and the number of its U.S. Representatives (which is based on the state's population).
For question 3d: The Electoral College system makes it difficult for third parties because it is a winner - take - all system in most states. Third parties would need to win a significant number of states to get enough electoral votes, but they usually struggle to gain enough support across multiple states to reach the 270 - vote threshold. Also, the two - party system is entrenched, and voters may be reluctant to vote for a third - party candidate for fear of "wasting" their vote.
For question 3e: Swing states are important because they are states that do not consistently vote for one political party. Candidates focus their campaigns on these states as winning them can provide the necessary electoral votes to reach 270.
For question 3f: The Electoral College was created as a compromise at the Constitutional Convention. It was a way to balance the interests of small and large states. Slavery impacted its development as the Three - Fifths Compromise was related to how slave populations were counted for the purposes of representation (and thus for the number of electors), as slaves were counted as three - fifths of a person for determining a state's population for representation in Congress (and thus electoral votes).
For question 4a: The Voting Rights Act was created to address problems such as racial discrimination in voting, including literacy tests, poll taxes, and other discriminatory practices that prevented African Americans from voting. These practices were used in many southern states to disenfranchise Black voters.
For question 4d: Once the Voting Rights Act was passed, it had an immediate impact of increasing Black voter registration and participation. It also led to the elimination of many discriminatory voting practices, allowing more minority groups to have a say in the electoral process.
For question 4e: The 2013 Supreme Court decision (Shelby County v. Holder) struck down a key part of the Voting Rights Act (Section 4(b) which determined which jurisdictions were subject to pre - clearance requirements). This meant that states and localities that previously had to get federal approval for changes to their voting laws no longer had to do so, which led to changes in voting laws in some areas, including new voter ID laws and changes to polling place locations and hours.

Answer:

Question 3a

The Electoral College System is a group of electors (chosen by each state) that elects the U.S. President and Vice - President. It translates popular votes into electoral votes to decide the election.

Question 3b

270 electoral college votes are needed to win a Presidential election.

Question 3c

The number of electors for a state is the sum of its 2 U.S. Senators and its number of U.S. Representatives (based on population).

Question 3d

The Electoral College (winner - take - all in most states, need 270 votes, two - party entrenchment, and "wasted vote" fear) makes it hard for third parties.

Question 3e

Swing states are important as they are competitive, and winning them can provide the 270 electoral votes needed for victory.

Question 3f

The Electoral College was a compromise (balance small/large states). Slavery impacted it via the Three - Fifths Compromise (slave population counted for electors).

Question 4a

The Voting Rights Act addressed racial voting discrimination (literacy tests, poll taxes, disenfranchisement of Black voters).

Question 4d

The Voting Rights Act immediately increased Black voter registration/participation and eliminated many discriminatory voting practices.

Question 4e

The 2013 Supreme Court decision (Shelby County v. Holder) struck down Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act, ending pre - clearance requirements for some jurisdictions, leading to new voting law changes.