Unit 4 Chapter 16, Section2

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Unit 4Chapter 16, Section2

• Party Organization
• Mr. Young
• American Government

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Essential Question

• How are parties organized on the national, state,
  and local levels?
• Even though the Constitution does not mention
  political parties, how do they function within
  our political society?

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The Use of Volunteers

• Volunteers perform a wide range of tasks
• They obtain campaign contributions, publicize
  candidates, send out campaign literature, canvass
  voters, and watch at the polls on Election Day

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Membership and Organization

• Separate authority exists at each level of party
  organization
• Local, State, and national parties select their
  own officers and raise their own funds

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Party Membership

• Must declare their party affiliation when they
  register to vote
• Joining a political party is not a requirement in
  the United States
• A voter may declare independent, not supporting
  any particular party

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Party Membership Cont.

• Major parties are open parties, welcoming whoever
  wishes to belong and whatever degree of
  involvement they want
• Party membership provides a way for citizens to
  increase their influence on government

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Local Party Organization

• Basic local unit is the precinct, the voting
  district of a person
• Each precinct has a volunteer precinct captain,
  who organizes party workers to distribute
  information about the party and its candidates
  and to attract voters to the polls

• Several adjourning precincts make up a ward, and
  wards select partys county committee

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Local Cont.

• County committee selects a party county
  chairperson, usually has a great deal of power in
  the county
• Usually the weakest of the party organizations
  because they do not have much power and have
  trouble finding volunteers

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State Party Organization

• Most important part of the state party, state
  central committee
• The committee chooses party state chairperson,
  usually at the wishes of the governor or US
  Senator
• Main function of state central committee is to
  help elect the partys candidates for state
  government officials

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National Party Organization

• Has two main parts- national convention and
  national committee
• National convention is a gathering of party
  members and local and state party officials.
• Meets every four years to nominate partys
  President and vice-president

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National cont.

• National committee a large group composed mainly
  of representatives from the 50 state party
  organizations, runs the party
• Party national chairperson, elected by the
  national committee, manages the daily operations
  of the national party.

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Political Party Functions

• 6 major political party functions
• Recruiting Candidates
• Education the Public
• Operating the Government
• Dispensing Patronage
• Loyal Opposition
• Reduction of Conflict

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Recruiting Candidates

• Selecting candidates for public office and
  presenting them to voters for approval is the
  major function of political parties
• Political parties are more election-oriented
  rather than issue-oriented

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Educating the Public

• Do bring issues to the publics attention
• Use media, such as press conferences and debates
• Help people decide how to vote, if you vote for a
  Democrat or Republican, you can have a vague idea
  of how they stand on key issues

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Operating the Government

• Congress and state legislatures are organized and
  carry on their works on the basis of party
  affiliation
• Party leaders in legislature also try to keep
  their members in line when voting for different
  legislation

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Dispensing Patronage

• Patronage, or favors given to reward party
  loyalty to their members
• Business people or labor unions may expect
  officials to give them something in return

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The Loyal Opposition

• The party out of power acts a watchdog to the
  party in power
• If opposition can successfully convince the
  public their solutions are better, they may win
  the next election

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Reduction of Conflict

• Party encourages groups to compromise and work
  together because they have to gain support from a
  wide variety of groups
• Key outcome parties encourage government to
  adopt moderate policies with mass appeal
• When one party loses control, the transfer of
  power is peaceful