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Government Honors > Unit 2: Political Parties and Elections > Flashcards

Unit 2: Political Parties and Elections Flashcards

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1
Q

Political Party

A
  • A group of persons who seek to control government through the winning of elections and the holding of public office
  • Sounds sinister but you want to most offices per political party, because then the more influence a party has
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2
Q

List the 5 jobs of political parties

A
  1. Nominate Candidates
  2. Act as a “Bonding Agent”
  3. Informing and Activating Supporters
  4. Governing
  5. Act as a Watchdog
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3
Q

Nominate Candidates

List the 5 jobs of political parties

A
  • A major function of political parties is to nominate (name) candidates for public office
  • Parties select candidates and present them to the voters, then work to help their candidates win elections
  • 300,000+ million are in the United States, so we expect political parties tonominate Candidates, they identify those doing good work, and then approach them
  • They present this person to the voters and they decide if this person is who they want to have the job of being their candidate
  • members of your party HELPPPPPPP you win the elction
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4
Q

Act as a “Bonding Agent

List the 5 jobs of political parties

A
  • Protect candidates against a loss or poor performance
  • Ensures the good performance of its candidates and office, makes sure that candidates are qualified and of good character
  • Saving bond, security deposit. To protect us against bad outcomes
  • Make sure that candidates don’t lose too badly, it makes the party and candidates unpopular in future elections
  • They interview candidates to make sure that they are capable, truthful, and that nothing crazy will come up about their past. CAN they do their job?
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5
Q

Informing and Activating Supporters

List the 5 jobs of political parties

A
  • Inform the people about their candidate and activate their interest and participation
  • Camapaign for their candidates and criticize their opponents
  • Develop a party stance on the issues. Attract as many like-minded voters as possible
  • Get the people of the party wanting to participate, AFTER they choose a candidate
  • If nobody has heard the candidates names before, then no one will vote, NEED CAMPAIGNS. Have, meeting with supporters, activating their support
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6
Q

Governing

List the 5 jobs of political parties

A
  • Congerss and State government are organized on party lines and conduct their business on the basis of partisanship
  • Many political appointments, non-elected positions - are made based on party
  • Maintain a connection between the executive and legislative branches. Party loyalty makes it easier to negotiate the passage of bills
  • Due to partisanship most people from each party will agree most of the time, you cna use this policy to make connections between branches. Because like minded individuals agree on most things
  • You can rely on the political party to hire certain people, because you share roughly the same ideology

Partisanship: Strong suppoty of the party and its policy stance

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7
Q

Act as a Watchdog

List the 5 jobs of political parties

A
  • Parties, especially out of power (not in the White House, not controlling Congress), monitors the conduct of the party in power to protect the public interest
  • Attempt to convince the public that the party in power needs to be voted out
  • Political parties keep an eye on one another, so when one party or another screws up. They will tell EVERYONE what they did, etc.
  • This is to help political parties or win elections
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8
Q

Political Ideologies

There are 3

A

Left = Communist
Right = Fascist
Most people are placed in the center area

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9
Q

What do Liberals (progressive) believe

What did FDR do

A
  • Favord progress and reform
  • Strong federal government and a regulated economy. The government’s responsibility is to better the lives of its citizens. In general, more government EX. FDR
  • Favor changes in government, open to change. Want a strong federal government that can ceate change, and puts rules in place for the economy (minimum wages, fines for pollution, etc.)
  • Agree that it is the government’s responsibility to benefit the citizens
  • FDR passed social security
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10
Q

What do Moderates (centrist) believe

A
  • Favors a practical approach to problem solving
  • May be liberal on some issues and conservative on others
  • Seeks Compromise
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11
Q

What do Conservatives (traditional) believe

What did Ronald Reagon do

A
  • Favors society as it is or a return to what it was. Weak federal government, strong state governments, market driven economy (Laissez Faire), rugged individualism. In general LESS
  • Believe in a weaker federal government, because of possible overise of power, local powers are better
  • Believe that the market should regulate the economy
  • Ronald Reagan rewrote the tax code so they could set money aside that would not be taxed, instead of relying to the government
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12
Q

Rugged Individualism

A

A person’s well-being is their own responsibility

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13
Q

Two-Party System

A
  • A political system dominsted by two major parties
  • In America, the Democrats and Republicnas are the only parties whose candidates have a reasonable chance of winning major public office. Mostly a two party system
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14
Q

Why does America have a two party system?

A
  • We always have
  • Single-Member Districts
  • Ideological Consensus
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15
Q

We always have

Why does America have a two party system?

A
  • We have always had Federalists and Anti-federalists. The publica is resistent to change, the parties in power have no incentive to change
  • Democrats and Republicasn don’t plan on spending time to create any others major parties from third parties. The two main parties in power work hard to maintain their power, and have no incentive for change
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16
Q

Single-member districts

Why does America have a two party system?

A
  • Most elections have only one winner, so voters can vote for the candidate in office or the one with the best chance to defeat them (this is rarely a minor party)
  • People are either satisfied with the government they have, or they are dissatisied and try their best to get the best possible person into office
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17
Q

Ideological Consensus

Why does America have a two party system?

A
  • The major parties have, over the course of decades, developed to accommodate nearly all Americans political views. There are few voters left for the minor parties
  • Parties have expanded their ideas, in comparison to what was originally (talking about slaves), people see most of their values in these two parties, it fails to leave other options
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18
Q

Multiparty systems

A

Systems in which several major and many lesser parties exist, seriously compete for, and actually win public elections (Ex. Canada, Singapore)

Pros: Gives voters a more meaningful choice between candidates and policy alternatives. Most parties are based on a particular issue
- One of these parties matched you ideologically, there may be some differences, but there are many to choose from
Cons: Can lead to instability. If one party cannot win a marjoty, a coalition (temporary alliance) must be formed. Few governing coalitions last for a significant time
- The most popular one many only get 30% vote, so they have to make compromises and collaborate. Can be good or a disaster, if it doesn’t work they cannot do ANYTHING within the government

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19
Q

One-Party System

A
  • System in which only 1 party exists, either because of voting habits or (more commonly) because of a dictatorship (Ex. China)
  • You mainly see this in dictatorship, forced to be in the communist party. You can get arrested if you vote for other parties. All of nothing
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20
Q

List types of Third Parties (Minor parties)

A
  • Ideological Parties
  • Single Issue Parties
  • Economic Protest Parties
  • Splinter Parties
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21
Q

Ideological Parties

List types of Third Parties (Minor parties)

A
  • Based on a set of beliefs, typically significantly different from the mainstream. Ex. Socialist party
  • Not center, they either lean right or left and based all of their voting decisions off of their EXACT position of beliefs
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22
Q

Single Issue Parties

List types of Third Parties (Minor parties)

A
  • Focus only on one public policy matter. Ex. Free soil party
  • ONLY ONE ISSUE
  • If you believe that taxes on puppy dogs is too high, that is all you talk about, adds EVERYTHING
  • Free Soil Party: Broke of the Democratic party, they left because the only thing they disagered on was making sure that slavery didn’t expand, this was the only campaign issue that they were running on
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23
Q

Economic Protest Parties

List types of Third Parties (Minor parties)

A
  • Rooted in poor economic times, dissatisfied with current conditions and demand change. Ex. Tea Party
  • Need new change so when times are tough they start a new party in order to push Democrats and Republicans to come up with new ideas and solutions
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24
Q

Splinter Parties

List types of Third Parties (Minor parties)

A
  • Voters who split away from one of the major parties, usually to follow a strong personality
  • Leave these man parties to form their own under a charismatic leader
  • Teddy Roosevelt created the Bull Moose Party because the Republican party already had a presidential representative
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25
Q

Why are Third Parties Important

Three reasons

A
  • Third parties better represent voters who dont’ fit neatly into the ideology of Democrats and Republicnas
  • Act as a critic or innovator
  • Act as a “spoiler”
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26
Q

Act as a critic or innoator

Why are Third Parties Important

A
  • Third parties have less to lose by taking a stance on controversial issues, and draw attention to controversal issues that major parties address
  • Ex. Eugene Debs ran for office 5 times for progressive income tax, after 20 years the people started asking he major political parties if they would embrace it or not
  • These 3rd parties will most likely not win the election so they need to innovate or critize in order to attract more voters. Have NOTHING in lose
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27
Q

Act as a “Spoiler”

Why are Third Parties Important

A
  • Pulls voters from one party to another, “stealing” that party’s votes
  • Ex. Ralph Nader and the Green Party in 2000, Jill Stein in 2016
  • If a Republican 3rd party attracted a lot of Republicans, there wouldn’t be as many to vote for them against the Democrats
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28
Q

What other types of party systems exist around the world?

2 answers

A
  • Multiparty
  • Single Party
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29
Q

How do Political Parties work?

A

They are decentralized

There is no chain of command from one national level through the local level

30
Q

Decentralized

Pros & Cons

A
  • Cons: No national oversight leds to political embarrassment. Local parties could lack a good leader causing embarrassment for the party
  • Pros: Local parties can focus on their own elections instead of national races, they will know the candidates better and find a candidate that fits their needs
31
Q

The President is the leader of the party in the White House

Elaborate

A
  • MAIN: Uses media access and popularity to help other party members raise money, win elections
  • The party in power uses the office to promote the party by making political appointments, raising money, and campaigning
  • The President is the most knoen politician in the world
  • President uses media access, power to make appointments, and popularity (particularly for fundraising and campaigning) to assist the party
  • The party now in the White House is led by no one. Many different figures compete to become the leader
32
Q

List the 4 National Party Levels

A
  • The National Convention
  • The National Committee
  • The National Chairsperson
  • Congressional Campaign Committees
33
Q

The National Convention

List the 4 National Party Levels

A
  • MAIN: Nominate the president and vice presidential candidates, write and pass the party platform
  • Meets in the summer of a presidential election year. Their job is to nominate a President and Vice-President candidate, and write a pass the party platform
  • Every 4 years they hold this 4 day event, they rent out arena, and significant democrat or republican make their way ober to a state to meet up. Where they officially nominate a presidential candidate and vice president
  • At the convention they decide their stance on each major issue what is our policy on the environment, taxes, etc.
  • They decide how the party is going to be run
34
Q

The National Committee

List the 4 National Party Levels

A
  • Responsible for the party’s affaris between conventions. Mostly planning the next convention. (Except they don’t have enough power ot do this anymore)
  • Maintaining the party in years that aren’t election years
35
Q

The National Chairperson

List the 4 National Party Levels

A
  • Leader of the national committee
  • In charge of tasks like voter registration and fundraising
36
Q

Congressional Campaing Committees

List the 4 National Party Levels

A
  • 1 in each house of Congress
  • Work to reelct incumbent and take seats from the opposition
  • Has members of congress work with other members of congress to win elections
  • If you are a Republican in Texas and raise a LOTTTTT of money, you would work with other Republican congress members to gie that money to areas that are more democratically based (Like New York)
37
Q

List the 2 Different Levels of Government

A
  • State Level
  • Local Level
38
Q

State Level

List the 2 Different Levels of Government

A
  • Primary job is to build an effective organization for the party across the state. Make it easier to get candidates elected
  • The main job it voter registration, and to get out the vote, national levels rely on the state level to do this
  • Finding people to run for office
39
Q

Local Level

List the 2 Different Levels of Government

A
  • More focused on actually running the election, setting up voting areas, reminding people to vote
  • DO many od the same jobs as the State party: Finding candidates, helping with election, getting the vote
  • Contains bot Wards and Precincts
40
Q

Wards

On the local level of Government

A
  • A way of dividing cities for election
  • Each county is broken into 10 or 11 pieces
41
Q

Precincts

On the local level of Government

A
  • Smallest unit of election administration
  • Super Super Super Super Super Local
42
Q

What is a party platform

Why is it important?

A
  • A party’s statement of its principles, objectives, and stands on policy matters
43
Q

Electorate

Definition and how many

A

The potential voting population

over 210 million Americans

44
Q

Requirements to Vote

3 answers

A
  • Must be 18 years of age
  • Must be a citizen of the United States for at least a Month
  • You must vote in the Congressional district where you registered
45
Q

List the 4 federal prohibitions listed in the Constitution

The states, not the federal government, set the requirements for voting

A
  • MAIN: no state can deprive a person of the right to vote based on race, gender, or age. Cannot require the payment of a poll tax. Cannot impose unreasonable classifications
  • Voters must be able to vote in both State and National elections
  • No State can derive a person of the right to vote based on race, gender, or age
  • No State can require the payment of a poll tax
  • No State can impose voting restrictions based on “unreasonable classifications.” Ex. Owning property, being able to read.
46
Q

People who cannot vote

5 answers

A
  • Resident aliens
  • Presons in mental health facilities
  • Persons in jail
  • Persons who are religously opposed
  • People who do not vote: those with low political efficacy

Political Efficacy: a sense of their influende or effectiveness in politics
Ex. My vote won’t make a difference

47
Q

Definition of Party Identification

A

The most accurate predictor of voting behavior

48
Q

3 or more factors that influence why people vote and who they vote for

A
  • Age
  • Income
  • Education
  • Maritial Status
  • Gender (Woman)
  • Party Identification
49
Q

List the Different Ways to Nominate a Candidate

5 Options

A
  • Self-announcement
  • Convention
  • Petition
  • Caucus
  • Primary (Open, closed, semi-closed)
50
Q

Self-announcement

List the Different Ways to Nominate a Candidate

A
  • Self explanatory
  • A candidate announces that they would like to be considered for elected office
  • For smaller offices you can announce that you are running, unlike the official official office
51
Q

Convention

List the Different Ways to Nominate a Candidate

A
  • Party members meet to pick candidates for office and select delegate for the next-level-up convention
  • (state convention picks delegates for national convention)
  • For bigger elections the party VIPs decide who is representing them: a lot of opportunities for corruption and no voter involvement
52
Q

Petition

List the Different Ways to Nominate a Candidate

A
  • Candidates for office are nominated by means of petition signed by a certain required number of votes. varies widely State-to-State
  • You don’t want to spend time and money to endorse a candidate, when no one else supports it. They require those who want to run for office to gain signatures
  • So the party knows that there are certain amount of people that would vote for you
  • PA required 300 for house, 2,000 for President
  • Pros: Shows dedication to the job, helps get a campaign organized, gets voers involved
53
Q

Caucus

List the Different Ways to Nominate a Candidate

A
  • A group of like-minded people who meet to select candidates they will support in an upcoming election. Used to be a closed-door meeting or elites, now a public event
  • Like a meeting, more than an election. Everyone in the party meets at the same place at the same time candidates give a speech, and everyone has a chance to walk around and support other ones
  • They do this until they have one candidate left with the party

Pros: Some people do different speeches, talk about different issues that are brought up within the party
Cons: Take forever, tough to gain participation, 10 minutes to fill out ballate vs. a 3 hour Caucus

54
Q

Primary: Open, Closed, and Semi-Closed

List the Different Ways to Nominate a Candidate

A
  • Primary: An intra-party election. Help within the party to select the party’s candidates for office
  • Open Primary: Voters of any party affiliation can vote for the candidate of any party they choose. Can only do one or the others
  • Closed Primary: Only voters registered in a prty can vote in tis primary. Can only vote in the primary if you are registered with one party. ONLY the party that you’re registered with (difficult if youre an independent)
  • Semi-closed: Independents may choose which primary to vote in, but registered voters must vote in their own party’s primary
55
Q

Proportional Representation

Definition

A
  • The candidate receives a proportion of votes based on the percentage won in the primary
  • Ex. a state with 20 delegated, a candidate wins 50% of the vote, that candidates gets 10 delegates
  • In many states, voters also vote for the delegates themsevles. This makes the process more democratic by eliminating state delegation made entirely of the privileged or powerful
  • Benefit of the primary: Screens out lesser candidates, levaing only the best qualified, most electable
  • Makes them compete against someone for the same votes, makes them more qualified and weeds out the weaker people
56
Q

Options other than voting on voting day

2 options

A
  • Absentee Voting
  • Early Voting
57
Q

Absentee Voting

Options other than voting on voting day

A
  • For those who are suffering from a long term illness or disability, those who will be away from homse on election day, those serving in the armed forces
  • Those needing an absentee ballot must apply for one to the county election office no later than 1 week before the election
  • Today more people are eligible to vote by mail, everything changes bcs of covid
58
Q

Early Voting

Options other than voting on voting day

A

Many States allow voters to cast their ballots up to two weeks early at early polling locations. This refuces lines, making voting mroe convenient
In larger areas, polls are ofent opened on weekends

59
Q

Electors

Definition and what they do in the election for the president

A
  • Enlightened and respectable citizens that would cast electoral votes for the best qualified candidates for president and vice-president
  • The Framers of the Consitution were unsure how a president should be selected at the Constitution Convention
  • Some wanted Congress to select the President, others thought that would make Congress too powerful
  • A few people wanted the people to vote directly, but if felt that the people would be too spread otu to get to know a candidate and not capable of making informed choices.
  • UNEDUCATED
60
Q

Electoral College

Definition and what they do in the election for the president

A
  • Group of people (electors) chosen from each State and the District of Columbia to formally select the president and vice-presdient (you have 2 senators for EVERY STATE, and then members of the house
  • Each state has as many electors as it has MEMBERS OF CONGRESS
  • On election day, we vote to elect president electors. The Framers intended the electors to use their best judgement to vote for president, but today they are expected to vote for their State’s selection for Presidenet and Vice-President
  • The electors MUST vote with how the people vote, you msut by law pass your votes by the majority in the State
61
Q

List the criticisms of the electoral college

3 answers

A
  • The winner of the popular vote is not guaranteed the precendence
  • Electors are not required to vote in accrord with the popular vote - “faithless elector”
  • An election might have to be decided by the House
62
Q

The winner of the popular vote is not guaranteed the precendence

List the criticisms of the electoral college

A
  • This has happened 5 times
  • Winnter-takes-all states wake this possible. A candidate would win a state by 1 vote and receive all of its electoral votes
  • Distributing electors based on Congress mambers gives small states 2 extr votes they wouldn’t have based on population
63
Q

Electors are not required to vote in accord with the popular vote “faithless elector”

List the criticisms of the electoral college

A
  • Electors are normally loyal party members and would not risk their position, but it happened (on a very small scale) before. Potential for election outcomes to be changed
  • When an elector decides not to follow the popular vote, could be jail or fines based on the state
64
Q

An election might have to be decided by the house

List the criticisms of the electoral college

A
  • Happened in 1800 and 1824, close a few other times. Give small states more weight
  • If a majority of a state’s represesntatives cannot decide on a candidate that would lose its vote
  • Disenfranchisement is a real possibility
65
Q

Redistricting

A

Drawing congressional boundaries based on the movement of population

66
Q

Gerrymandering

A
  • Drawing congressional boundaries for a party’s own political gain
67
Q

Which state is the first to hold the first primary

A
  • New Hampshire
68
Q

Which state is the first to hold the first caucus

A
  • Iowa
69
Q

What impact does the first primary of caucus have on the national election

A
  • Parties can concentrate their resources there early in the race. It weeds out unqualified candidates
  • AlthoughIowa and New Hampshire do not represent the rest of the nation, so the results may be skewed
70
Q

How are the number of electors for each state determined

A

Each state has one elector for each member of Congress

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