political parties outline Flashcards
what is a political party
a group of persons who seek to control government through the winning of elections and the holding of public office
what are the two main parties in US
democrats and republicans
what are the 3 common elements of a political party
party organization, party in government , party in electorate
what does party organization mean
leaders, activists, and other people who give time, money, and ideas to the party
what does party in government mean
people in the party who hold political office
what does party in the electorate mean
the millions of people who identify themselves as members of the party
what are political parties supposed to do
handle conflict, unify people, keep away extremists, nominate people for political office and present them to the voting public, inform and engage people in various issues, find qualified candidates for office
partisanship
the strong support of their party and its policies
how did the founding fathers feel about political parties
against them
who referred to “factions” in politics, meaning that political parties cause disunity
james madison
which side are democrats on
left
what 2 words are used to describe some democrats
liberal and radical
liberal
democrat; believes that government must take action to change economic, political, and ideological policies thought to be unfair
radical
democrat; favors extreme change to create an altered or entirely new social system
who believe in higher taxes
democrats
what side is a republican on
right
what 2 words are connected to republican
conservative and reactionary
conservative
seeks to keep in place the economic, political, and social structure of society
reactionary
favors extreme change to restore society to an earlier, more conservative state of affairs
who believes in lower taxes
republicans
who believes that private organizations or religious based organizations should play a role in social programs (schools, healthcare)
republicans
how long do mist minor parties last
not long
what are the four types of minor parties
ideological, single issue, economic protest, splinter
what are ideological parties
have a certain set of beliefs
examples from the past of ideological parties
socialist, social labor, communist parties
present day ideological party example
libertarian party
what does the libertarian party believe
believe in an individual and doing away with government programs
what is the single issue party
usually based on one issue or problem
the know nothings opposed irish catholic immigration to america
what is an economic protest party
usually angry with both parties for a particular reason or policy
economic protest party example
greenback party were upset with situation facing farmers
what did the greenbacks later become apart of
populist party, wanted public ownership of the railroads and telephone companies along with lower tariffs
what is the splinter party
split from one of the major parties
example of splinter parties
bull moose party ( teddy roosevelt) split from republicans
george wallace led american independence part from democrats
recently the green party split from democrats
ralph nader may have helped george w bush get elected
what party is often seen as the most powerful
the party of the president
what does the president serve as
symbolic head of his party
how does the electoral process work
first you have to look at the nomination process, within the two party system, whoever the Democrats and Republicans nominate is who is on the ballot in the general election (in November), in a way it limits our choices
what is nomination
the naming of those who seek office
what are the 5 ways for a candidate to be nominated
self announcement caucus convention direct primary petition
what is self announcement
a person who wants to run for office says so
what people are most likely to self announce and example
3rd party candidates
George Wallace, H Ross Perot
what is a caucus
a group of like minded people meet to discuss who they will support in the upcoming election
when does a caucus date back to
1700’s
who were the first caucuses meant for
everyone
who took over the task of nominating candidates in the 18-1900’s (caucus)
legislative and congressional caucuses
where do some states use caucuses and example
in their presidential primary, Iowa the most famous
as the caucus method declined what became a popular way to nominate candidates
convention
by the 1840’s which way became the way to nominate on all levels
convention
what types of conventions were held
state, country, and every four years a nation convention
why did the convention method weaken
they figured out how to manipulate the system (too much corruption)
how often are national conventions
4 years
what does the national convention do
helps nominate the presidential candidate for the party
what is a direct primary
intraparty election
what was the first state to use a direct primary
wisconsin
what do most states use direct primaries for
to select nominees for the senate, house, and governorship
who controls the rules for the primaries
the state not the party
what are the two types of direct primaries
closed and open
what is a closed primary
a party’s nominating election in which only declared members can vote
when does someone establish their party/when can you change it
when they register to vote/ sometimes on election day
open primary
a party’s nominating election in which any qualified voter can cast a ballot
what is a blanket primary
a voter receives a list of all people running and they can vote however they choose, regardless of party
what has the US supreme court ruled about blanket primaries
they are constitutional
what is a runoff primary
some states make their nominees win an absolute majority of the votes. two top vote getters in the first primary face one another to determine the party’s nomination (someone has to get 50%)
what is the primary process
one part of the nominating procedure
what is the presidential primary
people in the states will vote for a person running for president and for delegates who will serve at the convention (its good to match the two)
why are primaries a problem
americans dont understand them people think you should be able to vote in both primaries voter turnout is usually very low for candidates \$\$$ can be very divisive within the party
what is petition nomination
you need a certain number of signatures from qualified voters to get on the ballot
where is petition nominating used
local elections; positions like school board, judge positions, city (or municipal) council
for a democratic society to work what do you need
fair and honest elections
who are most elections governed by
the states and not federal government
who sets the time and date for the electoral college to meet
the constitution
who made rules saying that all elections must have a secret ballot
congress
when are elections held
the tuesday after the first monday in november
what is absentee voting
a process by which a person could vote without going to their polling place on election day (usually done by mail)
what is the coattail effect
a strong candidate running for an office at the top of the ballot helps attract voters to other candidates on the party’s ticket
examples of people who had a coattail effect
ronald regan
barak obama
franklin roosevelt
who had the opposite effect of a coattail (example)
barry Goldwater, George McGovern, Jimmy Carter
what do people think should be done in order to not have as much as a coattail effect
state and local elections should be held on different dates than federal elections
precinct
a voting district; not supposed to have more than 500-1,000 registered voters
polling place
the place where the voters in the precinct actually vote
who supervises the elections at each polling place
a precinct board
how is voting different now than it was
some states use paper while others use machines
the idea of secret ballots is newer
in colonial America voting was done by voice
as they became more intense secret ballots became a better idea
how many features does an Australian ballot have
4
what are the 4 main features of an Australian ballot
- ) provided at public expense
- ) lists all the names of all candidates in the election
- ) given out only at the polls
- ) can be marked in secret
what are red sheet ballots
a long ballot that lists every candidate and every office
local ballots are often very long (sheriff, judges, coroner, school board, etc)
people just vote for anyone sometimes
another name for the office group ballot
Massachusetts ballot
what is the office-group ballot
all candidates for the office are grouped together under the title of the office
The best teacher at LF is....
mr ryan
mr ronzoni
mrs. cornwallwhat is another name for the party-column ballot
Indiana ballot
what is the party-column ballot
list all candidates under their partys name
perhaps it encourages straight ticket voting
hello cocktail effect
