ways to participate

• ways to participate - voting

  One way that US citizens can participate in politics is by voting in

  elections. This means that US citizens aged 18 and over have

  opportunities to vote for someone to represent them at federal,

  state and county level. In federal elections, you vote for the

  President every 4 years and Congress every 2 years. For example,

  in the 2024 US Presidential election, over 76.9 million people voted

  for Donald Trump for President.
• ways to participate - protesting

  Another way citizens can participate in politics is by protesting.

  This means that just like in Scotland, citizens in the US are free

  to speak their mind and can protest, march and demonstrate

  against laws they disagree with or for matters which they feel

  strongly about in the hope that it will bring about change by the

  government. For example, throughout 2020 in the US there were

  BLM protests against police brutality after the killing of George

  Floyd.
• ways to participate - joining a party

  Another way US citizens can participate in politics is through

  joining one of the two main parties in the US, the Democrats

  or Republicans. Being a party member lets US citizens take part in

  the primary elections where they can choose their preferred

  candidate for President. For example, Democrats tend to be

  supported by the poor, unemployed and ethnic minorities.

  Republicans are more closely linked to the rich, big business and

  the middle class.