How Government Works
By D. A. Sharpe
This document examines the four levels of
government and who are the people that inhabit the public offices. It also explains the input of citizens
have who are registered voters.
Table of Contents
1. Government in the
United States
How are we Structured
2. How & What Are
Office Holders We Elect?
3. What are Political
Parties?
4. The Electoral College Ð What is it?
5. The Political Parties in Texas
6. When are candidates
determined?
7. What and When are
Party Conventions?
Why This Document
About Government Was Composed
Many
of my friends and acquaintances are interested in one regard or another in
whatÕs going on in government or among elected officials (politicians). In discussing these subjects with them,
often I find that there is more knowledge many need to have a better grasp of
our national, state and local governance, and how political officials function. This document, structured as a course,
seeks to provide that.
You
may feel free to copy or forward any of it for positive teaching purposes. It
is not copyrighted. I do hope itÕs useful to you.
D. A. Sharpe
805 Derting Road East
Aurora, TX 76078-3812
817-504-6508
For readers who may not know
me, here is some information:
Who is Dwight Albert (D. A.)
Sharpe?
Facebook Account: Dwight
Albert Sharpe
1.
Government in the
United States
How are we Structured?
We have four levels of government which provide rules, guidance and protection in the
United States:
1.
The
Federal Government (National level)
2.
The
State Government
3.
The County Level
4.
The
Local Level
Most Texas voting citizens
have about 50 elected officials for whom they have occasional opportunity to
vote among these four levels of government.
The Federal, State and County
levels of government are partisan elections. The candidates in the General Elections
all are candidates represent a political party or an independent candidate
running against the party nominated candidates.
The Local level of
governments are non-partisan. Primarily, those entities are cities, school
boards and other miscellaneous units, such as water boards, etc. All candidates in those entities run as
independent citizens, not nominees of a political party. All candidates running for local
elective positives probably have personal associations or leanings toward a political
party, but their campaigning is not including references to political parties,
nor are any of those candidates nominated by a political party.
1.
The Federal Government of the United States of
America is composed of three primary branches. Every voter has five officer holders for
whom to vote on the federal level.
a.
The Congress
is the Legislative body that makes laws.
It has a House of Representatives, composed of 435 elected representatives from the 50
states and five non-voting representatives from various U.S. territories. The population size of
the average congressional district is 700,000+. The districts are re-sized after every
10 years of taking the US Census.
The hyperlink above shows how the states were increased, decreased or
remained the same in 2010. The
other part of the Congress is the U.S. Senate.
It is composed of two elected Senators from each of the 50 states, regardless
of size of the stateÕs population.
b.
The Presidential Branch,
headed by the person elected as the President of the United States, Donald John
Trump. The oversight responsibilities are over all the administrative functions
of the Federal government, enforcement of its laws, the maintaining of a
military. The President is assisted by the elected
Vice President, Mike Pence
c.
The
Judicial Branch, which are courts that preside over civil issues brought to
court my complaining individuals or corporations between each other, or
criminal issued brought by enforcing agencies or by individuals affected in the
crime. The President nominates
persons to be federal judges, and the Senate of the Congress approves them. The
highest court in the land (the last word on legal matters) is the 9-member
Supreme Court. All federal judge
appointments are for their lifetime or for whenever one choses to retire.
2.
The State Government (Texas in this case). Under the Tenth Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution, all powers not granted to the federal government are
reserved for the states and the people. All state
governments are modeled after the federal government and consist
of three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. There are 30 Texas state offices for
which to vote.
State Legislature (The body that makes laws). Similar to the federal
government, it has a House of Representatives and a
Senate. They meet in the odd number years from
January to June. These are
sometimes called the lower house and the upper house. There are 150 districts of one House
Representative, each elected for 2
year terms. The population average
of the average Texas House district is about 170,000. There are 31 State senators, each one
elected from an apportioned district averaging in population of about 900,000. The Texas Legislature resizes every ten
years as well.
The Executive Branch, which is the Governor of the
State that carries out the putting
into effect or enforcing the laws the State Legislature passes, IF the Governor
approves them.
a.
There
are other state-wide elected officials who were not present at the Red Gala
either. Here is a list of their offices:
i. Lieutenant Governor (presides over the Senate)
ii. Attorney General (the StateÕs lawyer)
iii. Comptroller of Public Accounts (StateÕs CPA)
iv. Commissioner General
Land Office
v. Commissioner of
Agriculture
vi. Railroad Commissioner (3 of them, manage oil industry
vii. Justice Supreme Court Places 1 through 9
viii.
Presiding Judge Court of
Criminal Appeals,
places 1 through 9
b.
The Judicial Branch, which are courts that preside over
civil issues brought to court my complaining individuals or corporations
between each other, or criminal issued brought by enforcing agencies or by
individuals affected in the crime. They are in vii and viii above.
c.
The County Level administers governance over the geography of
the whole county. Texas has 254
Counties. Our county is Wise County. Counties
have the similar Legislative, Executive and Judicial branches as doe the
Federal Government and the State Governments. It has a variety of elected officials,
listed below. Each county is administrated by a five-member Commissioners' Court consisting of four
elected commissioners elected from single-member districts (called
commissioner precincts) and a county judge elected from the county at-large. Every county in Texas has four
Commissioner Districts, and one elected official for each Commissioner
District. Each county branch is headed by someone who is elected by the voting
public. Wise County has 23 offices
for which to vote and 14 county officers who are appointed by the
CommissionersÕ Court. A given
citizen votes for 14 of these 23 offices.
In some states, what
we call counties are called parishes in Louisiana or Boroughs in Alaska.
d.
Legislative Branch: The County Commissioners
Court
is the legislature making body.
Every county in Texas has four Commissioner Districts, and two elected
officials for each Commissioner District
e.
The Executive Branch is the administration
of the CountyÕs business, carried out by the elected County Judge and the administrative staff he hires. The county judge administers the
departments of the county government.
The judge does not have authority to veto a decision of the
commissionersÕ court, but the judge votes along with the commissioners (being
the tie-breaker in close calls). In
smaller counties, the county judge does perform judicial duties, but in larger
counties the judge's role is limited to administrative duties on the
commissionersÕ court and certifying elections.
f.
The
Judicial Branch are the local county
courts addressing issues relative to the county laws and the citizen complaints
and the local policing enforcement issues.
g.
The County Sheriff maintains the County
Jail to house arrested alleged law breakers against laws in the county and for
city police departments that may not have jail facilities. The law enforcement duties are in the
non-city areas of the county, or in the case of a small city that does not have
its own police department, such as we see in Aurora, TX.
h.
The County Clerk administers civic
records, such as birth certificates, death certificates, marriages, property
transactions being recorded
i.
The County Tax
Accessor-Collector oversees
the administration of estimating the value of real estate and homes so that the
annual tax rate made by the County Commissioners Court. In addition to figuring out how much tax
property owners should pay, the County Tax Accessor-Collector, sends out an
annual invoice and collect the money for that yearÕs tax. It also collects fees
for driversÕ license and automobile license plate renewals.
j.
The
District
Judge
is elected to preside over a District Court. In our case, the 271st
District Court covers all Wise County and all of Jack County, the county
immediately to the west of us. More populous counties have one or more District
Court serving each county. There are nine such large counties in Texas
k.
The District Attorney is the prosecutor in district courts for
criminal charges in this dual district of Wise and Jack Counties. It also maintains records of all
criminal proceedings which occur in the county courts.
l.
The
Wise County Attorney is an attorney who represents the County in
legal matters.
m.
The
District Clerk records acts or
proceedings from the District Court by the elected Judge,
administers child support payments, trust accounts ordered by a judge for
children, keeps files on what should be paid to citizens who serve on court
room juries.
n.
The
County Treasurer pays the bills
approved for payment. The Treasurer
assists the County Judge and the Commissioners Court with information for them
to form the annual county budget.
o.
Their
four Justice of
the Peace
courts and their Judges (called Justices of the Peace) in every Texas
county. Their area covers the same
area as the County Commissioners.
i.e. the 3rd Precinct area for the County Commissioner is the
same area for the 3rd Precinct Justice of the Peace.
p.
Constable: For each Precinct Justice of the Peace Court, there is a Constable
elected.
q.
The
Commissioners Court appoints 14 department
heads for some important duties, but they are appointed, not elected by the
voters. Routinely, they are
nominations by the county judge, and voted on at the CommissionersÕ Court.
Asset Management
Auditor
Elections Administrator
Emergency Management
Coordinator
EMS Administrator
Engineer
Fire Marshall
Indigent Health Care
Information Technology
911 Addressing
Public Works
Systems Administration
Veterans Service
Wise County Animal Shelter
3.
Local City, School
Districts
and other miscellaneous districts that vary from place to place. So, our voters have at least four
offices for which to vote.
a.
City: WestmorelandÕs do not live in a city, but we
live in the city of Aurora. We vote on a Mayor and our district City Council
members. Aurora has 3 districts,
with 2 council members in each. We
vote for a mayor and two councilmembers in elections on the first Tuesday in May
during the odd numbered years..
b.
School District: Public School Districts will have School Board
of Trustees to elect. We are in the
Northwest Independent
School District. Each voter would vote on one
position. That district has six
elected members of the Board. These
elections also are on the first Tuesday in May of the odd numbered years.
c.
Some
locations have other public entities
for which their board members are subject to election. We donÕt have any, but it could be an
organization, such as a water board or a special development board, etc.
2. How & What Are Office Holders We
Elect?
The terms of office for most all elected positions are four years each. United State Senators in Congress and,
in Texas, State Senators serve six year terms. For the United States Houses of
Representatives in Congress and in the Texas State Legislature, they serve two
year terms.
The terms of United States
President are limited by law to election to two four-year terms. If a President vacates that office
(usually itÕs for death reasons), the Vice President automatically completes
the term of office that President was serving. Then the Vice President, who became
President, still could run for election in up to two additional terms.
An interesting fact most people donÕt know is that a former U.S. President
could serve subsequently as a Vice President, should a nominated candidate for
President should select him or her to run for Vice President. If that President died during a
four-year term, that Vice President, who is a Former President, could serve
again as a President, but only until the end of that term. The Constitution does limit Presidents
being elected to only for two elections.
The idea is that Senators,
both nationally in Congress and in the State Legislatures, are intended to be
more stable services of experience and maturity, having six year terms. The idea that Òthe peopleÓ should be
more rapidly represented by possible changing views among the voters is what
brought the House of Representatives in Congress and the House of
Representatives in the State Legislatures to two terms each.
Nationally, the only office
with a term limitation is the Presidency.
Appointments to the federal judiciary are life-time appointments, made
by the President of the United States, and approved by the Senate of the
Congress. Those terms end only at
the event of death or voluntary resignation (retirement or deciding to pursue
some other activity in life).
The examples in this document
about government at the State, County or Local levels are for Texas. Most other states are similar situations,
but some have slightly varied forms of virtually the same approach to
governing. In some states, local
elections are partisan elections.
The candidates are representatives nominated by the respective political
party. Usually these are the
Democratic or Republican Parties or some lessor known political party.
In all the cases of four-year
terms, approximately half of them are up for re-election in each General
Election. That keeps a rotation of
new and incumbent officers elected.
When are General Elections? General
Elections, by Federal Law, are held the Tuesday after the first Monday in
November of the even numbered years.
The earliest possible date is November 2 and the latest is November 8,
which we had in 2016.
Who are the candidates on the ballot of General
Elections? Each political party has its candidate
for each of the offices for which that party has chosen to run. It was determined in the Party Primary
Election in March in Texas.
3 .
What are Political Parties?
What are the political parties? There are two predominate political
parties that have operated in the United States for at least the past
century. There are several
other political parties existing, each existing usually around a focus of
advocacy, but none of such parties have resulted in election success.
The Democratic
Party views tend to seek the best
overall good for the citizens through creating governing structures that see to
it that the results of public benefits have general equality among the
citizens.
The Republican Party tends to represent ideas that the best good for the most citizens can
result in less government structure, thus allowing more freedom for citizens to
choose opportunities to reap benefits of life.
These are over simplified
descriptions, but can serve the purposes of this document.
In todayÕs competitive political world, itÕs easy to perceive that both these
political parties (and the few small parties) view the other party as grossly
wrong and representative of negative values. The truth is that each Democrat and each
Republican believes they are advocating for the best good for all the
people. ItÕs just that each have
differing views about how best that good is accomplished.
It is legal for a third party
to exist in the United States, but no third-party effort in the past couple of
centuries has been successful. The 1992 Presidential General Election is the only Presidential election that represented a
significant impact by a third party or an independent candidate. The incumbent President was George H. W. Bush, running
for his second term in office as a Republican Party candidate. The challengers were the Democratic
Party candidate, Bill Clinton,
and independent candidate H.
Ross Perot.
In the 1992 Presidential
Election, Bill Clinton won that election with 43% of the vote, but with 370
electoral college votes (only need 270 electoral college votes to win). The one-term incumbent George H. W. Bush
received only 37% of the vote, along with only 168 electoral college
votes. H. Ross Perot received 19%
of the vote, and no electoral votes.
The remaining 1% were various write-in candidates, etc.
The impact that Mr. Perot had
was that probably the great majority of his votes were from voters of the more
conservative views that would have voted for the Republican candidate, if Mr.
Perot had not been in the race.
That would have given the incumbent Republican President Bush a 55+% of
the votes, and most likely enough electoral college votes to have won a second
term. Mr. Perot became the reason
Mr. Bush did not serve a second Presidential term.
It is possible in the
Electoral College to win the election with 270 or more Electoral College votes,
yet not achieve a majority percent of the popular vote.
The Presidential
election of 1860 pitted Abraham Lincoln, John C. Breckenridge John Bell and
Stephen A. Douglas. The issues
surrounded those which led up to the War Between the States (known generally as
the Civil War). Lincoln won with
180 electoral votes, versus 72 electoral votes for Breckenridge, 39 electoral
votes for Bell and 12 electoral votes for Douglas. However, Lincoln won only 39.8% of the
popular vote, whereas Breckenridge won 18.1%, Bell won 12.6% and Douglas won
29.5%
4.
The Electoral College Ð What is it?
The Electoral College was
formed out of the controversies involved in creating the Constitution
of the United States. On February
21, 1787, the Confederation Congress called a convention of state delegates at
Philadelphia to propose a plan of government. Up to that time, the national government
had functioned with a document entitled the Articles of Confederation. Its defects were what caused Congress to
call for a new attempt in creating a workable governing plan.
The Great Compromise was what was called the final agreement to have the President elected
by Electoral College delegates elected from the various states. The plan centered around the number of
office holders elected to the national legislative body, called the
Congress.
The Senate would have two
Senators elected from each state.
The House of Representatives would be comprised of the number of
Representatives determined by a formula of population size. The more populous states had more
members of the House of Representatives in Congress, whereas rural states had
less. For example, today, seven
States have only one House member, yet each has two Senators.
We have in the United States
today (50) States. There are 435
members of the House of Representatives.
Every 10 years, the Census is counted of the population of the United
States. When some states lose
population and other states gain, then the 435 Congressional seats are redistributed. The effect is that some States
lose effective power in Congress and others gain more.
Currently, the six states
with the most electors are California (55), Texas (38), New York (29), Florida (29), Illinois (20) and Pennsylvania (20). The
seven smallest states by population Ð Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and WyomingÐ have three electors
each. This is because each of these states is entitled to one representative
and two senators.
Washington D.C. is a
political jurisdiction, but it is not a State. With a population existing in Washington
D. C., the Constitution allows it to have what would be its proportional share
of House members in Electoral votes, if it was a State, but may not have more
than the least populous state(s).
Currently, that is 3 Electoral votes for Washington D.C. voters. The Constitution allows no Senators for
Washington D.C.
The Electoral College is
composed of the following:
Members
of the House of Congress: 435
Members
of the Senate of Congress: 100
House
Members from D.C.: 3
Total
Electoral College Votes 538
Needed to win 50%+ of the
vote requires at least 270 Electoral Votes.
In the 2016 Presidential General Election, Donald John Trump won 304 Electoral votes, versus
227 Electoral votes by Hillary Rodham Clinton. Trump won 45.9% of the popular vote,
whereas Clinton won 48.0 % of the vote.
The other 9 Electoral votes were won by miscellaneous or third party
candidates, Colin Powell 3, John Kasich 1,
Ron Paul 1, Bernie Sanders 1,
Faith Spotted Eagle 1.
5. The Political Parties in Texas
The Democratic
Party of Texas functions for its
partyÕs activities throughout the State of Texas and it sends delegates to the
Democratic PartyÕs National Conventions every four years. This website gives particulars
for the Democrats working in Texas, including the party leadership.
The Republican
Party of Texas (RPT) works as well
within the borders of the State of Texas.
This website gives about the Texas activities of Republicans, including
its party leadership.
We in Wise County reside in Texas Senate District #30. It is a 14-county district located in mid-North Texas.
The RPT is managed by the State Executive Committee (SEC). There is one elected Committeeman and
one elected Committeewoman for each of the 31 Senatorial Districts in
Texas. Each of these districts has
an average of about 900,000 people in their populations. SEC members are
elected to two-year terms each time the RPT holds its biennial State
Convention.
Each of the 254 counties in
Texas have a Chairman of the Republican Party and a Chairman of the Democratic
Party, who is elected by the people voting in the March Republican Party Primary
Election, which occurs on the first Tuesday in March of the even numbered
years.
6.
When are candidates determined?
When do the Political Parties determine WHO will be their candidates in the November General
Election?
Each state has laws that
describe when the political parties conduct what is called a Party Primary Election. When Party Primary Elections occur
varies from state to state, but the times range in the United States from
February to May in the years that a General Election is scheduled for
November. In Texas, the law
specifies our Party Primary Election to be on the first Tuesday in March of the
even-numbered years.
Primary Elections for
both the Democratic and the Republican Parties occur on the same date, and both
parties use the same physical voting booth locations.
Some states require
voter registration that indicates in advance the political party with which you
identify. Your registered voter
card would allow you to vote only in the Party Primary Election of your Party
shown on that card. In Texas, it is
one of the states that does not require Party registration. You simply register as a voter, with a
voter identification card that make no Party reference. When you come to the voting poll for a
Party Primary Election, after you qualify yourself to the Election Judge as a
legally registered voter, all you need to do is say which Party Primary Ballot
you wish to be issued on which you will vote.
That means any
registered voter for change their mind on Party inclination anytime up to when
they vote. However, when you do
vote, you can vote only in ONE of the Party Primaries. In a Party Primary Election, you cannot
vote for some candidate races on one PartyÕs ballot and for some candidate
races on the other PartyÕs ballot.
For each office on which
voting will take place, as many candidates as want to may qualify and run for
election on a Party Primary Election Ballot. If only one candidate files for the
Party Primary Election Ballot, that candidate automatically is on the PartyÕs
General Election Ballot in November.
If more than one candidate files for an office, any candidate who
received more than 50% of the vote becomes the PartyÕs candidate in the
November General Election. If three
or more candidates run, and none receives 50% or more of the votes, then a
runoff election is scheduled for about a month later. The runoff election has only the two
candidates from the Primary Election who received the most votes. The winner of the runoff election
represents the Party in the November General Election.
7. What and When are Party
Conventions?
The Political Parties
hold Precinct Conventions at the end
of the day on Primary Election Days.
Generally, these are held in the same general physical location as the
voting poll was that day. Each
Party usually is in a separate room.
The purpose of the Precinct Convention is to elect the qualified number
of Delegates and Alternate Delegates to attend the PartyÕs County Convention,
which is about a month later. The
purpose also can entertain proposed Resolutions to be sent to the County
Convention for consideration. A
Resolution relates to advocating any proposed change in law, party rules or
causes to advocate in the Party Platform.
The County Convention in Texas meets on the third Saturday following the
Primary Election. If that is
a Passover or Good Friday weekend, itÕs held the following Saturday. If more than portions of two state
Senatorial Districts are within a County, then Senatorial Conventions are held instead. That Convention will elect Delegates and
Alternate Delegates to the PartyÕs State Convention. It also considers any Resolutions from
the Precinct Conventions or generated by Delegates at this Convention.
The State Convention in Texas is held the second Saturday in June of the
even numbered years. It elects
Delegates and Alternate Delegates to the National Convention in the years of
Presidential elections, years that have a February 29th).
It considers Resolutions
and Party Platforms to recommend to the National Convention, or for the Texas
Platform. In Presidential election
years, it votes for the PartyÕs Presidential candidate that the Delegates cast
votes to give at least 50%+ votes. It
also elects those people who will serve as Electors for the State in the
Presidential voting by the Election College.
At each State
Convention, the officers for the Party to lead over the next two years are
elected: State Chairman, State Vice
chairman, and the 62 members to serve as the State Executive Committee. There are one committeeman and one
committeewoman elected from each of the 31 senatorial state districts in
Texas. They are elected at the
State Conventions in the Senatorial Caucus meetings.
The State Convention elects Delegates and Alternate Delegates to the partyÕs
National Convention that year. This
is done when the Convention participants are assembled in what is called
Congressional Caucuses. There are
36 Congressional Districts in Texas.
The National
Convention nominates it President
and Vice President candidates to be on the General Election Ballot in
November. It also refines and
determines what will be the Party Platform. The Party Platform state what are the
issues or political views that the party advocates to the general voting public
as being what the candidates of that party are expected to accomplish.
8. Who Can Vote?
Any citizen of the
United States may register to vote through the County Government Office of the
county in which he or she lives. It
must be where you live and not, for example, where you are employed. You might live in Wise County, but your
job is in Denton County. You are to
be only a Wise County voter.
That means you may file
as a candidate for election to a county office only in your county of residence
where you are a registered voter.
In the beginning years
of the government of the United States, only males were registered to
vote. On May 21, 1919, U.S.
Representative James R. Mann (1856-1922), a Republican from Illinois and
chairman of the House of Representatives Suffrage Committee, proposed the House
resolution to approve the Susan Anthony Amendment granting women the right to
vote. The measure passed the House 304-89Ña full 42 votes above the required
two-thirds majority.
On June 19, 1919, the whole
Congress of the United States, including the Senate, passed the proposal of the
19th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution which would allow women to
register to vote. Such proposal
required the concurrence of the majority members in state legislatures of at
least 2/3Õs of the states. The
deciding vote came with the State of Tennessee Legislature approval, made by a
1 count deciding vote cast by 23-year old Representative Harry T. Burn, a
Republican from McMinn County.
Wyoming became the first
state to grant voting rights to women.
It also was the first state to elect a female governor, Nellie Taylor
Ross (1876 Ð 1977) in 1924. This is
a reason the state nickname for Wyoming is the ÒEquality State.Ó Gov. Ross subsequently served as the
first female Director of the United States Mint, 1933 Ð 1953.
Conclusion
I trust this document
has been instructive and helpful to your understanding of our political
processes.
Respectfully submitted,
805 Derting Road East
Aurora (Wise County),
TX 76078-3712
817-504-6508 Cell
da@dasharpe.com e-mail
address
www.dasharpe.com website
address