4. The term “democracy” was first used in ancient Greece to
mean a government where people could share in the
activities of the state, as opposed to governments controlled
by an individual, a class or a group.
Today the term has evolved to mean the idea that the
governed have the right and the capacity, either directly or by
choosing representatives, to control their institutions for their
own purposes. Great value is placed on individual equality
and freedom for citizens from restraints except those which
adhere to the principle of equality and are imposed solely by
the consent of the majority.

6. EVEN IN THE 21ST CENTURY, FEWER
THAN HALF THE WORLD’S
COUNTRIES ARE TOTALLY FREE!*
28%
48 countries Totally Free
45%
85
countries
Partly Free
41%
60 countries Not Free

7. ONLY 60% OF THE WORLD’S COUNTRIES
HAVE ELECTORAL DEMOCRACIES
60%
117
Electoral
40%
78 COUNTRIES Democracies
COUNTRIES
Not
Electorial
Democracies

8. TODAY MORE THAN TWO BILLION OF
THE WORLD’S SEVEN BILLION PEOPLE
LIVE UNDER OPPRESSIVE RULE.
“We’ve been through a multiyear period in which the world’s authoritarians
seemed to be on the march and the democracies appeared to be in retreat,”
said David J. Kramer, president of Freedom House. “But the past year’s
trends (the political uprisings that have swept the Arab world over the past
year) give reason for hope—especially because they arose in a region of the
world where many observers dismissed the idea of democratic change as
futile. We are at a historic moment, and it is imperative that the United
States be fully involved in the difficult process of democracy building that
lies ahead.”*
* www.freedomhouse.org
Freedom in the World, Freedom House’s flagship publication, is the standard-setting comparative assessment of
global political rights and civil liberties. Published annually since 1972, the survey ratings and narrative reports on
195 countries and 14 related and disputed territories are used by policymakers, the media, international
corporations, civic activists, and human rights defenders to monitor trends in democracy and track improvements
and setbacks in freedom worldwide. The Freedom in the World data and reports are available in their entirety on
the Freedom House website.

9. MANY THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE DIED AND MANY ARE
DYING, EVEN TODAY, FOR THE FREEDOM FOR THEMSELVES OR
FOR OTHERS TO PARTICIPATE IN THEIR GOVERNMENT.
IT IS EASY TO TAKE THE RIGHT TO VOTE FOR GRANTED, TO
BECOME TOO BUSY OR TOO UNINTERESTED TO PARTICIPATE IN
THE ELECTION OF OUR COUNTRY’S LEADERS.

10. NO MATTER HOW ONE VOTES
OR HOW CLOSE THE ELECTION,
ONE VOTE DOES COUNT!
EVERY VOTER WHO OF THE
POPULATION THAT ACTUALLY ELECTS A NATION’S LEADERS, MAKING THE
VOICE OF THOSE
IN THE PAST THREE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS ONLY ABOUT THE ELIGIBLE
VOTERS ACTUALLY VOTED FOR OUR NATION’S PRESIDENT. AN EVEN SMALLER
PERCENTAGE HAVE VOTED IN THE MID-TERM ELECTIONS WHEN STATE AND
FEDERAL LEGISLATORS ARE CHOSEN.
IS IT POSSIBLE THAT WE COULD LOSE IT?
COULD THE PEOPLE OF OUR COUNTRY BECOME A PART
OF THE WORLD’S OPPRESSED POPULATION?

11. BUT HAVING THE RIGHT TO
VOTE COMES WITH A BIG
RESPONSIBILITY!
THAT RESPONSIBILITY IS WISELY
DECIDING HOW TO CAST ONE’S VOTE.

13. A VOTER’S RESPONSIBILITY
IS TO CAST A WISE VOTE!
• IN ORDER FOR THEIR VOTE TO INSURE THE PRESERVATION OF
DEMOCRACY AND FREEDOM, VOTERS HAVE THE
RESPONSIBILITY TO EDUCATE THEMSELVES ABOUT
DEMOCRACY AND TO EXAMINE THE CANDIDATES AND THE
ISSUES CAREFULLY.
• IN TODAY’S INFORMATION AGE, THIS IS VERY EASY TO DO.
BUT IT REQUIRES THE KNOWLEDGE OF HOW TO FIND THE
INFORMATION AND THE KNOWLEDGE OF HOW TO EVALUATE
THE INFORMATION FOUND.
Do Not Take Democracy and Your Right
to Participate In It for Granted! All Citizens
Have A Responsibility to Protect It!

14. FINDING AND
EVALUATING
INFORMATION

15. THERE ARE MANY SOURCES OF
INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO VOTERS.
POLITICAL CAMPAIGN ADS
POLITICAL PARTY PLATFORMS
NEWS MEDIA (NEWSPAPERS, MAGAZINES,JOURNALS, WEBSITES)
SOCIAL MEDIA (FACEBOOK, TWITTER)
FRIENDS, CO-WORKERS & FAMILY
THE INTERNET
LOCAL LIBRARY
OTHERS
HOW CAN ONE KNOW WHICH TO BELIEVE?
CONSIDER THE BIAS OF THE SOURCE. “BIAS” IS A PARTICULAR
TENDENCY OR INCLINATION, ESPECIALLY ONE THAT PREVENTS
UNPREJUDICED CONSIDERATION OF A QUESTION. BIAS CAUSES
INTENTIONAL OR UNINTENTIONAL FOCUSING ON INFORMATION
FAVORABLE TO ONE’S PERSPECTIVE AND OMITTING THAT WHICH IS
UNFAVORABLE. WHICH OF THESE MIGHT BE BIASED? WHICH HAVE
SOMETHING TO GAIN OR LOSE BY YOUR BELIEVING THE INFORMATION?
WHICH HAS ACCESS TO INFORMATION THAT MIGHT BE MORE RELIABLE .

16. USE MULTIPLE SOURCES FOR YOUR
INFORMATION AND CHOOSE THOSE
SOURCES WELL.
• POLITICAL CAMPAIGN ADS LISTEN TO BOTH SIDES,
INVESTIGATE ALLEGATIONS AND CLAIMS FOR YOURSELF
• POLITICAL PARTY PLATFORMS READ FOR ALL PARTIES
• NEWS MEDIA SUCH AS NEWSPAPERS, NEWS MAGAZINES AND
JOURNALS, NEWS WEBSITES USE SEVERAL DIFFERENT ONES
• SOCIAL MEDIA CONSIDER WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT THE PERSON
POSTING, THEIR BIAS, WHERE THEY GOT THE INFORMATION
• FRIENDS, CO-WORKERS & FAMILY WHAT ARE THEIR
QUALIFICATIONS, HOW DID THEY GET THEIR INFORMATION
• THE INTERNET CHECK MULTIPLE SITES PRIMARILY
NONPARTISAN
• LOCAL LIBRARY BOTH WEBSITE AND PHYSICAL LOCATION
• OTHER SUCH AS A CANDIDATE’S HISTORY PREVIOUS VOTING
RECORDS, JOBS, ETC. BUT MAKE SURE TO GET THE FACTS

17. JUDGING THE RELIABILITY OF A SOURCE
OF INFORMATION
CONSIDER WHETHER THE SOURCE HAS ANYTHING TO GAIN OR
LOSE? (THE SOURCE OF FUNDING, FOUND USUALLY UNDER
“ABOUT US” ON A WEBSITE, IS IMPORTANT IN DETERMINING THIS.)
Political campaign ads, for example, are paid for by the candidate
and thus will probably give only information favorable to the
candidate and probably not give all the facts regarding any claim
or allegation. Check out the real facts (more about that later).
Social media such as Facebook friends and blogs are often biased. It is
usually easy to tell they are promoting one candidate or another . Look for
things such as all favorable comments for one candidate and all
unfavorable comments for others. The old saying that “no one is all bad or
all good” really is true. Only by knowing the facts on both sides of an
issue can one make an informed decision about any issue.
LOOK AT THE PAST. DOES THE SOURCE HAVE A HISTORY OF
FAVORING ONE SIDE OR THE OTHER?

18. GENERALLY TRUSTED SOURCES
OF INFORMATION MAY CONTAIN INACCURACIES
Newspapers
News Magazines
Television News Programs
TO TELL IF THEIR INFO IS RELIABLE:
• Determine whether the information is fact or opinion. Check
the facts for accuracy. Understand that opinions are only
one person’s ideas and may or may not be true.
• Look for obvious bias as discussed earlier.
• Get your information from multiple sources. Before you
believe it, see what other sources say.
• Learn about news media using sites such as the Pew
Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism. at
journalism.org.

19. SOURCES OF INFORMATION THAT ARE
USUALLY THE MOST RELIABLE AND
ACCURATE
• PEER-REVIEWED SCHOLARLY PUBLICATIONS
• EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS’ PUBLICATIONS
• PROJECT VOTE SMART
• OTHER NON-PARTISAN, NONPROFIT
ORGANIZATIONS FUNDED ENTIRELY BY INDIVIDUAL
CONTRIBUTIONS AND PHILANTHROPIC
FOUNDATIONS
• C-SPAN, C-SPAN 1, C-SPAN 2 AND C-SPAN RADIO

20. PEER-REVIEWED SCHOLARLY PUBLICATIONS
WHEN AN ARTICLE IS SUBMITTED TO A JOURNAL, IT IS
FOR QUALITY OF SCHOLARSHIP, RELEVANCE,
APPROPRIATENESS FOR THE JOURNAL, ETC. PUBLICATIONS THAT DON'T USE PEER
REVIEW RELY FOR ACCURACY ON THE JUDGMENTS OF THEIR EDITORS WHO MAY NOT
HAVE KNOWLEDGE IN THE PARTICULAR FIELD.
EXAMPLES OF PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS ARE
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
AMERICAN POLITICS QUARTERLY
AMERICAN POLITICS RESEARCH
THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF POLITICAL AND
SOCIAL SCIENCE
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF POLITICS, CULTURE, AND SOCIETY
AMERICAN JOURNALISM REVIEW
POLICY REVIEW
HARVARD INTERNATIONAL REVIEW
THE LIST OF PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS AS WELL AS THEIR SUBJECT
MATTERS IS VAST. VISIT YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY TO ACCESS THESE, OR IF
YOU HAVE A LIBRARY CARD, ACCESS THEM THROUGH THEIR WEBSITE
DATABASES.

21. EXAMPLES OF EDUCATIONAL
INSTITUTIONS’ PUBLICATIONS
JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION RESEARCH AND THEORY
UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
POLITICAL RESEARCH QUARTERLY
UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
DUKE UNIVERSITY PRESS PUBLICATIONS
HTTP://WWW.DUKEUPRESS.EDU
HARVARD’S JOHN F KENNEDY SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS
HTTP://WEB.HKS.HARVARD.EDU/PUBLICATIONS
FOR MORE, SEE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY PRESSES MEMBER LIST AT
HTTP://WWW.AAUPNET.ORG
ACCESS THESE AND MANY OTHERS AT YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY, THE
LIBRARY’S WEBSITE (LOOK FOR DATABASES) OR THE WEBSITES OF THE
INDIVIDUAL INSTITUTIONS.

22. PROJECT VOTE SMART
PROJECT VOTE SMART IS A WEBSITE THAT CAN BE
FOUND AT VOTESMART.ORG. IT IS
• non-partisan, nonprofit
• funded exclusively through individual contributions
and philanthropic foundations.
• composed of biographies, voting records, issue
positions, ratings, speeches, campaign finance
information for all
candidates for all offices.
ONE PAGE ON THIS SITE, CALLED “VOTE EASY”
FOUND AT HTTP://VOTESMART.ORG/VOTEEASY/,
ALLOWS ONE TO CHOOSE HOW THEY FEEL
ABOUT PARTICULAR ISSUES AND COMPARE
THAT TO EACH CANDIDATE.

23. NON-PARTISAN, NONPROFIT WEBSITES FUNDED ENTIRELY BY
INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTIONS AND PHILANTHROPIC FOUNDATIONS
• VOTESMART.ORG (HTTP://VOTESMART.ORG/)
• FACTCHECK.ORG (HTTP://WWW.FACTCHECK.ORG/)
• SMARTVOTER.ORG (HTTP://WWW.SMARTVOTER.ORG/)
• POLITIFACT.ORG
(HTTP://WWW.POLITIFACT.COM/TRUTH-O-METER//)
• OPENSECRETS.ORG
(HTTP://WWW.OPENSECRETS.ORG/INDEX.PHP/)
• MAPLIGHT.ORG(HTTP://MAPLIGHT.ORG//)
• VOTE411.ORG (HTTP://WWW.VOTE411.ORG/)
• PUBLICAGENDA.ORG (PUBLICAGENDA.ORG)
• GOVTRACK.US (HTTP://WWW.GOVTRACK.US/)
• POLITICAL PARTY WEBSITES
• CANDIDATES’ WEBSITES
• YOUR STATE’S DEPT. OF STATE WEBSITE (TENNESSEE’S CAN BE FOUND
AT HTTP://WWW.TN.GOV/SOS/ELECTION/INDEX.HTM)

24. C-SPAN
C-SPAN IS AN ACRONYM FOR CABLE-SATELLITE PUBLIC AFFAIRS
NETWORK. C-SPAN IS A PRIVATE COMPANY FUNDED BY FEES PAID
BY CABLE AND SATELLITE AFFILIATES WHO CARRY S-SPAN
PROGRAMMING.
WEBSITE
HTTP://WWW.C-SPAN.ORG/CAMPAIGN2012/
TV & RADIO (CHECK YOUR PROVIDER CHANNEL LISTINGS)
C-SPAN
C-SPAN 2
C-SPAN 3
C-SPAN RADIO

25. FINDING ACCURATE INFORMATION
TAKES TIME AND EFFORT. IS IT
WORTH IT?
IT IS SAID THAT EARLY IN OUR HISTORY, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
WAS ASKED, "... WHAT FORM OF GOVERNMENT DO WE HAVE?"
TO WHICH FRANKLIN RESPONDED, "A REPUBLIC IF YOU CAN
KEEP IT."
JOHN JAY, FIRST JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT, SAID, "LET
VIRTUE, HONOR, THE LOVE OF LIBERTY ... BE ... THE SOUL OF
THIS CONSTITUTION, AND IT WILL BECOME THE SOURCE OF
GREAT AND EXTENSIVE HAPPINESS TO THIS AND FUTURE
GENERATIONS. VICE, IGNORANCE, AND WANT OF
VIGILANCE, WILL BE THE ONLY ENEMIES ABLE TO DESTROY IT”