Voting Behavior and Linkage Instutions

a.  Voter turnout is directly related to age and education. Older people are much more interested in government activity and are more likely to vote in elections than young people. This is most likely because young people do not feel the pressure of civic duty and many don't believe their vote makes a difference.  Similarly, the more educated a person is the more likely they are to vote. However, uneducated minorities are more likely to vote than uneducated whites.

b.  Citizen requirements decrease voter turnout. America is a melting pot of people and cultures. Census experts predict that there will be a minority majority, minorities will out number the original white european immigrants, by 2040. There are thousands of immigrants who have lived in the U.S. since they were children who still can not vote. This lowers the voting population significantly.

c.  Political Parties link citizens to the government through elections and information. Citizens connect to each other and the government through common ideals. Political parties send citizens information. Citizens vote in their parties primaries.

Interest Group Techniques

         Interest groups use techniques such as litigation to achieve their objectives. The technique they choose is based on their resources, characteristics and goals. Litigation is the process of taking legal action.  This means prosecution and law suits. A group would use this because it does not require a large influence or number of people. Another technique is campaign contribution or the collection of funds to support a candidate, political party, or policy. This is used by large groups with a lot of money who can directly influence candidates. The third is Grassroots Lobbying and mass mobilization this is in a sense advertising and promoting. They use the people rather than going directly to legislation, the interest group lobbies then goes by word of mouth. Interest groups with a lot of people but not as much money use this technique.
         The NRA, national rifle association, for instance, uses mainly campaign contributions.  They raise money to support candidates and policies that support loose gun laws. According to statistics, by the Washington Post, the NRA has a significant influence over congress. They donated over $650,000 to supporters in 2012 and 80% of senators funded by the NRA won the seat. The NRA has donated over $4.6 million since 1990. The NRA uses campaign contributions rather than the other two techniques because they have a vast amount of money and it gains them favor with specific politicians. They also use grass roots but in our economy it is more important to get political support than citizen support. Litigation is unnecessary for the NRA because they have a lot of support.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/nra-congress/

Senator Ron Wyden

Ron Wyden is Oregon’s U.S. Senator. He was elected Oregon Senator 1996 and is 64 years old. Prior to his position in the U.S. Senate Wyden served as a representative in the house from 1981-1996. His parents are Jewish immigrants who fled from Nazi Germany. He was born in Wichita, Kansas and grew up in Palo Alto, California. He is a democrat who supports pro choice, creating more jobs and wildlife protection. A couple of bills he has recently sponsored are the intelligence oversight and surveillance reform act and the high technology job preservation act of 2013. Three of his most important current issues include; the fight against child trafficing, increased timber harvest, and protection of old growth and sensitive areas. Right now Wyden is focusing most on increased timber harvest. This project aims to create more jobs, better protection of woodlands and a more sustainable harvest. I would like to ask Ron Wyden what he is currently doing to stop child trafficing and how much success he is having. I would also like to ask him about the most recent bill he has sponsored.