Your response for this assignment should be at least 500 words long.Read the short article regarding the value of Voter ID laws and generate a brief response to the reading. The essay should provide a

Competing visions of who governs in the United States Classic Pluralist Model of Community Power Access to decision -making circles is assumed to be open to existing or potential groups. Groups can readily form to represent their int erests. Interests are recognized and that groups can readily organize and access the decision making process. Important, is that the groups in existence at any point time is seen as being generally representative of the universe of interests. The state is assumed to be impartial - mediating between competing interests. Power is understood to be dispersed and influence is fragmented - no coherent ruling elite exists. Low rates of participation are viewed as being the result of apathy/contentment and functional. Slack resources (i.e., unused money, votes, and the like that could be used for political purposes) keep elected officials in check that can be mobilized to either support or oppose political candidates or initiatives. The Elitist Model of Community Power Society is divided into the few who have power and the many who do not. Only a small number of people allocate values for society: the masses do not decide public policy. The ruling class is drawn disproportionately from the upper so cioeconomic strata of society. They agree on the basic outlines of the free enterprise system (private property, profit, unequal distribution of wealth, role of the government in maintaining a favorable business climate, etc.). The movement of nonelites to elite positions must be slow and continuous to maintain stability and avoid resolution. Only nonelites who have accepted the basic elite consensus enter governing circles. Elites share a consensus on the basic values of the social system and the prese rvation of the system. They disagree only on a narrow range of issues. Public policy does not reflect the demands of masses but the prevailing values of the elite. Changes in public policy will be incremental rather than revolutionary. Control over eco nomic resources allows the elite to rule the polity. This results, in part, from the ability of elites to thwart potential opposition by threatening various forms of economic sanctions, like the loss of jobs or credit. Interest Group Typology - accordin g to goal orientation Agriculture  National Cattlemen’s Association, U.S. Poultry and Egg Association, National Pork Producers Council, Tobacco Institute, Allied Grape Growers, National Cotton Council, American Sugarbeet Growers Association, National Soybe an Association, National Peanut Growers Group, etc. Business  Chamber of Commerce, Business Roundtable, and the National Association of Manufacturers, National Retail Federation, National Restaurant Association, National Federation of Independent Business, National Beer Wholesalers Association, National Association of Realtors, Motion Picture Association of America, American Petroleum Institute, etc. Labor  United Auto Workers, Teamsters, United Steel Workers, National Education Association, United Mine Wor kers, Transportation and Communication International Union, American Federation of Teachers, AFSCME, Service Employees International, American Federation of Government Employees, etc. Professional  American Medical Association, American Bar Association, Am erican Dental Association, Association of Trial Lawyers of America, International Union of Operating Engineers, etc. Civil Rights  American Arab -Anti -Discrimination Committee, NOW, NAACP, Amnesty International, Human Rights Campaign Fund, National Council of La Raza, Anti -Defamation League, etc. Governments  National League of Cities, National Governors Association, National Association of Counties, etc. Ideological  ACLU, American Conservative Union, Cato Institute, People for the American Way, Conservat ive Victory Committee, Christian Coalition, etc. Public Interest - speak for consumers, disenchanted voters, etc.  Common Cause, Consumer Federation of America, League of Women Voters, Public Citizens, Public Interest Research Groups, etc. Environmental/A nimal Rights  Greenpeace, Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth, Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, Earth Island Institute, League of Conservation Voters, The Nature Conservancy, WWF, PETA, etc. Single Issue  Zero Population Growth I nstitute, Population Zero, Handgun Control Inc., National Abortion Rights Action League, National Right to Life Committee, Operation Rescue, Planned Parenthood, MADD, NRA, etc.