Unit 6: Political Parties and Elections

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Unit 6 Political Parties and Elections
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Political Party Systems
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I. What is a Political Party???

• A group of voters who have the same beliefs about
  government and try to control decisions made in
  the government by electing candidates from their
  party

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II. Political Party Systems

• One Party System
• Ex. China, Cuba
• Two Party System
• Ex. United States
• Multi Party System
• Ex. Japan, Italy, Germany, Israel

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III. Americas Two-Party System

• Began with ratification of the Constitution
• 1st Political Parties Federalists and
  Anti-Federalists
• Today
• Democrats Liberal, big government more
  government involvement in the economy, less
  involvement in peoples lives
• Republicans Conservative, small government
  less government involvement in the economy, more
  government involvement in peoples lives

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• Third Parties
• Parties that challenge the other 2 parties
• They focus on issues they believe have been
  ignored by the Dems and Reps
• Not very many supporters
• Ex. Tea Party, Progressive Party, Green Party

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Roles of Political Parties
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I. Organization of Political Parties

• Every political party works on the local, state,
  and national level
• Local level Political machines
• National work is more visible, however
• The national convention is held every
  presidential election year
• Parties select their candidates for President and
  VP and write their party platform

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II. Roles of Political Parties

• Select candidates for office
• Primary elections
• National Convention
• Campaign for candidates
• Inform citizens of party goals and objectives
• Use the mass media to do this (radio, tv,
  Internet)

DNC in 2012
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• Help manage government
• When they win they have to run the government
• Link different levels of government
• Easy for Pres, Governors, and Mayors of same
  party to work together
• Acts as a watchdog
• Parties that lose power in an election will check
  the actions of the winning party to make sure
  they dont abuse their powers

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Voting
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I. Why is Voting Important?

• You get to choose your leaders
• You get to participate in the government
• You can voice your opinions about certain issues
• You give your consent to the government

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II. Requirements for Voting

• Past Requirements white, male, property owner,
  age 21
• Current Requirements
• Age 18 (Amendment 26)
• US CitizenAfrican Americans (Amendment 15),
  Women (Amendment 19)
• Be registered to vote in MI

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III. The Process of Voting

• Learn about the candidates and issues
• Go to the polling place during voting hours
• They will check your ID and registration and give
  you a ballot
• Go to the booth and mark your choices
• Split ticket
• Straight ticket
• Turn in your ballot

Absentee Ballots
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IV. Why Dont More People Vote???

• Apathy
• Voting times conflict with work schedule
• Too busy
• My vote wont count!

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Types of Elections
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I. Primary Elections

• Held to determine who the candidates will be in
  the November elections
• Closedonly party members can vote
• Openanyone can vote
• Held between January and June
• Caucussame thing as a primary election party
  members choose candidates instead of voting

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II. General Elections

• Held 1st Tuesday after 1st Monday in Nov.
• Voters select the people who will hold office

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• The President must go through the Electoral
  College before being officially elected
• Only official NOT directly elected by the people
• of electors per state of Senators of
  Reps
• A candidate must get at least 270 out of 538
  votes to win
• Winner takes all system

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• Some candidates do not have to belong to a
  political party to run for office
• Ex. NC Judges, School Board members
• Called non-partisan elections

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III. Elections on Issues

• Referendum issue from legislature placed on
  ballot for public to vote
• Initiative citizens make laws by starting a
  petition
• Recall vote someone out of office

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Elections Campaigning
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I. Elections Campaigns

• File for candidacy
• Primary Elections
• General Elections

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II. Gaining Public Support

• Canvassing go through neighborhoods hold local
  rally's
• Propaganda convince people to think a certain
  way
• 1. Name-Calling--Use of an unpleasant label or
  description
• 2. SymbolismUsing patriotic symbols
• 3. Glittering Generalities--Uses words that
  sound good but have little meaning.

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• 4. BandwagonYou should be doing what
  everybody else is doing
• 5. Just Plain Folks--Claim to understand
  the problems of average Americans
• 6. Stacked Cards--Presents only one side of the
  issue
• 7. EndorsementsCandidates get famous people to
  back them

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III. Campaign Funding

• Federal Elections Campaign Act (1979)
• Required candidates to publicly disclose spending
• Limited the amount of that people could donate
  directly to candidates
• Public Funding
• Established by FECA
• is raised through donations on tax returns and
  then split between 2 presidential candidates

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• Private Funding
• Largest source of campaign funds
• Most of this comes from individuals and Political
  Action Committees (PACsee defs)
• McCain-Feingold Act (2002)
• Prohibits national political parties from raising
  that could be used for anything

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IV. Incumbents

• Incumbent someone who has served in office and
  is running for re-election
• Incumbents have advantages, such as name
  recognition and experience raising

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Public Opinion and Interest Groups
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I. Public Opinion

• The ideas and attitudes that most people hold
  about elected officials, candidates, the
  government, and political issues
• Candidates, the media, and interest groups affect
  public opinion

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II. Interest Groups

• A group of people who share a point of view about
  an issue and unite to promote their ideas
• Examples
• NCAE, Chamber of Commerce, NAACP, AARP, Green
  Peace, NRA

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• Interest groups hire lobbyists to convince
  candidates and legislators to support their cause
• Legal Actions contact lawmakers, campaign for
  candidates
• Illegal Actions buying lawmakers/candidates
  gifts or paying for their living expenses (bribes)

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• Methods used to end corruption between lawmakers
  and special interest groups
• Federal Elections Campaign Act
• Candidates must report fundraising/spending
• Special interest groups have to report a list of
  their employees to Congress