Unit 5: Political Participation Flashcards
14th amendment
ensures equal protection under the law preventing states from enacting discrimantory practices on a persons ability to vote
15th amendment
citizens wont be denied access to voting due to race, color ,or previous condition of servitude
17th amdnment
senators are chose by popular vote
19th amendmnet
women can vote
24th amendmnet
no more poll taxes
26th amendmnet
citizens 18 or older can vote
rational choice voting
occurs when a vote revires the ssues or candidate, evaluates campaign promises and decides to vote in a way that benefits them the most
retrospective voting
a voter looks back at the candidates track records
prospective voting
a voter anticipates what might happen in the future, considering the promises and the platform that may impact the voter’s life moving foward
straight ticket voting
voter selects candidates from the same political party for all offices on the ballot
structural barriers to voting
voting registration
voter id laws
election day issues
disenfranchisement
gerrymandering
voter registration
most states require enrollment 30 days in advance
different rules in different states
federalsim: both state and federal laws
voter id laws
burden to the poor and to certain demographics
election day issues
long poll lines
people at work
political effiacy
citizens’ trust in their ability to change the government
linkage institutions
a structure within a society that connects the people to the government
political parties, elections, the media, ect
interest groups
An organization of people sharing a common interest or goal that seeks to influence the making of public policy.
use litigation to set precendent
how are elections a linkage institution
give “we the people” the most direct way to influence our government and its decisions through voting and donations
how the media is a linkage institution
voice opinions
provide news
act as watchdog
republican plaform
liberty, economic prosperity, preserving American values and traditions, and restoring the American dream
democratic party platform
emphasizes social and economic equality, advocating for policies such as affordable healthcare through programs like the Affordable Care Act, climate change action, and renewable energy investments
Candidate-centered campaigns
are electoral strategies that focus on the individual candidate rather than the political party as a whole.
Critical elections
eletions that reveal sharp, lasting changes in loyalties to politcal partues
Proportional representation
each party running receives the proportion of legislative seats corresponding to its proportion of the vote.
winner take all system
an electoral process where the candidate who receives the most votes in a particular state wins all of that state’s electoral votes
two party system
a political party system in which two major political parties consistently dominate the political landscape
third party agendas
to the set of issues, policies, and priorities that are championed by political parties outside of the two dominant parties.
independent candidate
a political candidate who does not belong to any established political party and runs for office without formal affiliation
lobbying
the process by which individuals or groups, often organized as interest groups, attempt to influence government decision-making and policy outcomes.
free-riders
An individual who does not to join a group representing his or her interests yet receives the benefit of the group’s influence
single issue groups
an organization that focuses exclusively on one specific area of public policy, advocacy, or concern
political Realignment
refers to a significant and lasting shift in the electoral support and ideological orientation of political parties, often resulting in the emergence of new coalitions and the restructuring of party systems.
occurs during critical elections
can reflect changes in public opinion, demographics, and political priorities
incumbency advantage
the benefits that current officeholders have over challengers in elections, making it easier for them to win reelection from factors such as name recognition, established donor networks, and the ability to leverage their position
open primary
allows all registered voters to pick a candidate from any political party.
closed primary
registered members of political parties may vote for their respective party’s candidates i
caucuses
meetings of members of a political party or faction to discuss and decide on policies, strategies, and candidate selections.
party convention
large gatherings organized by political parties to nominate candidates for public office, particularly the presidency.
Delegates
chosen at party primaries and caucuses who are committed to supporting a specific candidate at the party’s national convention to determine the nominee for president,
general elections
elections determine which candidates will hold public office, including members of Congress,
Midterm Elections
the general elections that occur in the middle of a president’s four-year term, determine the composition of Congress
how many votes needed to win presidenecy
270
Modern Campaigns
less reliant on political parties and are increasingly candidate-centered
hiring of professional political consultants
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (2002)
aimed to regulate the financing of political campaigns in the United States
sought to eliminate soft money contributions to national political parties and impose stricter limits on individual contributions
political action committee
organizations that raise and spend money to elect or defeat political candidates
superpacs
‘independent expenditure-only committees,’ are organizations that can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money to influence elections.
Soft Money
political contributions that are made to political parties for purposes other than supporting a specific candidate, often used for party-building activities, such as increasing voter registration or sustaining local parties.
agenda setting
The power of the media through news coverage to focus the public’s attention and concern on particular events, problems, issues, personalities, and so on
Horse-race journalism
the treatment of political campaigns, particularly elections, focusing primarily on who is ahead or behind in polls and predictions rather than on policy issues or candidate qualifications
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
ruled that corporations and unions can spend unlimited amounts of money on political campaigns, as long as they do so independently of a candidate’s campaign due to the free speech clause of the first amendment
increasing voter turnout
upgrade technoligy
absentee ballots
early voting
demographics
can be used to predict who will vote and who for
religion
catholics and jews: lean left, but mixture of both
evangelicals: right
gender
women: lean left bc they oppose harsh ounishments, less war prone, and favor go spenind on welfare
men: opposite
ethnicities
latio: lean left
asians: lean right
political parties as a linkage institution
persuading people to vitre
educate voters
encourage people to get involved in the campaign process
political parties in government
create policy, pass legislation, exapand power through nominations
gerymandering
purpose of theird parties
draw attention to issues, influence the major parties platofrms
electioneering
the process by which political groups convince voters to cast ballots for or against particular candidates, parties, or issues.
iron triangles
promote certain policy goals in exchange for smth that will benefit the group implementing siad policy
issue networks
connect group with similar groups to make a more powerful influence
who are elections run by
states
FEDERALISM
how state electoral votes are counted
votes transported to washington
vp and speaker of house count them before a joint session
how the electoral college facilitates democracy
candidates must campaign in most states rather than ust heavily populated ones
guarenees a consesus presided with wide supoort
federal election comission
in charge of regulating campaign finance laws
who is limited in their contribution to candidate campaigns
individuals, corporations, labor unions, and PACs
who is unlimited in outside spendin on an election
superPACs and charotable organizations
how media influences poliical participation
provides info on candiadtes and their policies
mobilizes voters
facilitate discusisions
organize movements
ideoligcally oriented programming
people view different info based on what source they watch to confirm their bias
consumer-driven media
media traded credibility for profitability, focusing on a certian grouo to share news to
