Recenly the Iowa caucus, the first test of electability for many of the presidential candidates, was held.  Like many voters, we at Second Avenue are thinking about the 2016 election and following it closely.  Here are some of the questions we found ourselves asking: 

How did two states, Iowa and New Hampshire, come to dominate the early discourse in the presidential primary?

How has the selection of presidential candidates evolved over time?

Is this process partially responsible for the increasingly bitter partisan divide?

How have parties evolved and how has the geographical landscape of party affiliations changed along with them?

How, as a parent or educator can you have this conversation in a constructive, non-partisan way in a classroom or in your family room?

Lots of questions, so we rolled up our sleeves and decided to answer them with input from middle school and high school teachers and expert insight from Professors Ferber and Sutton from the Rochester Institute of Technology Political Science Department. 

Building off of our critically acclaimed application Voters Ed, launched for the 2012 election, Voters Ed 2016 puts the power of the pundits in the classroom and in your family room. We have added a whole new set of features surrounding the primaries making this a go-to tool for educators and parents. Explore data on polls, funding and parties along with high quality historical and policy content presented in a non-partisan way so that students of all ages can follow and analyze the current political contest informed by election history.

Join us in following the 2016 election.  Stay tuned for opportunities to share your election predictions!    We will be sharing new lesson plans throughout the year and hope that we can help you navigate 2016!>