Political Parties and Voting Parties Flashcards
Why do third parties form?
When constituents feel that major parties are not attentive to their concerns
How can an election be determined by third parties?
Nader 2000, most of his votes would have gone democratic
How was Bill Clinton’s campaign affected by a third party?
His campaign adopted the issue raised by Ross Perot
What was the Greenback Labor Party?
They demanded that the government print more money after the civil war to curb national debt
What was the Populist Party?
Commoners who advocated a graduated income tax
Why does the electoral college favor a two-party system?
The winning candidate must gain a majority of electoral votes rather than more than any other candidate, winner takes all in congress seats, and campaign finance.
What is proportional representation?
The percentage of votes a party gets determines the percentage of seats in congress they get
What is hard money?
Given directly to candidates
What is soft money?
given to party committees
What is a PAC?
Political Action Committee - pools funds to then donate to a candidate
How did the McCain-Fiengold act affect campaign finance?
Led candidates to seek small individual support because of new donation limits
Why do candidates deny public funding?
Because they would be tied to its limits
What is the difference between primaries and caucuses?
Caucuses are meetings that take place in a specific location, primaries are statewide votes.
Who are the electorate?
Eligible voters
Rational cost theory
People choose not to vote because of the cost of doing so
