Linkage Institutions

26th Amendment

Lowers the voting age to 18. Vietnam war; because if young people can shoot guns then they should vote.

The electorate

All the people in a country or area who are entitled to vote in an election.

Disenfranchised

Denied the right to vote.

Hard money donations

Political donations that are regulated by law through the Federal Election Commission.

Soft money donations

Money donated to political parties in a way that leaves the contribution unregulated.

PACs

A PAC is a political committee that raises and spends money to elect or defeat candidates.

Cititzens United v. FEC

The rich can donate as much as they want through soft money because of the outcome of the court case. Under the 1st Amendment people & corporations can donate unlimited soft money to PAC’s (led to creation of SuperPACs).

Revolving door

From a government job to being in an interest group.

Voter turnout

People who are eligible to vote; and end up voting.

Pork barrel spending/earmarks

A provision in a law that provides a direct benefit to a client without the benefit having been reviewed on the merits by all of Congress.

What two things do interest groups do?

They put information in your hands that is biased towards their party and they create the PAC’s.

Which groups of voters tend to vote with Republicans?

The educated, rich, white, and old.

Which groups of voters tend to vote Democrats?

The non-educated, poor, people of color, and young.

Which groups of voters tend to not vote in elections because they lack political efficacy?

The moderate and any other group that doesn’t fit the educated, rich, white, and old requirements.

What are a few of the reasons that the US has such low voter turnout when compared to other democracies?

Lack of political efficacy. With additions such as, free transportation, electronic voting machines, early voting absence, and creating voting day to become a national holiday will evidently increase voter turnout by a great margin.

These ideas are great and will increase voter turnout; so then why aren’t most of these in place? Because the parties think their advantage with the current voter turnout is going to sway with the implementation of these things.

National Rifle Association (NRA)

Pro guns.

National Right to Life

Pro life.

Defense Contractors

Creating contracts for the private businesses that create military equipment for the U.S. military.

National Education Association

Pro education.

Two-party system (How it may negatively impact the relationship between the government and the people)

The 2-party system prevents third parties from having a real chance, pushing out the voice of those that don’t fall in line with one of the two major parties.

Low voter turnout (How it may negatively impact the relationship between the government and the people)

Because not many people are voting, it causes the election to be swayed to the side with more voters that end up voting, Republican or Democrat.

Soft $ donations (How it may negatively impact the relationship between the government and the people)

Because There is no limit on the amount of money someone can donate through Soft Money, the election could be heavily swayed based on the amount of money the candidate has compared to the votes.

PACs (How it may negatively impact the relationship between the government and the people)

It could sway the election outcome because one candidate might attract more PACs which brings in more funding for them and more campaign advertisements. Along with this, it can bring nepotism by that candidate offering a position in office to their top donor.

Revolving door phenomenon (How it may negatively impact the relationship between the government and the people)

People who have been in a government position and are now in an interest group, will get government funding and support for their cause because of the relation of being in the government. This will cause the government to primarily focus on these interest groups because of the relation and the funding towards their campaign through the PAC’s.