FoxNews & the Agenda

1. In the two weeks approaching the mid term elections, what % of coverage did FoxNews dedicate to coverage of the caravan in Central America?

• 3%

2. Compare mentions on CNN and Fox on Monday & Tuesday to mentions on Wednesday & Thursday.

• On Monday, CNN and Fox News mentioned the caravan more than 80 times. On Tuesday, more than 40 times. On Wednesday and Thursday, the subject was raised fewer than 80 times across CNN, MSNBC, Fox News and Fox Business combined.

3. Which of the four networks covered by the chart devoted the most coverage to the caravan?

• Fox Business

4. Where does the article claim that the caravan is currently?

• It reached Mexico City

5. What other stories may have taken coverage away from the caravan?

• Midterm elections results, the resignation of Jeff Sessions, Trump’s interactions with the press, the synagogue mass shooting, and the attempted mail bombings.

6. How did Trump impact coverage of the caravan leading up to the election?

• He framed it as a campaign issue in many speeches and announced policy that stems the number of people in caravans who can apply for asylum.

7. What event had a similar impact on the 2016 election?

• FBI Director James B. Comey’s announcement of the discovery of new emails related to Hillary Clinton

8. What event had a similar impact on the 2014 election?

• Ebola crisis

9. Why does the article suggest that Fox may have covered the caravan more than other networks?

• Because Fox's audience is largely Trump supporters and the coverage is a function of the campaign.

Election Results

1. Why don't all polls close at exactly the same time?

• They don't close at the same time because people are allowed to cast a ballot as long as they’re in line at the polling station by closing time, so they actually close later than closing time.

2. What do poll workers at each site have to do once voting is complete in order for votes to be counted?

• Poll workers have to shut down the voting machines and download or pull the memory card or stick that stores the votes. They might also run or print out a summary of the voting machine.

3. In what ways are the actual vote counts delivered from actual polling places to the central location of election administration?

• The results may be read over the phone, some machines have a modem that connect directly to a telephone line, and some memory cards or sticks are physically delivered.

4. Why might the votes come in slower from rural areas?

• They are far from the county seat or official headquarters, which can slow down and complicate the vote tabulation process.

5. Why might journalists be the first source of election results in some states but not in all states?

• In some states, the election commission doesn't report anything that night, so the journalists are the first to report. In others, as the votes are tallied it will show up on the state's official website.

6. Why may absentee ballots slow the official election results?

• Counting those ballots can take days, so they can't finalize results.

7. What are provisional ballots?

• They are “just in case” voting ballots and are distributed if someone shows up to vote and his or her name doesn’t appear on the voter rolls, the incorrect information is listed, or it looks like that person already voted.

8. Why are the official results made public much later than when the election is "called"?

• The official results are made public much later because they have to be canvassed, where each vote is counted and verified, then officially certified, first by the local counties and then by the secretary of state or state Board of Elections. There can also be disputes.

9. Why was the speed of getting election results emphasized during the Progressive Era?

• The faster the votes are counted, the less time there is for someone to mess with it and cause fraud.

Ending Birthright Citizenship

1. What is the actual change Trump wants to make to US citizenship policy?

• Trump wants to end birthright citizenship for children born in the US to unauthorized immigrant parents.

2. What does the Constitution say about citizenship?

• The Constitution, more specifically the 14th Amendment, says that all persons born in the US and “subject to the jurisdiction of its laws” are citizens.

3. How does Trump give false information about the US compared to the rest of the world about this issue?

• Trump claims the US is the only country that extends automatic citizenship to everyone born on its soil when in fact, more than 30 do.

4. What steps would have to take place before Trump was ready to sign an executive order?

• Before he signs an EO, it would need extensive review from the Department of Justice to assess its legality, and from the Department of Homeland Security and other departments to work out consequences.

5. What did the Supreme Court decide in Wong Kim Ark?

• That the children of noncitizens born in the United States are citizens.

6. Why might the Trump Administration feel that INS v Rios Pineda gives him legal grounds to issue this EO?

• He feels that this case gives him legal grounds to issue this EO because it has never been specifically upheld that children of unauthorized immigrants born in the United States are citizens, and in this case, someone challenged his deportation order because of her two U.S. born children, and a legal finding was never done in this regard.

7. Why might recent changes to the Supreme Court make the president confident that the SC would side with his actions?

• There are two Trump appointed justices, and the court is conservative so he believes they will side with him.