APGOV Unit 5 Review

franchise

has the right to vote

15th amendment

black men could vote

17th amendment

vote for senators

19th amendment

women can now vote

24th Amendment

abolished poll taxes

26th amendment

lowered voting age from 21 to 18

rational choice voting

person votes based on their self-interest

retrospective voting

person votes based on the recent record of a candidate

prospective voting

person votes based on what everyone says the candidate will do in the future

party-line voting

person votes for someone because they always vote for their party

structural barriers

policy or law can prevent or encourage people to vote

political efficacy

citizen’s belief on whether their vote matters

national tide

voters across the country support one party in many elections because of national issues or how they feel about the president

senior citizens

demographic that votes in the highest numbers

party identification, candidate characteristics, political issues, religious beliefs/gender/race/ethnicity

4 factors that influence the decisions of who people vote for

linkage institution

societal structure that connects people to their government or the political process - stuff in between the regular people and the government

political parties, interest groups, elections, media

4 main linkage institutions

political party

An organization that is partly defined by a certain ideological belief that puts forward candidates for elections

canvassing campaigns

party volunteers show up at people’s homes to try to convince them to vote for their candidate

mobilization and education of voters, write and publish the party platform, find quality candidates, and provide campaign management

4 things political parties do

candidate centered campaign process

the candidate matters the most and the party is secondary

coalition

demographic group

party realignment, changes to campaign finance laws, changes in communication and data management technology

3 reasons why party structures change

psychographics

classify people according to their inner life: personality, attitudes, aspirations, desires

duverger’s law

in a winner-takes-all electoral system, only two political parties are likely to thrive

winner-take-all

single-member district

proportional voting

number of votes you get is the number of votes you get in total

interest group

a group of people who gather around a policy issue in order to persuade policymakers to pass legislation that they want

educate voters and office-holders, lobby, draft legislation, mobilize its members to apply pressure on and work with legislators

4 things interest groups do

grassroots lobbying

When ordinary citizens try to influence government officials

single-issue interest groups

devote all their time to one single problem

open primary

any registered voter can vote in either party’s primary, but not both

closed primary

only people registered with the party can vote in that primary

caucus

voters discuss and debate before publicy voting

national convention

winner of primary and chosen vp is presented

first tuesday in november

election day

faithless electors

When the candidate who gets the electoral vote has fewer popular votes

270/538 electoral votes

The number of votes needed for the president to win

coattail effect

when a popular candidate at the top of the ticket helps other candidates from the same party win in lower-level elections

longer campaign season, increasing complexity, canvassing, reliance on social media, advertising

6 reasons why political fundraising spending has increased

FECA (Federa Elections Campaign Act 1974

created to oversee and regulate the money being spent in political campaigns

how much money could be given to a candidate, and how much money a candidate could spend on their campaign

2 rules FECA established

hard money

contributions given directly to the candidate

soft money

donated to a party or interest group who then buys advertising on the candidates behalf

increased the amount of hard money, but passed regulations to make soft money transparant, “sand by your ad” provision

3 rules BCRA passed

PAC

organization that raises money to influence the population to vote for their candidate

connected PAC

formed by corporations, collects funds from members that get donated to candidates

non-connected PACs

formed independently, donations are accepted from the public, which are donated to the candidate

super PAC

formed by anyone, donations are unlimited but never directly coordinates with the candidate

news events, investigative journalism, election coverage/political commentary

3 types of news

investigative journalism

exposes corruption

horse-race journalism

when it turns into a popularity contest instead of an accuracy contest

fairness doctrine

News outlets were required to broadcast both sides of an issue, which is no longer practiced.

strong ties

binds a person to a cause through close relationships

weak ties

doesn’t require a close connection