Who should vote?

In the United States everyone who excedes the age of 18 and is a US citizen is allowed to register and vote for whom they believe would best represent their interests. I personally believe that there should be extra criteria required for those who choose to vote. A person should have the resources and skills necessary to vote, they should have an interest in the issues and be informed on those that they are voting to enact. The citizen should have concern over the political outcome and not just vote on appearances of the candidates alone. If asked questions about the senators or the members of the house, the citizen should be able to recall the names of their state representatives and the way in which they typically vote (whether that be conservatively or liberally).

Many people in recent years, some of my conservative family members included, only turn out to vote because they do not want the opposite parties candidate to win. This is not a sufficient reason to vote, one should have a stance on the issues and know exactly why they do not or do like a candidate. They should be well-informed and not just get information "on the cheap", by using their psychological connectedness to a party identification to vote the same zombie like way each time they enter a poll booth.

In conclusion, when it comes to felon voting laws I do agree that the decision to reinstate these citizens right to vote should be left to the States. Whether it be that the right is lost permanently, is restored after term of incarceration, parole, and probation is completed, or is completely unrestricted. These citizens should be able to vote if their State believes that this right has been earned.

Introduction into Political Geography

Hello My name is Candace Applewhite. I am taking a course called Political Geography at Florida State University, which is how I found myself writing this blog. I was born in Panama City, Florida but grew up for the most part in Tallahassee. You can call me a towny. I am studying to get my degree in Political Science and Environmental Studies. This class is an elective for both categories so I am killing two birds with one stone. Upon graduating I plan to move to out of state(FINALLY!) to either North Georgia, North Carolina, or Tennessee. I would like to work on a river such as the Ocoee River, testing the pollutants of the river or working with others on the hydroelectric power. Growing culinary herbs and starting my own wine business with irregular wines such as blackberry, blueberry, watermelon etc. is a passion of mine as well. I am hoping during the duration of this course that i will discover many things I formerly did not know about political geography and the impacts it has on my personal life and global issues.  The meaning of the world geography itself is enticing Geo- Earth and Graphy - writings. So buckle your seat belts and come join me on this bumpy ride into the world of geography of politics, power, and the political division of space.  

Impact of Borders

As we look at the different divisions in political geography you begin to look at things such as political

spaces, borders, and geopolitical aspects of states. Borders can have significant impacts such as the splitting of cultures, races, and religions, as well as the differences in landscape. 

Formal and functional spaces are the building blocks of political spaces. Formal spaces being defined as a space that must be demarcated, delimited and defined. For those who do not know the meaning of these, each space must be able to be mapped out, there must be writing on the landscape, and the space needs to be documented. Some examples of these spaces are Appalachia and as well as any state in the US. A functional space is missing one aspect of a formal space, like the basque country in France or Spain. Sometimes these spaces do not coincide like the turf wars going on between gangs in places like Los Angeles, California causing heavy impacts on all citizens of the state not just the partaking gangs. 

Borders are both based on formations or boundaries of establishments and on the time in which the boundary establishment or formation was created. Descriptive borders are the borders based on the features, boundary establishment, or formation. There are three basic types of descriptive borders: physiographic (geomorphic)which is based upon the physical geography features, anthropogeographic follows human or cultural geography features, and geometric following latitude or longitude. Genetic borders are based on the time of boundary establishment or formation. Antecedent(pioneer) are created before human settlement, subsequent boundaries are created after significant human settlement, superimposed boundaries are placed without concern for the preexisting human settlement, and relic which are boundaries that no longer exist.