Political Culture/Federalism (Taken) Part II Flashcards
Who votes the most?
Older and more educated people
Voting age population
Anybody who can vote
Registered voters
People who actually spend the time to get registered to vote
Registration
You sign up to say “I have the right to vote” (Some states require you to designate a party)
Motor Voter Law
At the DMV, registration was on the same form
Voter fraud
People voting more than once
Political machines
Trading out a form of patronage for votes
Straight ticket voting
Voting for every person of the same party
Ways to participate in government
- Encourage people to vote
- Vote
- Protest/demonstrate
- Run for office
- Give money
Purpose of a caucus/primary
- Give people more say
- Narrow down the party to one canidate
How are delegates assigned?
- By party
- Can be a combination of proportional or winner takes all
McGovern-Fraiser Commission
1968 - Had to find a way to be more inclusive —-> primaries and caucuses
Superdelegates/uncommitted delegates
Do not have to follow the way their state does
Who votes the most in primaries/caucuses?
People more the left or right of the political spectrum
What does the party do?
- Supposed to provide a link between people and government
- Help pick candidates
- Help run campaigns
- Give cues to voters
Power of the party vs. independents
Parties have more power at state than national level
What are the roles of the national convention?
- Select presidential candidate from their party
- Establish a party platform
Political Action Committees
- Raise money to support candidates
- No cap
Can the President be publicly financed?
Yes
Who does money statistically help the most?
Congressional challengers
Are Senate races more competitive than house races?
Yes
1800
Jefferson - Democratic Republicans dominated from this point on
1828
Andrew Jackson - More connection between people’s votes and electoral college votes
1860
Abraham Lincoln - Whigs died out
1896
William McKinley - Businesses support Republicans
1932
FRD - Establishes today’s democratic platform
1968
Nixon - more divided government
Transition from solid South
Southerners started moving from democratic to republican
Spoiler
Take votes from a similar candidate
Federalism
Division between central government and regional government
Diversity of public policy
Tons of different laws between states
Gibbons vs. Ogden
Case that established the flexible definition of interstate commerce
Referendum
Force a law to be on the ballot (legislature creates it)
Initiative
Citizen can come up with an idea that gets on the ballot
Recall
When you take an elected official and remove them from office
Devolution
When power gets turned back to the states
Categorical grants
When federal government gives a state money with a specific purpose
Block grants
When federal government gives a state money with a more general purpose
Conditions of Aid
“We will give you money if you do x, y, and z
Mandates
“Do this, or we will take money away”
Unfunded mandates
“You will do this, or we will take money away from you and it will cost you money’
Nullification
When a state refuses to follow something the federal government says because they believe it to be unconstitutional
