Demographics of Boston Marathon Runners and Security

It is not surprising that a large number of marathon runners come from Massachusetts.  The annual race is held in Boston.  This year marks the 118th Boston Marathon and New England states continue to represent the states with the most number of runners entered.  Utah surprisingly has one of the largest number of residents entered in today's race.  Both Colorado and Oregon send about 1.2 per capita runners.  Thousands of people from across the country and from all over the world will be entered in today's race as it marks the first Boston Marathon to be held after the events of last year's bombing. This is a time for the citizens of Boston, our nation and the entire world to come together and show that they are never going to stop running and they are Boston Strong.  This also transitions into the security measures and techniques being put in to place.  There will be almost double the amount of law enforcement officers on scene than in previous years.  They will be both uniformed and undercover.  Another unique feature will be completely live feeds all over the city.  Any threats or possible safety breeches will be taken seriously and handled promptly.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/04/21/map-how-many-runners-from-each-state-entered-mondays-boston-marathon/

Enrollments Exceed Obama’s Target for Health Care Act

Approximately eight million people have signed up for health insurance under the Afoordable Care Act.The target was almost a million less than have signed up.  The number of young adults who have signed up has also exceeded original projections.  The Affordable Care Act covers more people for less money than would have been predicted.  There is still not enough information to determine statistics such as number who paid their initial premiums.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/18/us/obama-says-young-adults-push-health-care-enrollment-above-targets.html?hpw&rref=us&_r=0

            Obama is faced with the challenge of comforting the community and the country after a shooting in Fort Hood, Texas. It is a difficult situation because the families effected have provided service for our country and have made many sacrifices.  Currently Obama is trying to provide comfort and unity for the community after this tragedy.  He said "our thoughts and prayers are with the entire community, and we are going to do everything we can to make sure that the community at Fort Hood has what it needs to deal with the current situation, but also any potential aftermath.".
           In times of crisis or disaster the actions of the president are put under a microscope.  Currently Obama is not scheduled to visit Fort Hood.  After the first shooting in November of 2009 he visited.  Next week Obama will be in Texas speaking about civil rights.  His plans may change after recent events.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/theoval/2014/04/03/obama-fort-hood-mass-shooting/7247971/

Low Voter Turnout

           LOW VOTER TURNOUT IN THE DC PRIMARY ELECTION

Voter turnout for the most recent primary election was at its lowest point in the past three decades. On Tuesday a mayoral primary was held.  Muriel Bowser served as the Democratic nominee. Only a quarter of eligible voters casted a ballot.  Those not eligible could be for a variety of reasons. For example if you register as an independent you forfeit your rights to vote in primary elections. The recent mayoral race in Chicago reported a low forty two percent turnout which is much higher than the percent reported in DC on Tuesday. The city of DC was expecting a better turnout.  The Board of Elections expressed feelings of anticipation of a higher number of people casting ballots.  There are still absentee ballots not yet accounted for so only unofficial voting results have been released.  There are also provisional ballots among those uncounted.  There were much fewer democratic voters casting ballots in the primary.  Gray, the other candidate, decided to aim his campaign towards African American voters east of the Anacostia River.  Gray’s winning margin dropped by thousands.  Many different things affect voter turnout.

             A lot of people have a variety of different reasons for not participating in primary elections. For example if it is too cold out some people may choose to sit this election out.  It can be for something as simple as the weather that people didn’t show up to cast their vote.  A lot of people also felt that their opinion didn’t matter and that their single vote would have little to no effect on the current situation. This is sadly one of the biggest reasons for low voter turnout.  People feel that their voice and opinions aren't being heard. Candidates will do all sorts of things to either get more voters to show up or get more voters to stay at home, depending on which is more beneficial to them and their campaign. This was a close race even though only a small percentage of eligible voters casted their vote.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/voter-turnout-for-dc-primary-lowest-in-three-decades/2014/04/02/6b96972e-ba2f-11e3-96ae-f2c36d2b1245_story.html