Question

Regarding Local, State and National Government to answer the following constructed response question:

Put the following in a paragraph.

In a 5th graders response, Define political parties.
In two sentences, in an 5th graders response Explain why voters might decide to support a third party.
In a 5th graders response in 3 Sentences , Describe two ways in which a strong third party would make the American political system more democratic. Use details and examples from Obama to support your answer.

Answer 1

Political parties are groups of people who share similar ideas about how the government should work and who join together to help elect leaders and make laws. Some voters might choose a third party because they want new ideas that the two big parties do not offer. Other voters might support a third party to protest the main parties or to show that they want change. First, a strong third party would give people more choices and better representation, and that could bring out voters who feel left out—Barack Obama’s campaigns showed how new ideas and strong outreach can bring many new people, like young voters and people of color, into elections. Second, a strong third party would make the big parties listen and sometimes change their ideas or compromise, similar to how Democratic leaders under Obama moved to support big reforms like improving healthcare after many voters pushed for change. Together, more choices and more responsiveness would make the American political system more democratic because more people would feel heard and able to influence government.