Texas Government

Voter Turnout Research Paper

As is the case with many states, Texas has an issue with low voter turnout. There are many identified and perceived reasons that people do not register to vote and/or turn out to vote. For this paper you will provide a discussion that addresses each of the following:

1. Evaluate historical voter turnout data in the state of Texas.

2. Describe the Texas election schedule and processes.

3. Identify two factors that have contributed to the overall low voter turnout in Texas elections and explain how each factor has contributed to the overall decline.

4. Identify and explain two reasons why voter turnout has been higher in presidential elections than other elections.

5. Identify two groups that work towards increasing voter turnout in Texas and describe how those groups take action to increase voter turnout.

This paper should:

· Have a strong introduction that tells the reader what the paper is about and why it’s important to pay attention to (good resource to see how this looks here https://libguides.astate.edu/c.php?g=14501&p=78098)

· Have a strong conclusion that ties the paper together (good resource to see how this looks here https://library.sacredheart.edu/c.php?g=29803&p=185935)

· Be 1,200 words minimum length (not including quotes, heading/title, Works Cited page)

· Be MLA Formatted

· Have at least 3 scholarly sources (great website to determine if your source is scholarly https://www.library.illinois.edu/ugl/howdoi/scholarly/)

· Have at least 2 credible sources (great website to determine if your source is credible https://sites.umgc.edu/library/libhow/credibility.cfm)

· Contain a properly formatted MLA Works Cited page

· Contain properly formatted MLA parenthetical in-text citations, where appropriate

General Recommendations:

· Use good time management – I would try to research one numbered part of the prompt per day and then write the corresponding paragraph the next day. Don’t wait until the day this paper is due to start your research and writing. You will not be able to create a well researched and written paper if you wait until the last minute.

· Have someone proof-read your paper – if you do not have anyone who can proof-read your paper, then take advantage of Grammarly.com. While this is not a fail-safe website, it is better than having no one read your paper at all before you turn it in.

· Avoid citation generators at all costs – I have never seen a well formatted Works Cited page that was created using citation generators. Please refer to the OWL at Purdue (https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_style_introduction.html) to learn how to format your Works Cited properly. This is a skill that will help you all throughout your college career.

· Reviewing your paper before you turn it in – make sure it is in MLA format; that means you have your text all the same size, font, and color in double spacing and you have selected to “remove space after paragraph”. Your heading includes your name, my name, course, and date. Your header is only your last name and the page number (this needs to be the same size, font, and color as the body of your paper).

Websites that may be helpful:

Texas Tribute - https://www.texastribune.org/

Texas Secretary of State Elections page - https://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/index.shtml

Ballotpedia - https://ballotpedia.org/Texas

Harris County Clerk’s Office Election Division - https://www.harrisvotes.com/

Pew Research Center Voter Participation - https://www.pewresearch.org/topics/voter-participation/

The Texas Lyceum - https://www.texaslyceum.org/

The Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin - https://texaspolitics.utexas.edu/

Texas Standard Government and Politics - https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/categories/government-politics/

Category	Exceeds Standard	Meets Standard	Nearly Meets Standard	Does Not Meet Standard	No Evidence
Introduction	Topic is clearly stated and appropriately focused.	Topic is clearly stated but focus needs to be sharper.	Topic is stated but not appropriately focused.	Topic is not clearly stated.	Topic is not mentioned.
Quality of Information	Information is clearly related to the main topic, including consistent supporting details, and/or examples.	Information clearly related to the main topic, provided adequate supporting details, and/or examples.	Information clearly related to the main topic, provided some supporting details, and/or examples.	Information related to the main topic, no details or examples provided.	Information had little or nothing to do with the main topic.
Organization	Information is logically organized and follows a linear progression.	Information is adequately organized and follows a linear progression.	Information is somewhat organized.	Obvious lack of organization.	No observable organization.
Mechanics and MLA Formatting	No grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors observed. Proper heading and formatting is observed.	Almost no grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors observed. Heading and formatting is observed.	A few grammatical spelling or punctuation errors observed. Heading and formatting is observed.	Many grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors observed. OR Proper heading and formatting is not observed.	Limited observable effort in the area of mechanics.
MLA Formatting Sources	6 or more appropriate sources documented in proper MLA format, both in-text and Works Cited.	At least 5 appropriate sources documented in proper MLA format, both in-text and Works Cited.	At least 4 appropriate sources documented in proper MLA format, both in-text and Works Cited.	At least 3 appropriate sources documented in proper MLA format, both in-text and Works Cited.	Fewer than 2 appropriate sources. No observable effort in MLA formatting sources.