Political Participation Unit 5

Fifteenth Amendment

Prohibits voting rights denial based on race

Seventeenth Amendment

Enables direct election of Senators

Nineteenth Amendment

Grants women the right to vote

Twenty-Fourth Amendment:

Federal poll taxes illegal

Twenty-Sixth Amendment:

lowered the voting age to 18

Rational choice

Voting based on individual interest

Retrospective voting

Voting based on past performance

Prospective voting

Voting based on future predictions

Party-line voting

Supporting a party by voting for candidates from one political party for all public offices at the same level of government

Structural barriers

Obstacles to voter registration and voting

Political efficacy

Belief in vote influence on policies

Voter Turnout

Predicted by barriers, efficacy, and demographics

Interest groups

Facilitate citizen participation in government

Media

A linkage institution for policy communication

Party platforms

Main goals of a political party if elected

Candidate recruitment

Seeking candidates for party success

Campaign management

Organizing strategies for party success

Third Party Politics

Third parties are the minor parties (not Democrats and Republicans) who tend to not win national elections. Barriers to their success are our electoral system, media coverage, fundraising, and how the two major parties can incorporate their platforms

Iron triangles

Mutually beneficial relationships in politics

Issue Networks

Groups formed around specific policy issues

Lobbying

Seeking influence on public officials

Free rider problem

Benefiting from group actions without contribution

Interest group influence

Impacted by resource inequality and access

Groups Influencing Policy Outcomes

Impact policy through lobbying, electioneering, etc.

Electioneering

Engaging in activities to influence elections

Litigation

Resolving disputes through legal action

Going public

Transitioning from private to public ownership

Single issue groups

Single-issue groups, ideological/social movements, and protest movements form with the goal of impacting society and policy making. Success of these groups might

depend on many different factors.

Incumbency advantage phenomenon

Current officeholders' increased likelihood of re

Closed primaries

Primary elections limited to registered party members

Open primaries

Primary elections open to all voters, regardless of party affiliation

Caucuses

Meetings where party members choose nominees after discussions

Party conventions

Meetings to select party candidates and vote on policies

General (presidential) elections

National elections held every four years to elect the President

Electoral College

Group of electors that formally vote for the U.S. President

Swing States or Battleground states

States that can go either way during general elections

Incumbents

Current officeholders running for re

Gerrymandering

Manipulating electoral boundaries to favor a party

Casework

Assisting constituents with specific issues or services

Midterm elections

Elections held in the middle of a President's term

House of Representatives

Chamber of Congress with members elected every 2 years

Senators

Members of Congress with 6 year terms

Professional consultants

Experts hired to advise on campaign strategies

Campaign Finance

Regulations and laws governing political campaign funding

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002

Legislation aimed at banning soft money in campaigns

Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

Supreme Court case allowing political spending as free speech

PACs

Organizations raising money to support political causes

SuperPACs

Groups raising unlimited funds independently to support candidates

Gatekeeper

Media's role in setting the political agenda

Investigative journalism

Deep, original investigation on a specific topic, often conducted over a long period of time and sometimes involving the exposure of secret information.

Horse Race journalism

Focus on polling results rather than policy in reporting

Media consolidation

Few large companies owning the majority of news sources

Narrowcasting

Targeting media content to specific audiences