As a citizen, voting is both a right and a duty. However, it is worth noting that before casting a vote, one has to be fully informed both about the exercise and the candidates. In line with this, becoming an informed voter encompasses being conversant on the issues and positions of candidates before voting (American Association of State Colleges and Universities) . Additionally, one has to make their choice without undue influence from external sources aimed at persuading one without an understanding of the candidate’s platform or ideas. This paper focuses on San Jose and California where the focus is on presenting information on their political backgrounds and the representative and senator to these regions respectively in an attempt to ensure a voter in these regions has access to key information.
San Jose and its representative’s background
San Jose Congressional district
San Jose is California’s 19th congressional district which is currently represented by Zoe Lofgren, a Democrat. Geographically, it traverses most of Santa Clara County as well as the city of San Jose. The district was established in 1933, and since its incorporation, it has experienced varied eras of it being either a democratic or republican hold. However, in the recent past, after being redrawn, it has been largely a Democratic hold. In regards to being redrawn, it is worth outlining that from 2002 to 2012, this congressional district comprised of portions of Stanislaus, Tuolumne, Fresno, Mariposa, and Madera. However, after being redrawn, these portions that were initially part of it were integrated into the 4th, 10th, 16th, 21st, and 22nd districts.
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Voting
Looking at the recent voting patterns, that is, the 2016 and 2012 presidential elections, it is clear that the district is significantly inclined towards democratic party support. This is because, in the two years, most of the people voted for Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama respectively who were democratic candidates. In regards to the midterm elections, they have also leaned mostly to the Democrats’ side whereby, Zoe Lofgren the Congresswoman is an incumbent for three consecutive elections. Historically, the district has registered a change in support where the change is mainly from Republican to Democrats, but in recent years, Democrats continue to dominate the elections.
Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren
That being said, let us turn our focus to the representative of this district. However, it is important to highlight that the United States is split into approximately 435 congressional districts where each holds a population of approximately 710,000 residents (GovTrack , n.d.) . Each district will usually elect a representative to the House of Representatives for a two-year term before another election is held. These representatives are also referred to as congressmen or congresswomen (GovTrack , n.d.) . The district of San Jose is currently represented by Zoe Lofgren who has already served two terms and is now serving a third term, as she was elected in 2012. In regards to her political background, Congresswoman Lofgren has been a Democratic member of the House of Representatives since 1995. She has served as a member of staff to Congressman Don Edwards for eight years both in his San Jose and Washington offices (About Zoe, 2019) . In 1979 she was first elected to the San Jose Evergreen Community College Board, and in 1980 she was elected into the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and served for a period of 14 years.
After the retirement of Congressman Don Edwards, Lofgren was elected to the house of representatives. In the present day, she serves as the Chair of the Committee on House Administration and the Chair of the California Democratic Congress Delegation (About Zoe, 2019) . In addition to her political career, she is also renown in policymaking and advocacy. She is established as a champion of the top-to-bottom immigration reform and also a national leader in immigration policy (About Zoe, 2019) . She has also been an advocate for the initiation of “e-rate.” She has also been a key opponent of Stop Online Piracy Act, and she has advocated for the House to decontrol encryption technology, the Secure Data Act and also the Online Communications and Geolocation Protection Act (About Zoe, 2019) . From this information, it is evident that Lofgren has a significant history in policymaking especially surrounding privacy, digital technology, and immigration. Moreover, she has been in the political scene, especially the House of Representatives for a significant period of time.
Interest groups rating
Regardless of being split by parties, Americans are split on the grounds of opinions where the key classifications are conservative and liberals. Conservatives believe in personal responsibility, family values, and faith. On the other hand, liberals believe in government interference or direction, but they are not adherents to religious faith and family values. Therefore, conservatives are adherents to the maintenance of culture as it was traditionally while liberals are focused on pursuing freedom.
That being said, looking at how interest groups rate a candidate is a way to hypothesize where a candidate lies in the conservative-liberal debate. One such interest group is the Family Research Council (FRC) which is a conservative Christian group. This group focuses on the issues of religion, marriage, family, and children with the aim of advancing faith, family, and freedom in policy making from a Christian point of view. To rate a candidate, these groups rate them mainly by percentage on the votes they have taken on key issues over the last couple of years. Looking at the 2013 FRC rating, Zoe is rated 0 percent which shows that she does not share similar ideas to the FRC (Vote Smart, 2013) . This way, it is plausible to outline that she is a liberal because the FRC takes on a conservative outlook and having rated her at 0 percent shows that she has not taken a vote that is in line with their belief.
Political background: California and Dianne Feinstein
First, it is worth noting that every state in the United States has to elect two senators to the Senate who serve a six-year term. The senators unlike the representatives who represent their districts will usually represent the entire state. California has two senators, Dianne Feinstein the senior senator and Kamala Harris, the Junior Senator. Dianne has been the senator to California since November 10, 1992 whereas, Kamala has been the senator to California since January 3, 2017 (GovTrack , n.d.) . Moreover, it is worth noting that they are both Democrats. Given that Kamala has only been recently elected, this section will look into the political background of California and Dianne Feinstein.
The state of California
The state of California mirrors the district of San Jose in regards to its recent political history. In line with this, it is important to note that, historically, California was Republican stronghold but until 1992. From them, it has predominantly been a Democrat stronghold ever since. This is evidenced by their choice of senators who are both Democrats. Additionally, in both the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections, the state predominantly voted for the Democratic presidential candidates, Barack Obama, and Hilary Clinton respectively. In this regard, it is evident that the state in the present day is a Democrat hold. Additionally, Democrats seem to dominate the elections whereby, in both congressional and presidential elections the people of California vote for the Democrat candidates. Also, like the district of San Jose, this can be said to be an era whereby, some time back in history the state was predominantly Republican, but this changed after 1992 where it became a democrat stronghold.
Senator Dianne Feinstein
First, it is worth noting that while Dianne is California’s senator, she served as the mayor of San Francisco. She became mayor after the sitting mayor, George Moscone was assassinated in 1978. She became the acting mayor, and in 1979 she ran for the post and was elected becoming San Francisco’s first female mayor. She served as mayor until 1988. In 1990 she ran for the governorship of California, but she lost (Dianne Feinstein Biography, 2018) . Later on, in 1992 she ran in the special election and was elected as the Senator to California becoming the first woman elected senator (Dianne Feinstein Biography, 2018) . Ever since, she has served as the senator after being re-elected in 1994, 2000, 2006 and 2012.
She has also been active in policy and advocacy. Notably, she has been involved in the authorship of the following legislation, the Gun-Free Schools Act, Hate Crimes Sentencing Enhancement Act, Comprehensive Methamphetamine Control Act, California Desert Protection Act and the Federal Gang Violence Act (Dianne Feinstein Biography, 2018) . From this elucidation, it is evident that she has an extensive background in lawmaking and politics which has enhanced her credentials and her capacity especially in regards to policies focused on public safety.
Interest group rating
Like Zoe Lofgren, this section will evaluate Dianne’s stand on the conservative-liberal plane based on the 2013 ratings from the FRC interest group. Just like Lofgren, she is rated at 0 percent which outlines that she does not stand by the ideologies held by the FRC (Vote Smart, 2013) . Given the FRC are conservative who advocates for the progression of the society based on the values central to Christianity on the issue of religion, marriage, family, and children. It is evident that Dianne is liberal. Additionally, this hypothesis is true because she identifies herself as a left-wing politician who advocates for liberalism. This can be furthered by the fact that most liberals identify with the democratic party whereas conservatists identify more with the Republican party.
Conclusion
From the discussion above, it is evident that becoming an informed voter involves having the knowledge on the issues and position of a candidate. This is informed by their political party affiliation and their ideological stance. To some extent, this is shared based on geographical location whereby, a certain group of people becomes more predisposed to identify with the concerns and position of a candidate. As outlined by the voting patterns in San Jose and California, people will tend to vote for those people they share belief systems with. In line with this becoming an informed voter requires self-awareness on the issues and position one as an individual holds which then directs one on the suitable candidate to vote for.
References
About Zoe . (2019). Retrieved from Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren: https://lofgren.house.gov/about
American Association of State Colleges and Universities. (n.d.). Guide to Informed Voting. Retrieved from American Association of State Colleges and Universities: http://www.aascu.org/programs/ADP/VotingResources/InformedVoting.pdf
Dianne Feinstein Biography . (2018, March 5). Retrieved from The Biography.com website: https://www.biography.com/people/dianne-feinstein-21136107
GovTrack . (n.d.). California’s 19th Congressional District . Retrieved from GovTrack : https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/CA/19
Vote Smart. (2013). Rating Group: Family Research Council . Retrieved from Vote Smart: https://votesmart.org/interest-group/718/rating/9494#interpret
