Unit 5: Political Participation

Rational choice

What is in the citizen’s individual interest

Retrospective voting

Whether or not a party/candidate should be reelected based on their past performance

Prospective voting

The potential performance of a party/candidate

Party-line voting

Voting for candidates from a single political party for all offices

Political parties

Organizations with similar ideologies that try to influence election outcomes and legislative problems; formed to unite people who have the same political ideals to elect similar-minded representatives and have similar legislative goals

Two-party/bi-partisan system

A system of government made of two major political parties

Party platforms

List of goals that outlines party’s issues and priorities

Party characteristics

Intermediaries between government and peopleMade of activist members, leadership, and grassroots membersRaise money, get candidates elected, and have positions on policy

Subdivisions of parties

Party among electorateParty in governmentParty organization

Party among the electorate

Voters identify with and enroll in parties; vote for candidates from their party

Party in government

Officials belong to parties, pursue goals together (sometimes there are ideological differences)p

Party organization

Group of people, political professionals, who recruit voters and candidates, organize events, and raise money for the party

Party tasks

Recruit and nominate candidates, educate and mobilize voters, provide campaign funds and support, organize government activity, provide balance through opposition of two parties, and reduce conflict and tension in society

National conventions

Occur every four years to nominate presidential candidate; organized by national party

Party coalitions

Political parties made of multiple groups made of multiple individuals; larger coalition increases candidate’s chance of winning

Dealignment

Results from party members becoming disaffected because of a policy position taken by the party, disaffected members join no party and vote for candidate instead of party

Splinter/bolster parties

Third parties formed to represent constituencies that feel disenfranchised by major parties

Doctrinal parties

Third parties that form to represent ideologies major parties consider too radical

Single-issue parties

Third parties formed to promote one principle

Independent candidates

Candidates who run without a party affiliation

Lobbying

Trying to influence legislators

Economic groups

Promote and protect members’ economic interests, including business groups and labor groups

Public interest groups

Nonprofit groups organized around a set of public policy issues, including consumer, environmental, religious, and single-issue groups

Government issue groups

Localities like states and cities have lobbying organizations in DC, including mayors and governors

Interest group tactics

Direct lobbying, testifying before Congress, socializing, political donations, endorsements, court action, rallying membership, propaganda

Influence peddling

Using friendships and inside information to get political advantage

Political action committees (PACs)

Allowed by FECA (1974); formed by corporations, unions, and trade associations to raise funds

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (McCain-Feingold Act)

Regulated campaign finance and PAC donations; prohibited soft money to national political parties; limited corporate and union funding for ads about political issues within 60 days of general election and 30 days of primary election

Hard money

Regulated contributions to candidates

Soft money

Unregulated, unlimited contributions to parties for activities

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)

Supreme Court overturned BCRA limits on PAC funding for “corporate independent expenditures”

Super PACs

PACs with no fundraising limits as long as they do not coordinate with specific candidates

527 Groups

Tax-exempt organization that promotes political agenda but cannot advocate for/against a specific candidate

Incumbent advantage

Representatives who run for reelection (incumbents) win ~90% of the time House incumbents have a greater advantage than senators

Election nominations

When parties choose candidates for general election, mostly through primary elections

State caucuses and conventions

Local meetings of party members select representatives to send to statewide party meetings

Plurality

Greatest number of votes

Runoff primary

Held between top two candidates in a primary if no candidate gets the required number of votes

Superdelegates

Party leaders who are automatically granted delegate status by the Democratic Party who generally support the front-runner

McGovern-Fraser Commission (1968)

Created to promote diversity in delegate pool, recommended that delegates are represented by proportion of population in each state

Closed primary

Primary election in which only registered members of a political party can vote

Open primary

Primary election in which voters can vote in any single party primary which they choose

Blanket primary

Primary election in which voters can vote for one candidate per office of either party

General elections

Election in which voters decide who will hold office; held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November

Presidential elections

Elections when the president is being selected

Midterm elections

Elections between presidential elections

Federal matching funds

Double all campaign donations of $250 and less by matching them

Super Tuesday

Day in early March on which many states hold primary elections

Brokered conventions

Held when no candidate has received the pledge of a majority of delegates and the conventions must decide the nominee

Party platform

Party purpose and goals

Post-invention bump

Boost in approval ratings seen in polls after national conventions

Electoral College

Electoral system in which each state is given a number of electors equal to the senators and representatives and the winner of the state wins all of its electors; created by framers to insulate government from whims of less-educated public

Voter turnout

How many voters vote in an election

Mandate

A clear winner of an election

Split-ticket voting

Voting for a presidential candidate of one party and legislators of another

Issue-attention cycle

Requires policymakers to act quickly before the public gets bored and loses interest

Incrementalism

Slow, step-by-step way of making policy

Inaction

Taking no action to make policy (maintaining the status quo)

Policy fragmentation

When many pieces of legislation deal with parts of policy problems but never address the problem as a whole

Mixed economies

Made of capitalist free-market systems where government and private industry play a role

Deficit spending

Funds raised by borrowing, not taxation

Mandatory spending

Required by law to fund programs such as entitlement programs, Medicare, Social Security, payment on national debt, and veterans’ pensions

Discretionary spending

not required by law, programs include research grants, education, defense, highways, and all government operations

Social insurance programs

National insurance programs to which employees and employers pay taxes; public believes that benefits have been earned because they pay into them

Public assistance programs

Not paid for by recipients, result of condition and government responsibility to help the needy