Controversial issues in US elections

The process of creating a party platform begins at the precinct level through those who voted in their state’s Primary Election. The Primary Election is the only time a voter must choose a political party before voting. In the November General Election, a voter may split the ticket by voting for a Democrat in one race and a Republican in another. Contact the political party of your choice to find out the process and the dates of your state’s Primary Election. If you are not currently registered to vote, you may register to vote at https://vote.usa.gov/.

The following texts compare how both US major parties respond to three controversial issues as reported in their 2000 and 2012 platforms. The 2016 platforms are not yet available. They are ussually issued at their respective National Conventions.

Three issues in
US National Political Platforms

On Prayer in Schools

The Democrats' Platform The Republicans' Platform
No mention of prayer in school.

We will continue to work for the
return of voluntary school prayer
to our schools and will strongly
enforce the Republican legislation
that guarantees equal access to
school facilities by student religious
groups. We strongly support
voluntary student-initiated prayer
in school without  governmental
interference.  We strongly disagree with
the Supreme Court’s ruling
[Jane Doe v. Santa Fe, prohibiting
prayers at football games, athletic
events and school graduations], backed
by the current administration against
student-initiated prayer.

 

On Abortion

The Democrats' Platform The Republicans' Platform
The Democratic Party stands behind
the right of every woman to choose, consistent with Roe v. Wade, and
regardless of ability to pay. We
believe it is a fundamental
constitutional liberty that
individual Americans - not
government - can best take
responsibility for making the most
difficult and intensely personal
decisions regarding reproduction.
This year’s Supreme Court rulings
show to us all that eliminating a
woman’s right to choose is only
one Justice away.† That’s why the
stakes in this election are as high
as ever. Our goal is to make
abortion less necessary and more
rare, not more difficult and more
dangerous.

The Supreme Court in that year
recorded the most 5-4 decisions
in its history, meaning that most
decisions – on either side – might
have been reversed if only one
Justice had changed his or her
mind.

We support a human life
amendment to the Constitution
and we endorse legislation to
make clear that the Fourteenth
Amendment's protections apply
to unborn  children. Our purpose
is to have legislative and judicial
protection of that right against
those who perform abortions.
We oppose using public
revenues for abortion and will
not fund organizations which
advocate it. We support the
appointment of judges who
respect traditional family values
and the sanctity of innocent human life. The Supreme Court's decision
[Stenberg v. Carhart], peohibiting
States from banning partical-birth
abortions ─ a procedure denounced
by a committee of the American
Medical Association and rightly
branded as infanticide ─ shocks
the conscience of the nation. As a
country, we must keep our pledge
to the first guarantee of the
Declaration of Independence. That
is why we say the unborn child has
a fundamental individual right to
life which cannot be infringed.


The portion of the Declaration of
Independence to which this clause
refers, declares: “We hold these
truths to be self-evident, that all men
are created equal, that they are
endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable rights, that
among these are life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness. That to secure
these rights, governments are
instituted among men . . . ”

 

On School Choice and Faith-based Education

The Democrats' Platform The Republicans' Platform
The Republicans’ version of
accountability relies on
private school vouchers that
would offer too few dollars
to too few children to
escape their failing schools.
These vouchers would pass the
buck on accountability while
pulling bucks out of the
schools that need
them most ... Let there be no
mistake: what America needs
are public schools that
compete with one another and
are held accountable for
results, not private school
vouchers that drain resources
from public schools and hand
over the public’s hard-earned
tax dollars to private schools
with no accountability.

We believe that every child in
this land should have access to
a high quality, indeed, a world-
class education, and we’re
determined to meet that goal ...
We endorse the principles ...
which will ... assist states in
closing the achievement gap and
empower needy families to escape persistently failing schools by
allowing federal dollars to
follow their children to the
school of their choice. Expand
parental choice and encourage
competition by providing parents
with information on their child’s
school, increasing the number of
charter schools, and expanding
education savings accounts†† for
use from kindergarten through
college.


†† An educational savings account
allows parents (or friends,
grandparents, businesses, etc.)
to place up to $2000 per year into
an educational savings account
that is free from taxation. The
account may be used for K-16
educational expenses such as
tuition, textbooks, supplies,
after-school programs, tutoring,
and even home computers.

Full Text of the 2012 Republican Platform

Full Text of the 2012 Democratic Platform

2016 USA Political Campaign Calendar

 

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