Ap Government - Unit 5: Lessons 1-5 Mini Test

linkage institutions

channels that connect individuals with government

Examples of linkage institutions

elections (voting), political parties, interest groups, media

political participation

All the activities used by citizens to influence the selection of political leaders or the policies they pursue

examples of political participation

- donating
-voting
-protesting

article 1 section 4

gave states the power to regulate their own voting laws (reserved rights to property owners, slowly expanded overtime, basically restricted to white men prior to the Civil War)

15th Amendment (1870)

provided federal voting rights for African American men

dual federalism

allowed southern states to limit African American voting rights using discriminatory laws

Voting Rights Act of 1965

a law designed to help end formal and informal barriers to African-American suffrage

17th amendment (1913)

Established the direct election of senators instead of relying on state legislatures

19th Amendment (1920)

Gave women the right to vote

What state granted women the right to vote prior to the 19th amendment?

wyoming

24th Amendment (1964)

Prohibits federal and state governments from enacting a poll tax that would require voters to pay in order to participate

26th amendment (1971)

established 18 years old as the federal standard for voting eligibility

rational choice voting

citizens vote based on what they believe is in their best interest

retrospective voting

voting decisions are based on a candidate or parties past actions or behaviors

prospective voting

voting decisions are based on what a candidate or party might do in the future

party-line voting

voting for members of one political party for all offices on the ballot

voter turnout

the percentage of eligible voters who participate in an election

high turnout

people are more invested in the outcome

low turnout

people are more apathetic and don't think the outcome matters

True or false: presidential election years have higher voter turnout than midterm election years

true (presidential: 55-65% & midterm: 35-50%)

who is more successful when voter turnout is low?

republicans

who is more successful when voter turnout is high?

democrats

are higher-income or lower-income voters more likely to vote?

higher income

are individuals with more education or less education more likely to vote?

more education

are older or younger people more likely to vote?

older people

what race is most likely to vote?

white (African Americans are in 2nd)

What race is the least likely to vote?

hispanic voters

what gender is more likely to vote?

women

political efficacy

The belief that one's political participation really matters - that one's vote can actually make a difference

candidate characteristics

people are more likely to vote when they can "see themselves" in the candidate

election specific factors

current events can increase public engagement and encourage people to vote

partisan attachment

efforts by political parties to encourage their members to vote

challenges to voter turnout

- voter exhaustion
-different laws in each state
-registration
-felony disenfranchisement (can't vote)
- no national holiday for voting (skip work)
- photo ID requirement (difficulty for minorities)

what is one of the biggest obstacles to Voter Turnout?

initial process of registration (different by state)

where does the US rank for eligible voter turnout?

low

where does the US rank for registered voter turnout?

high

Representative Democracy

A system of government in which citizens elect representatives, or leaders, to make decisions about the laws for all the people.

modern campaigns

- reliance on professional consultants
- rising campaign costs & intensive fundraising efforts
- long duration of election cycles
- the impact of and reliance on social media for campaign communication & fundraising

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (2002)

-(McCain v Feingold)
- attempted to ban external money and limit negative attack ads by requiring candidates to state their name and that they approved the message in official campaign commercials
- restricted non-candidate ads from airing 30 days before a primary election and 60 days before a general election

Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

- Citizens United was a conservative film company that sued claiming campaign spending was a form of free speech that shouldn't be regulated by the government (BCRA)
- Supreme Court ruled in favor of Citizens United (5-4)

did the amount of money donated to political campaigns from outside groups skyrocket after Citizens United vs. FEC?

yes

Political Action Committee (PAC)

A committee set up by a corporation, labor union, or interest group that raises and spends campaign money from voluntary donations
- allowed to donate directly to campaigns
- limits on the amount of money that can be donated

Super PAC (Political Action Committee)

- no limit on the amount of money they can spend
- can NOT coordinate with candidates

supporters of Citizens United

view the case as a crucial foundation to the first amendment
- government should not be able to restrict speech when it comes to the election of the government

critics of Citizens United

view the case as a threat to democracy and fair elections
- special interest groups and Dark Money can unfairly bend the government to their own interests

soft money

Campaign contributions unregulated by federal or state law, usually given to parties and party committees to help fund general party activities.

hard money

campaign contributions donated directly to candidates

article 1 section 2-4

covers congressional elections

article 1 section 2

House of Representatives
- elections every 2 years
- representatives must be 25 years old, 7 years citizen of US, must reside in state they are elected from

article 1 section 3

senate
- elections every 6 years (2 year rolling elections for 1/3 of seats)
- must be 30 years old, 9 years citizen of US, must reside in the state they are elected from

apportionment

the process of determining the number of representatives for each state using census data (every 10 years)

constituency

the body of voters in a given area who elect a representative

house of reps

based on population (about 700K citizens per representative)

since WWII where is the population shifting towards?

southern and western states (increased # of reps)

redistricting

process of states' redrawing boundaries of electoral districts following each census

gerrymandering

intentional use of redistricting to benefit a specific interest group of voters

incumbency advantage

the electoral edge afforded to those already in office - greater media coverage, established donor networks, name recognition

closed primaries

Elections to select party nominees in which only people who have registered in advance with the party can vote for that party's candidates, thus encouraging greater party loyalty.

caucuses

meetings of party leaders to determine party policy or to choose the party's candidates for public office (done in public)

article 2 section 1

- 4 year term
- electoral college = number of reps + senators
- presidents must be natural born citizens & at least 35 years old & a 14 year resident of the US
- oath of office

12th amendment

separated the votes for president and vice president (run on a shared ticket)

20th amendment

set inauguration day to January 20th

25th amendment

VP can assume office of the Presidency if the VP & a majority of the Cabinet submit to Congress that the President is unable to do his/her job

open primary

A primary election in which voters may choose in which party to vote as they enter the polling place

exploratory committee

a committee formed to determine the viability of one's candidacy for office; activities may include polling, travel, and other communications relevant to the purpose

what do the winners of primaries and caucuses earn during the nomination elections?

delegates

at the party convention, those delegates then vote to determine what?

the party nominee

nominating calendar

- narrows the field of candidates
- States front-load their nominating elections as early as possible
- extra resources into winning these "early states"
- loss of financial support if candidate doesn't have early momentum

steps of presidential campaigns

1. primaries & caucuses
2. national convention
3. general election
4. electoral college

general election

- candidate campaigns officially recognized by national parties
-retool messages to appeal to moderate voters
- most attention on swing states

electoral college

- 538 votes
- must win 270 to win election
- all states use winner-take-all rule for electoral votes except maine & nebraska
- electors are NOT required to vote as the popular vote wants
- election goes to house if nobody gets 270 (each state gets 1 vote and majority wins)

pros of electoral college

- Constitutional means of electing the President
- places a check on the majority & allows the minority to maintain political interest
- protects influence of states
- prevents concentration of power in urban center that have popular vote advantages

cons of electoral college

- created as a way for elites & state legislatures to maintain a "check" on the common people
- founders were fearful of the "mob" and worried that they might use their new political power after the Revolution to attack the elite members of society
- devalues voters from states that are not "battlegrounds"

federalist 10

a strong federal government can protect liberty because it guards against the dangers of control by a narrow interest. Madison also called it "faction."

brutus 1

argued that federal power was bad and that the Constitution gives too much power to the federal government.