unit 3: linkage institutions Flashcards
history of voting rights
constitution left power to decide who votes to the states –> property owning white men
-andrew jackson changed it to all white men
-15th amendment added black men
-17th amendment allowed for senators to be elected by the people
-19th amendment added women to vote
-24th amendment removed the poll tax
26th amendment lowered voting age to 18
rational choice voting
voting based on self interest and making a rational choice for one’s self
retrospective voting
voting based on the recent past of a politician
prospective voting
voting based on predictions of how party/candidate will perform in the future
party line voting
voting for all candidates in one party
voter turnout is effected by…
structural barriers, political efficacy, demographics, and types of elections
structural barriers to voting
laws that prevent voters from voting such as voter ID laws
political efficacy
a citizen’s belief about whether their vote matters
what affects voters choices for voting
-political ideology
-partisanship
-candidate characteristics
-social issues
-religion, gender, race
linkage institution
societal structure that connects people to their government and political process
4 linkage institutions
political parties, interest groups, elections, media
political party
organization defined by a certain ideological belief that puts forward candidates for election
goals of political parties
-mobilize and educate voters -> getting ppl on board with their candidate
-write/publish a party platform
-finding quality candidates
-provide campaign management and support for their candidate
party realignment
usually occurs after a major loss and so the party realizes it has to realign it’s values to appeal to the electorate
how party structure is altered
-party realignment
-campaign finance changes
-communication/data management technology
third parties will never win because
- winner takes all system
- majority parties will adopt third party platforms into their own platforms
proportional system
this system would work well in favor of third parties because you get the percent of seats with the percent of the vote that you win
interest groups
a group of people who gather around a policy issue in order to persuade policy makers to pass legislation favorable to the group
-ex: NRA, PETA, NAACP
goals of interest groups
- educate voters
- lobbying –> meeting with legislators to convince them to pass favorable legislation
- drafting legislation
- mobilizing members to pressure/work with legislators and government agencies
iron triangle
relationship between interest groups, congress, and the bureaucracy
members of congress are helped by interest groups…
-interest groups provide them with policy info
-interest groups give campaign donations to representatives that are sympathetic towards their goals
hindrances to interest groups
-unequal access to decision makers and resources
-free rider issue
how political actors affects policy
- social and protest movements get national attention
- interest groups then propose potential legislation to lawmakers
- political parties and bureaucracy get involved with actual lawmaking
- when it’s time to implement/execute the law, bureaucratic agencies figure out the rules and regulations to accomplish
- the law is either implemented well or not
election process
- candidate earns party nomination by winning primaries
- party will usually keep current president if they have one
- election day occurs and electoral college selects the winner
electoral college
winner takes all system for each state
faithless electors
those who vote against the popular vote
congressional elections occur…
every 2 years
incumbency advantage
-name recognition
-track record
-established funding
campaigns are so expensive because
-the campaigning period increases since states are holding primaries earlier and earlier
-advertisements
FECA
oversaw and regulated money spent in political campaigns
-created limits for how much money a person could give a political candidate and how much money candidates could spend during their campaign
hard money
contributions directly given to a candidate
soft money
money donated to party or interest group who can buy advertising on behalf of the candidate
-is not subject to campaign finance laws
BCRA
-increased the amount of hard money that could be spent
-placed regulations on soft money
PAC (political action committee)
raise money for the sake of influencing the population to vote for their preferred candidate
-connected pacs
-non connected pacs
-super pacs
connected PACS
formed by corporations or labor unions
-can only collect funds from members
-can raise unlimited money but it can be donated to candidates ONLY in LIMITED quantities
non-connected PACS
formed independently of an organization, usually around a specific public interest
-donations to non-connected PACs are limited by law
-can accept donations from the public and donate directly to candidates
super pacs
can be formed by anyone
-can accept unlimited donations
-cannot directly coordinate with a candidate
roles of the media
-watchdog
-gatekeeper
-scorekeeper
watchdog role of media
media serves to keep close watch on government which keeps them in line and motivates them to make good decisions
scorekeeper role of media
media keeps us updated on elections and the tendency to report more so about candidate’s wins and losses rather than policy choices
gatekeeper role of media
media controls what information the public does and does not have access to
