Participation, Elections and Parties

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Participation, Elections and Parties
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Political Parties

• A political party is a group, however loosely
  organized, seeking to elect government
  officeholders under a given label
• They differ from interest groups in that their
  reason for existence is the election of people to
  office
• Differences between parties and interest groups
  include structure, focus and actions

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Functions of Elections

• Many questions about election process since
  November 2000 election
• Elections occur in order to assure popular
  support and legitimacy for the government
• Elections provide indication of broad
  expectations, but little in the way of precise
  actions to be taken

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Functions of Elections

• Allows voters to replace public officials or
  force officeholders to change policies
• Assumption is based on
• universal right to vote
• offering of clear alternatives
• Informed voters
• Significant participation

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Texas Election Characteristics

• Election cycles shape policy-making process
• Primary Elections
• Direct primary is used to nominate major party
  candidates for office
• Allows voters rather than party machinery to
  determine nominee
• Held on the second Tuesday in March in
  even-numbered years
• Has weakened ability of party officials to
  recruit candidates and create a balanced slate

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Texas Election Characteristics

• Primary Elections
• Historically, most Republicans voted in the
  Democratic primary, then for Republican
  candidates in the general election in Brazos
  County, the opposite is now true
• Once you vote in the primary, you must continue
  to vote only in that partys runoff, if there is
  one. If you dont vote on primary day, you can
  vote in EITHER partys runoff

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Texas Election Characteristics

• Primary Elections
• Turnout is generally lower than in general
• Candidate must receive majority of votes in order
  to win
• Challenges have been made to majority requirement
  under Voting Rights Act, but none successful in
  primary election law. Some have been successful
  in changing school board elections to plurality
  system

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Texas Election Characteristics

• Primary Elections
• Filing fees are permitted to help fund partys
  cost of running the election
• Candidate can get on ballot without filing fee
  through petition process
• Runoff elections
• Held following primary between two top
  vote-getters when no one candidate receives a
  majority

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Texas Election Characteristics

• General Elections
• Held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday
  in November in even-numbered years
• Cost is paid for by each county
• Party nominees appear on ballot along with any
  third-party candidate who has qualified
• While percentages of participation sometimes
  sound good, its a percentage of registered
  voters, not those of voting age

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Brazos County General Election Results
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Texas Election Characteristics

• Local Elections
• City councils, school boards, single-purpose
  districts (water, MUD, etc.)
• Held on the first Saturday in May in odd-numbered
  years (but yearly in areas which have staggered
  terms)
• Non-partisan
• Turnout rate is usually low

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Texas Election Characteristics

• Special Elections
• Vacancies in office
• Constitutional amendments proposed by Legislature
  - held in November of odd-numbered years
• Also held for bond issues, local initiatives and
  referenda for local governments, and for recall
  of elected officials

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Texas Election Characteristics

• Early voting
• Prior law required you to be physically absent
  from the county or disabled on election day in
  order to vote early
• Now you can vote during a window prior to the
  election (20th day prior to 4th day prior)
• Has significantly changed campaign strategies,
  since early voters account for 20-30 of total
  vote

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Election Administration

• Primary elections are run by parties, and employ
  clerks to assist in each precinct
• General elections are administered by the county,
  and the Commissioners Court names the election
  judges

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Qualifications to Vote

• 18 years of age
• U.S. Citizen
• Resident in county at least 30 days prior to the
  election
• Registered to vote

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Party in the Electorate

• History of one-party politics
• Democratic primacy linked to Gov. Davis
• State would vote for national Republicans, but
  not locals
• During early party of 20th century, Democratic
  party started experiencing factionalism, regional
  differences and personal political rivalries

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Party in the Electorate

• History of one-party politics
• Roosevelt national policies began to have direct
  impact on Texas, producing a split in the Texas
  Democratic party
• Even though many southern states did not support
  national policies, most elected officials
  (Democrats) did not want to jump from the
  majority party to the minority

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Party in the Electorate

• History of one-party politics
• From the 1940s to the late 1970s, conservative
  Democratic wing prevailed, laying out attack of
  New Deal programs
• Gubernatorial races started to become
  conservative v. liberal (Jester-Rainey 1946)
• 1944 Supreme Court decision in Smith v. Allwright
  did away with white primary

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Party in the Electorate

• Modified One-Party Democratic Politics
• Bi-factionalism continued through the 50s,
  although Governor Shivers endorsed Eisenhower for
  President in 1952, thus starting the Republican
  party as a force in Texas
• John Towers victory in the special election for
  Senate is the first statewide Republican victory
  since 1876

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Party in the Electorate

• Modified One-Party Democratic Politics
• Several Republican Congressional victories
  followed (Bush) but party still did not break
  through until 1978, when Bill Clements became the
  first Republican governor since Reconstruction

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Two-Party Politics

• The late 1970s saw the realignment of political
  power in Texas
• The national Democratic party became more
  liberal, driving Texans to the Republican party
• Republicans had a better organizational edge

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Two-Party Politics

• In the 1970s, more moderate-to-liberal Democrats
  were elected statewide
• After defeating conservative Dolph Briscoe in the
  1978 primary, John Hill did not mend fences with
  the conservative wing of the party, allowing a
  Clements victory

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Two-Party Politics

• Republicans made strides in the House and Senate
  (12 to 85) between 1971 and 1997
• In 1998, Republicans held all 29 statewide
  offices
• In 1998, 31 of Texans stated they were
  Republicans 30 Democrats and the rest
  independents/undecideds

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Two-Party Politics

• Ticket splitting, where voters selectively choose
  candidates from both parties, is prevalent in
  Texas
• Many factors affect voting patterns, including
  gender, education, income, age
• Some say that dealignment is occurring

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The Party Organization

• The most elemental party unit is the precinct, a
  geographic election district
• No membership requirements
• Great deal of autonomy at each level of party
  organization

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The Permanent Organization

• In excess of 8700 precincts exist statewide, with
  population determining precinct numbers
• Voters may elect a precinct chair for each
  precinct, although many go without being filled
• All precinct chairs make up the county executive
  committee, the second level of party organization

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The Permanent Organization

• County chair is elected to two-year term and
  helps manage party activity in county (its a
  non-paying job)
• Executive Committee accepts filing and is
  responsible for conducting primaries
• There are also committees that correspond to
  state senatorial and congressional districts

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The Permanent Organization

• State executive committee has 64 members,
  including state chair and vice-chair (different
  genders)
• Parties meet every two years for state convention
  and elect 62 state committeemen and
  committeewomen
• Executive committee plans state convention, helps
  raise funds and set party policy

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Temporary Organization

• Precinct Convention
• Open to anyone voting in primary, which is held
  on second Tuesday in March in even-numbered years
• Delegates can adopt resolutions for partys
  platform
• Better attendance in presidential years

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Temporary Organizations

• County or Senatorial District Convention
• Held approximately two weeks after precinct
  conventions (on a Saturday)
• Precinct delegates constitute membership of this
  level, and in turn select delegates to the state
  convention

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Temporary Organization

• State Conventions
• Held in June of even-numbered years
• Statewide office nominees are certified
• National convention delegates are selected in
  presidential years
• National committeeman and committeewoman are
  elected
• Presidential electors are chosen

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The Party in Government

• Parties have been at a loss to produce cohesive,
  policy-oriented coalitions
• High decentralization of parties, thus reducing
  ability to discipline
• Large number of elected officials diffuses party
  leadership
• Party differentiation is sometimes difficult to
  develop

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Third Parties in Texas

• Libertarian
• La Raza
• Reform

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Reasons for Two-Party System

• Response to national system
• State election laws contribute to continuation of
  system (plurality in general elections)
• Winning elections is more important than
  ideological purity

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Other Matters

• Gerrymandering is the process of drawing
  unusually shaped districts to benefit a person of
  party
• Single-member districts were created to provide
  representation to previously under-represented
  groups
• At-large elections may reduce minority
  participation

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Legislative Initiatives

• Voting Rights Act of 1965
• Allows challenge of election systems and
  practices
• Burden of proof is on government to show no
  dilution of voting strength
• Any change in systems requires preclearance
  from U.S. Justice Dept.
• Motor Voter law

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Political Participation

• Hispanics
• Account for 25 of voting age individuals
• Voter turnout is low, due to lower educational
  levels and income levels
• Making inroads is statewide elected positions

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Political Participation

• African-Americans
• Represent 11 of voting age population
• Increasing participation
• 479 elected officials as of 1999
• Women
• Only two elected statewide prior to Ann Richards
  in 1982
• Today there are 10 women holding statewide office
  (out of 29 positions)

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Campaign Technology

• Campaign is now candidate-centered
• Heavy reliance on electronic media
• Polling is used extensively
• Targeting involves getting your message to the
  voters you need to reach

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Media and Advertising

• Controlled media involves situation where
  candidate is in charge, e.g. TV ads, billboards,
  printed material
• Electronic media is becoming too costly for many
  local races
• Uncontrolled media involves coverage of candidate
  in political news stories
• Media is often manipulated due to deadlines,
  statewide campaign, pack journalism

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Media and Advertising

• Direct mail is the most effective way to reach a
  particular voter also very expensive. Often
  used for fund raising.

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Campaign Costs and Contributions

• Campaigns are increasingly costly
• Federal law limits contributions to 1000 per
  contributor for campaign
• State law has no limit
• Political Action Committees (PACS) can give money
  to candidates

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Participation

• Takes many forms, from Letter to the Editor to
  running for office
• Many participate in grass roots activity, such as
  voting, volunteering to help a party or
  candidate, writing letters
• Active participants are likely to have higher
  incomes, more education, be older and Anglo

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