1. Drawing on information presented in the text (The democratic debate,American politics in an age of change, 6th edition) and in class, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of interest groups/ pressure groups as a means communicating the interests and policy desires of ordinary people.

2. Political scientists consider political parties important to a healthy democracy. Write an essay which explains the importance of political parties and then describe the major characteristics of US political parties.

Describe the voting characteristics of people in the US. Of what significance are these characteristics to the operation of our democracy. Will the issues raised in the ACLU report (I've attached the report with this post, you can use it as a reference as needed) address your concerns about who votes in the US?

Requirements: Each paper should be at least 3 pages long double spaced 12 font using MLA citation with minimum of three sources for each paper