How many states got zero presidential campaign stops in 2020?
2020 Campaign Stops by POTUS Candidates
The map shows, by state, the number of campaign events starting on August 28, 2020 (the day after the end of the Republican National Convention) and ending on Tuesday November 3, 2020 (Election Day).
Critical Analysis
Find answers to the following questions using the visual above, any links below, your big brain, and your knowledge of American government and politics:tical Analysis
What state got the most campaign stops by the POTUS candidates.
How many states got ZERO campaign stops by POTUS candidates?
Explain why the map looks this way.
What is one consequence of this concentration of campaign activity?
What is the political science term we use to describe states like Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan and North Caolina which got the most campaign stops?
Central to the concept of democracy is the the idea that all people are politically equal. The Declaration of Independence contains these lines regarding the value of equality. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,” Does this map resemble political equality?
Why did California, the nation's most populous state, receive ZERO campaign stops?
Nebraska and Maine are not exactly swing states. What about the way they divide their electoral votes explains why they got presidential campaign visits.
Imagine the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolished the Electoral College (don’t hold your breath). How would that Constitutional change impact the data from the map?
At the time of the Constitutional Convention The Anti-Federalists were afraid of too much power being concentrated in a central national government. They preferred that power be centered at the state level. If an anti-federalist saw this map, after they stopped freaking out about how Big the U.S. had gotten, what claim would they make about this map and the power of states?
Write and Discuss
Take ten minutes to write about the question at the top of the page and then discuss with your classmates.
Act on your Learning
If states with a majority of electoral votes enacted the National Popular Vote Plan, US presidential campaigns would be very different and campaign stops would be more evenly distributed. Use this handy little link to contact your state representative (they decide where your state's electoral votes go) and let them know what you think about the National Popular Vote Plan.
Get Creative
If the electoral college were a kind of animal, what would it be?
Learning Extension
Dive into the data and track every presidential campaign stop in 2020.
