43-1 (02)
release dates: Oct. 19-25
Especially
for
and
their
families
e
I
By BETTY DEBNAM
It's "Off-Year" Election Voting Time
Changing Our Congress
Elections for Congress
Our US. Congress
is made up of men
and women who
are elected to make
our national laws.
They are elected to
serve in the Senate
or in the House of
;Rii!~ Representatives.
Electing senators
A voter studies her ballot while voting in a
primary election. In primary elections,
candidates of the same party run against
each other for political offices. The
winners will run against candidates from
the other party or parties in the upcoming
elections.
Off-year elections
General elections are statewide
elections held every two years. Some
general elections are presidential
elections when we elect our president. In
two years, the year 2004 will be a
presidential election year.
Since we are not electing a president
this year, we call it an "off-year" election.
On Nov. 5, 2002, the polls, or voting
places, will be open for an "off-year"
election.
Each state has
two senators. The
senators serve
six-year terms.
They represent
all of their state. Usually only one
senator in each state is up for re-election
in the same year. Every two years, voters
select one-third, or about 33, of the
members of the US. Senate.
Electing representatives
There are a total of 435
members of the US.
House of Representatives.
Each state gets its
number of representatives based on the
number of people who live there.
Every 10 years, after the US. census is
taken, state lawmakers in most states
are required to reshape the state's
districts. This is called "redistricting" or
"reapportioning." All districts in a state
should have about the same population.
If a state's population has grown, that
state may get to add another representative
and must reshape its districts.
If a state's population does not grow as
fast as others, or if it loses population, the
state may lose a congressional district
and must reshape its districts, too.
If a state's population has moved around,
the district lines must change, too.
House of Representative districts after the 2000 census
Shown on the map
are the number of
oongressional
districts in eaoh
state and if the
state has gained
or lost distriots.
• How many
represent atives does
your state have?
• Whioh state has
the most distriots?
• Whioh states have
only one distriot?
Please include all of the appropriate registered trademark symbols and copyright lines in any publication of The Mini Page®,
43-2 (02); release dates: Oct. 19-25
from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam C 2002 The MIni Page Publishing Company Inc.
A Dictionary of Congress
This painting shows George
Washington at the convention to
write our Constitution.
The rules for redistricting are
in the Constitution.
The writers of our Constitution
thought that the legislative, or
lawmaking, branch of our
government was so important
that they put it in Article l.
Section 1 gives the power of
making the laws to two houses,
the Senate and the House of
Representatives.
Section 2 is about the House
of Representatives. This section
states that the number of
members a state can send is
based on its population, and that
a count of the states' population
should be taken every 10 years.
Section 3 is about the Senate
and how it would be elected. At
first, members were chosen by
state legislatures. But this was
later changed so that members
are elected by the vote of the
people.
with members of Congress and their
staffs and try to get them to see
their side of things.
Majority leader: an elected
member of each house whose party
has more seats, or members.
Mark-up: a committee meeting
where members add amendments
(changes) and rewrite bills.
On the floor: When we say
Senator X is "on the floor," we mean
that he or she is sitting in a chair,
walking or standing on the floor of
the Senate chamber (meeting room).
Override: Two-thirds of all the
senators and representatives vote
that a bill can become a law, in spite
of a president's veto (or attempt to
stop it).
Quorum: the number of
members who must be present to
conduct the business of either house
of Congress.
Seniority: length of service on a
House or Senate committee. The
member of the party in power with
the greatest seniority usually heads
the committee.
Whip: Both parties, Democrats
and Republicans, in both houses
elect a whip, or assistant
leader, who has many
duties, including
rounding up members
for important votes.
Here are some words that you
might use when talking about our
U.S. Congress:
Adjourn: to end a day or session.
Bill: a law that has been
proposed.
Capitol Hill: the hill where the
U.S. Capitol stands in Washington,
D.C. It is also called "the Hill."
Committee system: The
Congress uses this system to do
most of its business. The committees
are made up of small groups of
members who study proposed bills
and make reports.
Constituents: people whom a
member of Congress represents.
Filibuster: In order to delay or
stop a bill from being voted on,
members keep talking about it for
hours. A filibuster can be used only
in the Senate.
Hearings: committee meetings
where the public can give its
opinions on bills.
House: an assembly that makes
laws. ''The House" is also a short name
for the House of Representatives.
Bills to raise taxes or spend money
must start in the House.
Lobby: men and
women who work for
businesses or special
groups that want certain
laws passed. They talk
from The MInI Page by Betty Debnam C 2002 The MIni Page Publishing Company Inc.
from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam C 2002 The Mini Page Publishing Company Inc.
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Mini Spy ...
Mini Spy and her friends are waiting in line to vote.
See if you can find: • olive • two sailboats • strawberry
~..._ _ _.·bell
umbrella
• man in the
moon
VOTE!
• key
• word MINI
• pencil
• kite
~:--'----r-'ll • ruler
• carrot
• teapot
• number 7
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CONGRESS
TRY'N
FIND
Words and names that remind us of elections are hidden in the
block below. Some words are hidden backward or diagonally.
See if you can find: VOTE, STATE, CANDIDATE, IJ4.W, RUN,
OFFICE, PIJ4.TFORM, SPEECH, DEMOCRAT, NOMINATE,
POLITICS, WIN, CHOOSE, PARTY, DEBATE, ELECT, TERM.
ACO
B A P
S N L
P D E
E I E
E D E
C A J
H T E
N E Y
Z 0 F F I C E I
A J P L A T F o
AWC V 0 T E Q
T A T S T D R C
L E C T F E S D
T A B E D S R P
C H 0 0 S E V M
TANIMON L
H V TAR COM
Q
R
B
K
L
N
F
X
E
Please include all of the appropriate registered trademark symbols and copyright lines in any publication of The Mini Page®.
I P P
M A 0
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M T C
G N S
D R D
43-3 (02); release dates: Oct. 19-25
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leS ReClpe
You'll need:
• 1 cup all-purpose flour,
plus 2 tablespoons
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine,
softened
What to do:
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~ Election Lemon Squares
~ook'e
When candidates decide to run for office,
we often say that they are tossing their
hat into the ring. Can you go dot to dot
and color this political symbol?
from The Mini Page by Belly D _ C> 2002 The MInI Page Publishing Company Inc.
.....
.:0
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar, divided
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1. Combine 1 cup flour, butter or margarine and 1f4 cup powdered
sugar in a medium bowl. Mix well. Pat mixture evenly on
bottom of a greased 8-by-8-inch pan .
2. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 15 minutes.
3. Combine remaining ingredients, except 1/4 cup powdered sugar,
in another medium bowl. Mix well .
4. Spread evenly on top of first mixture. Bake for 25 minutes at
350 degrees.
5. Remove from oven and sprinkle with 1/4 cup powdered sugar.
Cut into squares. Makes about 1 dozen.
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Meet Tahj Mowry
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from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam C> 2002 The MIni Page Publishing Company Inc.
Tahj Mowry, 15, has been in show
business most of his life. He started in
commercials when he was 4. Since then,
he has been in many TV shows and is
best known as the star of "Smart Guy."
Tahj was born in Honolulu, Hawaii,
and has two older twin sisters, actresses Tia and
Tamara, and a younger brother, Tavior. When he was
very young, the family moved to Texas, then Los
Angeles.
Besides acting, he also does cartoon voices and dances.
He has danced in several music videos.
Tahj likes studying science. His favorite sports are
basketball and football, and he collects trading cards
and action figures.
C>
from The Mini Page by Belly D _
2002 The Mini Page Publishing Company Inc.
from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam C 2002 The Mini Page Publishing Company Inc.
@TM ~~~ Mfirmfi JJ@Ik@~
The following jokes have something in common.
Can you guess the common theme or category?
Susan: What pretty fruit hosts a game show?
Sam: Banana White!
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George: What's yellow and writes?
Gina: A ballpoint banana!
Stuart: What is yellow and says "Ho, ho, ho!"?
Sheila: Santa banana!
Please include all of the appropriate registered trademark symbols and copyright lines in any publication of The Mini Page®.
43-4 (02); release dates: Oct. 19-25
from The MIni Page by Betty Debnam C 2002 The Mini Page Publishing Company Inc.
Redistricting
To find out more about
redistricting, take a look at the state
of North
Carolina and
see how and
why things
changed.
Not all states had to redistrict in
2002. Seven states do not have big
populations, so they have only one
representative.
11990 1census
In 1990, the U.S.
reported that
North Carolina had 6,628,637
people. At that time, the state had
12 of the 435 seats in the U.S. House
of Representatives. The ideal district
had 552,386 people.
How many districts do you see'?
12000 lOver the next 10
years, North Carolina's
population grew to 8,049, 313 people.
This helped the state gain another
seat. The ideal district is now
619,178 people.
This is a view of the U.S. Capitol from the east side. The Congress is made up of two
"houses," or groups. From this view, the House of Representatives meets on the left
side and the Senate meets on the right. Only a few members have an office in the
Capitol. Most members' offices are in nearby buildings.
Unfair dividing of districts
Senate and House elections
~
Republican
~
Democrat
Political parties in the state
lawmaking groups often have differences
in how to divide the districts. Usually,
the party in power, the Democrats or
Republicans, wants to divide the state
in a way that favors their party. If
their plans are not fair, we call this
"gerrymandering." This name is based
on the name of a former governor of
Massachusetts, Elbridge Gerry. In
1812, he redrew the
sboundaries of the
..".
districts in his state in
Elbridge
such a way to be
Gerry
favorable to his party.
WJ
In most cases, the candidates for
the Senate races must compete
harder to win their elections than
those running for the House of
Representatives. U.S. senators
represent a whole state,
while candidates
running for the U.S.
House represent their
smaller districts.
Candidates running
for the House of Representatives
have to spend less money than those
running for the Senate. A Senate
candidate might spend more than $6
million, while a House candidate
might spend about $600,000.
We have shaded the states where U.S. senators are running for office.
Since senators represent an entire state, they don't have to worry about redistricting.
Now how many districts do
you see'?
Look through your paper for
news of the upcoming
elections.
J------------I
Next week, read all about
skeletons and bones.
In the general election
next month, there are
candidates for other
political offices running,
too. In some states,
there are races for
governor. There usually
are also candidates
running for the state
legislatures and other
state and some city
jobs.
In The Mini Page issue
last month on Alabama
From A to Z, we used
the wrong state flag.
The correct flag is
shown.
Is there a Senate election
in your state?
Please include all of the appropriate registered trademark symbols and copyright lines in any publication of The Mini Page®.
Read all about
our changing
Congress
by Betty Debnam
Appearing in your
newspaper on _ _ _ __
~~I~I~~::=.~=panYlnc.
(Note to Editor: Above is cameraready, one column-by-41f4-inch ad
promoting Issue 43.)
43-5 (02)
release dates: Oct. 19-25
The ..~:.i ,aiiiPageSts;,~~d;S;~;iigh~~'ngcompanY~c. ~TM Gus (k;ocfiport;i;;;
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Changing Our Congress
Mini Page activities meet many state and national educational standards. Each
week we identify standards that relate to The Mini Page's content and offer
activities that will help your students reach them.
This week's standards:
• Students distinguish among local, state and national government and identify
representative leaders at these levels (Social Studies: Power, Authority and Governance)
Activities:
1. Pretend a family member or friend is running for a state office. Design a campaign poster
for the election.
2. List five different ways you would use to convince people to vote for your candidate.
3. Collect newspaper stories about local and state elections. Make a list of all the candidates
you find and the parties they represent. What different political parties are active in your
area? How many candidates are there in each party? Does any particular race seem to get
more coverage than others? Why do you think that race is of special interest?
4. Use reference books and the Internet to learn more about your state government. Use
these questions to guide your research: How many "houses" are in your state's legislature?
How is the number oflegislators determined? Who are the state legislators who represent
your community? Who are the national legislators who represent your community?
5. Special Note to Teachers: Learn about a special election project titled "Freedom's Answer."
This is a non-partisan, non-profit national campaign to achieve the largest voter turnout
ever in a non-presidential year as an answer to last year's Sept. 11 attacks. Among other
activities, the project enlists students to encourage adults to register and vote in the next
election. For more information, visit the Freedom's Answer Web site:
www.freedomsanswer.net.
(standards by Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi)
(Note to Editor: Above is the Standards for Issue 43.)
Supersport: Derek Parra
Height: 5-4 Birthdate: 3-15-70
Weight: 140 Birthplace: San Bernardino, Calif.
One of the stars of last winter's Olympics was
Derek Parra. He won a silver and a gold medal
in speed skating. His time in his silver medal
race set a U.S. record and 'his time in his gold
medal race set a world record.
At 14, Derek took up roller skating and became a national
and world champion. He was also an in-line skater. In 1996,
he switched to speed skating.
He is the first-ever Mexican-American Winter Olympic
athlete.
Derek lives with his wife, Tiffany, and daughter, Mia, 1, in
Salt Lake City, Utah.
(Note to Editor: Above is copy block for Page 3, Issue 43, to be
used in place of ad if desired.)
Please include all of the appropriate registered trademark symbols and copyright lines in any publication of The Mini Page®.