final project for Texas Government

1. Participation in
Politics
By Johanna Kasper

2. Name: Johanna Kasper
Major: Nursing
Me and my mother

3. Motivation to be involved in politics?
• Up until this class I never really cared to be an active part in politics.
With what I learned in class I can see it is very important. During this
semester I got the chance to vote during the Midterm elections. My
motivation was I really did not want a particular candidate to win
because I was worried about having another reckless candidate in a
position of power. I was not able to participate in the last Presidential
election so I wanted to make up for that.

4. What Surprised you to learn in this class?
• First of I was surprised to learn about the complicated process that
goes into campaigning for any sort of office, from Presidential to even
a State senator.
• Second, the fact that there are two different types of cases, civil and
criminal, and that different juries/trials are used to prosecute them.
With civil cases being about one person suing another over just
causes, while the other is the state prosecuting a person who has
committed a crime.

5. Texas Influence National Government
• One big influence that most state governments have is the ability to
conduct elections. Also their own voting participation. As Texas does
tend to have the lowest amount of voting participation it does make a
difference.
• Also in line with elections and voting participation is the lobbying and
selection of candidates for the actual elections. Depending on who is
elected when voting season comes around will have the most impact
and influence inside the national government as a whole.

6. Moving Forward…
• The big question is what to take away from this class and continue to
apply it throughout my college career. One of the biggest things I
learned from this class is how important participation, in voting or
otherwise, is in our respected State political issues. In the past I have
often “buried my head in the sand” when it came to such issues as I
did not see how it applied to me. After this class I saw just how
important one vote could be in the future of State policies. Now will I
pursue a career in the political world, no , I will never do that. I will
however continue to stay involved through voting and monitoring
respected candidates and their campaigns.