Gov Midterm 3 Study Guide

Federalists

• Alexander Hamilton

• Northeastern (New England) merchants

• Pro tariffs to encourage manufacturing

• Federal government assume states debts

• Establish a national bank

• Re-establish friendship with Britain

Democratic Republicans

• Thomas Jefferson and James Madison

• Southern planters

• Free trade

• Promotion of farming over commercial interests

• Frienship w/ France

What was the First Party System?

Federalists and Democratic-Republicans (1790s to late 1820s)

What was the Second Party System?

Democrats and Whigs (1820s/early 1830s to 1850s)

Whigs

• Founded by opponents of Andrew Jackson

• Supported by Northeastern merchants

• Favored national bank + tariffs

• Federally financed internal improvements (e.g. roads and canals)

Andrew Jackson’s Democratic Party

• Made a general appeal to the common people

• South + West farmers

• Opposed national bank + tariffs

• State and party national conventions to nominate prez

• Established central party committees, state party orgs, and newspapers

What was the Third Party System?

Republicans and Democrats (1860-1896)

• Republicans = Party of the North (business and middle-class support)

• Democrats = party of the South (working-class and immigrants)

Early Republican Platform (before the Civil War)

• Commercial and anti-slavery interests

• Grants of federal land, internal improvements, construction of a transcontinental railroad, and protective tariffs

Lincoln’s Republican Party

• Depended on Republican governors/state legs. to raise troops, fund, and maintain the war

• Attempted to gain votes in the South during the Reconstruction Era by appealing to freed Black voters

• Gave funds for economic recovery and infrastructure rebuilding

What was the Fourth Party System?

Republicans and Democrats (1896-1932)

What was the Fifth Party System?

The New Deal Coalition (1932-1968)

The New Deal Coalition

• Spurred from FDR trying to recover from the Great Depression

• Increased the size and scope of the national government

• Unprecedented rise in social welfare programs (e.g. Social Security)

• Workers, intellectuals, African Americans, farmers, Jews, etc.

What was the Sixth Party System?

Democrats and Republicans (1969-present)

• Democrats = liberal

• Republicans = conservative

• All caused by the shift in sentiments during the Civil Rights Movement

Nixon’s Southern Strategy

• Ended Democratic dominance of the political process

• Appealed to White southerners by promising to REDUCE federal support for INTEGRATION & voting rights

• Built a coalition of conservative, White, working class Americans in the South

• Reagan added on religious conservatives (re: abortion)

Beginning of political polarization that we see TODAY!

Third parties

• Usually focused around a specific issue w/ little ideological room (usually have their platforms absorbed by the major parties)

• Populists, Progressive, Green Party, Libertarians, etc.

National Conventions

• Held Every 4 years

• Delegates from all 50 states nominate a president and vice president

• Approved changes in party rules and regulations

• Draft the party’s campaign platform

National party committees (the RNC and the DNC)

• Raise campaign funds, deal w/ faction disputes in party, and enhance party’s media image

• President elects the chair for the Majority party, committee elects the Chair for the minority (one is focused on re-election the other is focused on raising $$$)

Party identification

A person’s affiliation with a party and the extent to which they associate with it (Democrat/Republican/Independent & Liberal/Conservative/Moderate)

Measures voter’s candidate inclination (accurately-ish)

3 factors that contribute to political party affiliation:

1. Partisan loyalties

2. Policy issues

3. Candidate characteristics

Four basic questions of election law:

1. Who: universal adult suffrage

2. How: Australian ballot

3. Where: Single-member districts

4. What (does it take to win): plurality (NOT a majority)

Turnout rate

number of people who vote in a given election/

number of people eligible to vote (aka anyone above the age of 18)

Factors that contribute to voter turnout

• Voter ID and registration laws (automatic registration vs. self, same-day registration)

• The age, education, and residential mobility of a voter

• Effectiveness of grassroots campaigning + candidate likeliness

Limits on voter participation

• Convicted felons can’t vote (depends on the state)

• Citizenship (must be a citizen)

• Voter registration rules (strict ID laws, self-registration, time limits/deadlines, not same-day)

Australian ballot 

Anonymous ballot that lists all the candidates running for office (all identical and allows voters to break from party-line voting)

Stopped one party from having complete control over all levels of government!

Open primary

Voters declare affiliation at the time of voting in the primary (gives them time to consider candidates and issues)

Closed primary

Limited to individuals that registered their affiliation with the party prior to the election

Plurality rule

Whoever receives the most votes out of the candidates running wins

Majority rule

Candidate must win 50% or more of votes (if no one wins more than 50% there has to be a runoff between the top 2 candidates)

Proportional representation

Competing parties win seats based off of their overall share of the popular vote (e.g. if Democrats win 40% of the popular vote they get 40/100 seats)

Referendum

Voters can vote directly on proposed laws/other government actions (via ballot measure); goal is to approve or reject a policy already produced

Initiative

Advocates get a measure on the ballot by getting enough registered voters to sign a petition (petition to place a policy PROPOSAL on the ballot to be voted on b/c the leg doesn’t want to)

Recall

Allows voters to remove governors/other state officials from office before the end of their terms (usually starts with a petition campaign)

Superdelegate/Unbound delegate (DNC/RNC)

Delegate who is free to support any candidate for the presidential nomination at the party’s national convention (not bound by the results of state primaries or caucuses)

Electoral College

• # of Senate Seats (2) + # of House Seats

• Chosen in statewide elections

• Vote in accordance with the popular vote

• Diservice to large states b/c they are entitled to fewer electors per reisdent

Ground war vs. Air War

Door knocking, in-person town halls, volunteer GOTV work vs. TV ads, social media collaborations/advertisements, etc. (e.g. netroots campaigning)

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act 2002

Prohibited unlimited party spending (soft money) and banned certain sorts of political attack advertisements by interest groups in the final weeks leading up to an election

National Voter Registration Act of 1993

• Also known as the “motor voter” law

• Allowed for voter registration when applying for a license, public-assistance programs, or military recruitment

Political Action Committee (PAC)

• Donate directly to candidates running for office

• Tied those funds to expenditure limits

Buckley v. Veto

• Established that $$$ = freedom of speech

• BUT government has a compelling reason to regulate > protect elections from bribery

• Said limits on candidate spending were unconstitutional 

• KEPT contribution limits

Citizens United vs. the FEC

• Struck down limits on independent expenditures from corporate treasuries

• Limited direct contributions from corporations/organizations to candidates

• Led to the rise of Super PACs

Super PACs

• Can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money on campaigns

• Cannot donate directly to candidates

Help America Vote Act of 2002

• Response to voter irregularities during Bush v. Gore election

• Makes polling places more accessible to individuals w/ disabilities

• Makes the voting process more consistent state to state

Single-member districts

Voters can elect ONE representative per district by population (districts must be of equal-ish population)

Redistricting

The redrawing of districts every 10 years in accordance with the national census (state legislatures and governors are in charge of redrawing w/ judicial supervision)

Districts must be contiguous (aka they HAVE to touch).

Gerrymandering

The manipulation of redistricting by the majority party to create an electoral advantage/suppress the vote of the minority party (maximize the number of seats in the legislature)

Prospective voting

Voters base who they vote for on a candidate’s future performance (how they think they’re going to perform better than the opponent)

Retrospective voting

Based on a voters’ assessment of a candidate’s past actions (e.g. if candidates are running during good economic times they’ll credit their actions for the result)

Issue voting

Voters who disagree with the policies and laws (on principle) will vote against those who passed them and visa versa (positive sentiments benefit incumbents)

Candidate characteristics and voting behaviors

Voting based off of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, geography, and social background (similar background = similar views)

Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA)

• Limited the amount of money that a single individual or organization could contribute to a candidate or a party

• Regulated how business firms could give money (created PACs)

• Established public funding for presidential campaigns

Incumbency advantage

• Voters reward representatives for their performance

• 5 points in statewide legislatures

• 10 points in U.S. House and Senate races

• See greater amounts of success in campaign fundraising

Caucuses

Extensive discussion/debate among attendees to select delegates that go to county, state, and national conventions (that then vote for nominees)

Usually more local, less informal, and more grassroots than conventions

Primary election

A preliminary election to determine who the runners will be for the general election (helps narrow down candidates if there are many running for a position e.g. the presidency)

Convention

Large-scale party meeting (elected by the party members themselves) from relevant county/state that determine who their party’s nominees will be

Party activist

Strong identifiers that vote with their party AND volunteer their time and energy to party affairs (door knocking, donations, etc.)

Get Out The Vote (GOTV)

Efforts to reach out to voters to encourage them to vote/provide information on how to vote/register (via door-knocking, phone banking, town halls, etc.)

Party identification as psychological attachment

• Shaped by the loyalties of parents, friends, or community (noy issues or ideologies)

• Persists and can be handed down to children (though strong opposing factors can lead to rejection)

• First few presidential elections play a key role in this

Party identification as ideological attachment

• Party labels act as “brand names” that help voters choose the candidates that will best match their preferences

• Those who identify with a party feel that it represents their interest better than others > more likely to vote for that party w/o knowing the candidate that well

Party identification as reaction to political experiences

• Voter’s experiences w/ political leaders (especially the president)

• Bad economic times/unwanted military intervention > associate it with the president’s PARTY and inability to government

Political parties as Institutions

• Made up of politicians, activists, interest groups, donors, consultants, and voters

• Recruit and select candidates to run for office

• Organize elections/caucuses

• Raise money for campaigns

Political parties in Government

• Organize support/opposition to gov. action and policy

• Select leaders in the House and the Senate

• Make committee assignments

• Support each other’s legislation

Political parties in the electorate

• Voters identify with the party that reflects their views and interests

• Can be used as a “shortcut” to decide who to vote for

• Can develop strong attachment to a party > become party activists

Political party

An organized group that attempts to control the government by electing its members to office

Nomination

Process by which political parties select their candidates for election to public office

Entitlement programs

Programs that guarantee benefits to certain groups of people according to categories established by federal law (e.g. Social Security)

Fall into contributory and non-contributory categories

Contributory program

Program financed by taxation/other mandatory contributions for its present or future recipients (e.g. payroll tax for Social Security, Medicare, unemployment compensation)

Non-contributory program

Program that assists people on the basis of demonstrated need rather than the contributions they have made to it (e.g. Medicaid, SNAP, EITC, Supplement Security Income (SSI), TANF)

Means-testing

Determines eligibility for governmental public-assistance programs (must show need as well as income + assets below a defined level)

Social Security

Contributory welfare program that allows for retirees to receive benefits based on the number of years they’ve worked, the amount they’ve contributed, and the age at which they chose to retire (increase the longer you wait to collect)