Political Parties and Elections

1. Political Parties and Elections

2. Political Parties Definition: Group that seeks to elect candidates to public office by supplying them with a label – a “party identification” – by which they are known to the electorate Party identification is important for candidates to seek money, support, and appeal. Minor Parties / Third Parties Discouraged by the electoral college Either too conservative (reactionary) or too liberal (radical) Organized around a long-lasting goal or ideology Ideological: alternate way of governance One-issue parties: focused on a single policy (parochial) Economic-protest parties: wants change in economic conditions Factional parties: split from a major party Ex. Abolitionists, Prohibitionists, Socialists, Communist, Libertarian, Green, Free-Soil, Woman’s, “Know-Nothing”, Populists, Greenback, “Bull Moose”, States’ Rights, Henry Wallace, George Wallace, Reform

3. Functions of Political Parties Nominators Nominates candidates that promote the parties’ ideologies Screeners Litmus test allows the party to choose candidates based on their ideological purity Informers Political party acts as a liaison and a linkage institution between the government and its citizens The use of media stimulates and educates the people to take part in their duty to vote Governmental Roles Party ideology directly or indirectly influence the public policy which affects how governing works Watch Dog The presence of multiple political parties prohibits one body of government from having absolute power

4. Organization DNC (Democratic National Convention) / RNC (Republican National Convention) National Committee – representatives from each state and territory National Chairman – manages day-to-day work National Convention every four years during the summer before a presidential election in November in order to nominate presidential candidates Congressional Campaign Committee – assists incumbents and challengers to be elected as a congressman Primaries and General Elections Closed Primaries – the voter must declare in advance his or her party membership Open Primaries – the voter decides when they enter the voting booth (few states) Blanket (free-love) primaries – has candidates for all parties, and does not necessarily have to choose candidates of the same party. More people vote in general election (50%) compared to only 25% that voted in primary elections

5. Development First party was held during Andrew Jackson’s presidency In earlier times, candidates were determined by party leaders in “smoke-filled rooms” Creation of: primary election in most states Party machines using material incentives Weakened political parties due to individual candidates relying on consultants and media

6. Effects on the Political Process Citizens choose a political party that they are a part of. The candidates in an election are nominated by their political party. Elections are usually partisan, with voters voting for the political party they belong to. Officials have beliefs that are the most close to their own political parties, therefore will try to enact laws that is supported by that parties. Because of the partisanship in parties, if there is a divided government, it would be likely that there is a policy gridlock.

7. Electoral Laws and Systems Plurality System Electoral college encourages the two-party system Each state gets electoral votes equal to the number of its senators and representatives (DC gets 3) Allows states to benefit, both small and large, by giving at least 3 votes to each and more for the ones with more population Total of 538 electoral votes Winner-take-all system in 48 states allows a candidate to win with 270 electoral votes rather than getting the majority of the popular votes Candidates go for the states with the most electoral votes. 11 of the largest states will total 230 electoral votes Electoral college prevents third parties from forming if they are to win the votes by popular vote If neither of the candidates wins the majority, the decision is made by the House of Representatives

8. Multiple Choice Questions • The most successful third parties • Represent as particular region of the country • Have strong ties to an ideological position • Break off from one of the two major parties • Focus on a single issue • Support a particular group • 2. The Republicans select George Bush as their 2004 election candidate. This is an example of which political party role? • Screeners • Nominators • Informers • Watch Dog • Governmental roles

9. What effect does a plurality (winner-take-all) election system generally have on the political party system? (A) The plurality election system generally results in a multi-party system. (B) The plurality election system generally encourages political parties to be more ideological and less practical. (C) The plurality election system generally results in an apathetic electorate with few loyalties to political parties. (D) The plurality election system generally results in a political system that is dominated by two broad-based parties. (E) The plurality election system generally results in a one-party system with lesser parties that occasionally challenge the status quo. (D) – The single most important reason for a two-party system is the winner-take-all or pluralist electoral system. This system contrasts to those with proportional representation where the percentage of votes for a party’s candidates is directly applied as the percentage of representatives in the legislature. The winner in American elections is the one who receives the largest number of votes in each voting district. The winner does not need to have more than 50 percent, but only one vote more than his or her closest competitor. This process encourages parties to become larger, embracing more and more voters. So third parties have almost no hope of getting candidates into office, and their points of view tend to fall under the umbrella of one or both of the big parties.

10. Free Constructed Response Which governmental role would have most effect on the political process and explain.

11. Important Difference in What Democratic and Republican Parties Stand For 1952-2000 • Question Text: “Do you think there are any important differences in what the Republicans and Democrats stand for?” • The two-party system in the United States generally is characterized by broad-basedparties with overlapping appeal to voters. • a) Identify one trend in public opinion between 1952 and 2000 about differences inwhat the Democratic and Republican Parties stand for. • b) Give two specific explanations for the trend identified in part a).