State And Local Government Essay

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Power and Influence in State and Local Government I chose “The power and influence of political parties in state/ local government and how it has changed over the years.” as my project. At first the state government had more power than it does today. After the American Revolution there was the Articles of Confederation, it allowed “the states to stay sovereign and independent, with Congress serving as the last resort on appeal of disputes.” (Articles of Confederation n.d.) But congress calls for a Constitutional Convention to expand the powers of the federal government. It was debated as to how extensive the powers of the federal government should be. So they came up with the Constitution, this document keep the states sovereign but there were provisions to limit the power of the states. The question as to how the powers should be divided between the federal government and the states is pretty much what American politics has been about, there was even a Civil War fought over it. The ratification of the fourteenth amendment imposed restrictions on the states’ rights to regulate the lives of the people in its jurisdiction. “Typically today, cases that pit the rights of states against the power of the federal government will be decided by a closely divided Supreme Court.” (The Question of State’s Rights and The U.S. Constitution; American Federalism Considered n.d.) Each state has its own Constitution which has provisions for local governments in the state. Local government includes cities, counties, towns, school districts and special-purpose districts. The local government is chartered by a constitution drawn up by the state. States have the power to make and enforce laws, levy taxes and conduct their affairs mostly free from the ... ... middle of paper ... ...y, maintenance of city streets, parks and recreation, waste-water treatment, trash removal, zoning and building code enforcement, fire and rescue services, animal control, public transportation, and other essential services. Cities and towns are governed by elected officials who include the mayor and city council and they make decisions and set policy. (Local Governments", n.d., p. 25-27) States hold presidential primaries, where the ballots “determine how many delegates will represent each respective candidate at the national party nominating conventions. These political conventions are where each party’s nominee is actually selected.” A lot of the power of the state is in its electoral votes, each state is allocated so many electoral votes equal to the number of U.S. Representatives and Senators for that state. (Elections and the electoral process, n.d., p. 28)

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