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Topics & standards covered: Campaigns,
elections, Electoral College, political parties, political communication.



	It has been said, with the Electoral College system, that a presidential election in the United States is really 51 separate elections. Afterall, within each state (and the District of Columbia) the candidates compete to win the popular vote in order to win the electoral votes. Use the topics and questions below to analyze and predict how specific states are going to vote on November 2nd in the 2004 presidential election.



	1. Current Polls: Track past or current poll results in this state. Which candidate is ahead? by how many points? What is the source of your poll? 2. Campaign Ads: Take a look at how each candidate's ads are impacting voters in this state. Identify the messages and evaluate whether or not the ads are persuasive to voters in that state. 3. Issues: Identify key policy issues of concern to voters in this state. Where do the candidates stand on each of these issues? Whose message is more appealing to the voters? 4. Other Races: To what degree are races for U.S. Senate, U.S. House or Governor affecting the race for president in this state? Are there any initiatives on the ballot affecting the campaign? 5. Historical Voting Trends: Research the past voting records of this state. How many people voted for the Republican candidate in 2000? for the Democratic candidate? How about previous elections? 6. Candidate visits: Research the details surrounding the last visit made by each campaign to this state. What was the message of the visit? Where did the event take place? Who was in the audience? How did the media report about the event? 7. Voter registration and procedures: How many new voters have registered? What are the voting procedures and how might they impact turnout or results? 8. Other notes about this state to consider when predicting the Election Day outcome:



	Track Election Day results using this chart. Before Election Day, fill in the first two columns-record the number of electoral votes at stake in each state and predict a winner. On November 2nd, use a variety of media outlets to track state by state results beginning at 6pm ET when the first polls close (Indiana and Kentucky). Record the electoral and popular votes for each state on the chart as the results are confirmed. (Some of the data cells may remain blank.) Lastly, add up the total electoral votes and popular votes for each candidate. Who will be the next president of the United States? Were your predictions correct? Presidential Race Chart Use the Senate and House race charts to track results and determine which party will control the House and which party will control the Senate in the next Congress, the 109th. The party with the MOST members holds the leadership positions and the committee chairs, thereby controlling the agenda and work of the Congress. Currently, Republicans hold a 229-205 majority in the House and a 51-48 majority in the Senate over Democrats . Senate Race Chart (Excel) House Race Chart (Excel)