How are citizens involved in the three branches of our federal government?

Public participation is very important especially in
running a democratic government and this does not stop after elections. The public is
responsible for most of the actions and decisions that the government makes through
expressing their opinions and suggestions.

The public can
influence the legislature by directly communicating their ideas to members of congress.
During debates the public participates as individuals or groups to either support or
oppose passage of a new bill through correspondence to their representatives. For
example, the voting in of strong Net Neutrality rules by the FCC after direct
participation by millions of Americans.

In a similar way,
the public can participate in the running of the executive through petitions aimed at
specific departments or communications directly to the White House. For instance, one
can visit the We the People link on the White House website to
create a petition, participate in open petitions and view responses from the government
on the petitions. On the same website members of the public can directly reach the
President through letters to the White House.

Public
participation in the Judiciary is different as explained by Pohnphei. Members of the
public can bring law suits challenging some policies or actions by the government. The
public can also follow proceedings in the courts. The jury composed of members of the
public is another example of how the public participates in the
judiciary.