US Democracy and Participation

how has there always been debates on what a US democracy should look like?

in Federalist Paper #10, James Madison argued that the US constitution cretes a republic rather than a democracy, to protect the interests of the minority over from the majority.

electoral college
what is the us electoral system?

while the term isnt used in the constitution, the constitution establishes the Electoral College to elect the president ever 4 years.

-states appoint a slate of electors who vote on the president on behalf of the state

-whoever gets the most EC votes wins.

the invisible primary
what is the invisible primary?

the ‘invisible primary’ is the period in which potential candidates for a party compete for attention, money and endorsements.

-the growth of media, social media and the role of campaign finance has made this inceasingly important.

-Donald Trump effectively won the ‘invisible primary’ before hte 2024 election, sealing his success in the real primary.

the invisible primary
what are examples of the invisible primary?

in 2020, 29 candidates ran for democratic nomination.

-11 dropped out before the primaries with their name not on the ballot, and 7 withdrew with their name on the ballot.

-10 dropped out during the primaries.

the invisible primary
how can candidates utilise the invisible primary to their advantage?

-candidates can use the invisible primary to attract ‘name recognition’, which can be judged through polling.

-Jeb Bush announced his candidacy with enthusiasm in 2015, however faced aggressive criticsm from Trump during the invisible primary, being attacked by Trump on twitter more than all other republican candidates combined.

he withdrew from the race in febuary 2016.

the invisible primary
how are debates used?

-in the 2020 democratic primary, the democrats held 11 debates.

-by the first debate held 20 different candidats. by the final debate, only biden and sanders remained.

the invisible primary
how has money gotten more important during invisible primaries?

-whats the difference between a PAC and a Super PAC?

-candidates raise money during the invisible primary, with donations increasingly coming from Political Action Committees (PACs) and Super PACs.

-while PACs can only donate a limit of 5000 dollars to a candidate, Super PACs can spend an unlimited amount of money for/against candidates, but cannot coordinate directly with the candidate while doing so.

-2020 election cost 6 billion dollars.

how does money not always mean success?

in 2020, Michael Bloomberg spent more than Joe Biden, at over a billion dollars.

despite this, Biden won the primary.

Primaries and caucuses
what are priamries and cauceses?

primaries and caucuses are held accross the nation to choose the presidential candidates for parties.

-each state holds a primary, meaning there are 50 republican primares/caucuses and 50 democratic primaries/caucses.

Primaries and caucuses
whats the differece between a primary and a caucus?

-primaries are state wide elections which use ballots to elect candidates.

-caucses are public meetings which use a show of hands, or moving to a part of the room to elect canddiates.

Primaries and caucuses
what are open primaries?

-open primaries/caucus’s allow all voters in the state to takepart, even if they are not members of the party

-voters can only choose 1 to vote in however.

-states such as Alabama and Virginia use this.

Primaries and caucuses
what are closed primaries?

Closed primaries/caucuses allow only voters registered with a party to take part.

-states such as Florida and New York use this.

Primaries and caucuses
what are semi closed primaries?

-Semi closed primaries allow registered voters to take part in their parties primary/caucus, while unregistered voters can vote in any of them.

-states such as Maryland and Utah use this.

National party conventions
what are NPC’s?

-National party conventions are multiday events held by each party

-they formally nominate the presidential and vice presidential candidate.

National party conventions
how have these gotten less important?

-by the time these are held, both the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates are well known.

formal and informal roles of party conventions
what is the formal role in terms of selecting the party candidates?

while most party delegates are bound by party rules as who to vote for, the NPC’s still formally nominate the candidate.

in 2024, the DNC confirmed Kamala Harris as the choice for president, despite Joe Biden winning the primary.

formal and informal roles of party conventions
what is the formal role of adopting the party platform and policies?

-the party convention allows discussion on amendments to the party manifesto.

-while parties do take account of their members views, the convention today is more of a ‘rubber stamp’ for the manifesto.

formal and informal roles of party conventions
what is the informal role of selling the candidate?

-as a multi million dollar event with TV coverage, the convention allows for the candidate to be sold to the public.

-Obamas 2007 DNC speech had an audience of aronud 39 million TV viewers.

-the 2024 DNC and RNC saw celebrity endorsements such as Hulk Hogan.

formal and informal roles of party conventions
what is the informal role of party unity and the conventions?

during primaries, party divisions are exposed. the convention can therefore offer unity.

-Having lost to Obama in 2008, Hillary Clinton opened her DNC speech by stating that she is “a proud supporter of Barrack Obama”

the electoral campaign
why are campaign events not held equally accross all the states?

-swing states are more likely to see campaign events and more spending.

-’bellweather states’ are safe states which see the least campaigning.

the electoral campaign
what statistics support this?

in 2020, 96% of campaign events by either Trump, Pence, Biden or Harris took place in just 12 states.

Governor Scott Walker in 2015 argued “the nation as a whole is not going to elect the next president. twelve states are”

the electoral campaign
what are presidential debates?

since 1976, there has been televised debates.

-candidates who poll above an average of 15% are eligible to take part on these debates.

-for all recent debates, this has meant there have only been 2 candidates, with 3rd parties failing to meet the polling requirement.

the electoral campaign
are these debates important?

-some argue these debates are superficial and dont impact voter choice. in 2016, Clinton appeared to have ‘won’ each debate according to Polling, but still lost the election.

-despite this, disasterous debate peformance by joe biden in 2024 led him to drop out of the race.

Election day and the electoral college
why was the electoral college put in the constitution?

-included as a comprimise to prevent the direct election of the president, which was feared by some founding fathers.

-it also consolidated federalism by ensuring that both high and low populated states get a voice at the national level.

Election day and the electoral college
how does teh electoral college work?

each state is given the same number of EC votes as the number of people representing the state in congress.

-each state therefore gets at least 3 votes.

Election day and the electoral college
what are faithless electors?

-faithless electors are electoral college delegates who do not vote as their state do.

-the likelyhood of this effecting the outcome is minimal>

-in 2016, there were 10 faithless electors of the 538. 3 were invalidated due to state law, while 7 were able to cast their ballot for someone else than their state intended.

arguments in favour of electoral college reform
what is an argument of the popular vote?

in 2 of the last 7 presidential elections the winner of the popular vote has lost the elcectoral college.

arguments in favour of electoral college reform
what is an argument in terms of third parties?

third parties are effectively excluded from electoral process, as EC votes are not allocated proportionally and third party votes tend to be thinly spread across the nation.

arguments in favour of electoral college reform
how does the system create tryanny of the minority ?

-small states are overepresented by the electoral college.

-California has 54 ECV and a population of around 40 million.

-Wyoming has 3 ECV’s and a population of around 600,000. this means that each ECV in Wyming represents 200,000 people, while a Californian ECV represents over 3 times as many people.

arguments in favour of electoral college reform
what is an argument in terms of campaigns?

Bellweather states are over represented in electoral campaigns as they decide an election.

-the majority of states are therefore ignored.

-in the 2024 presidential elections, there was much focus on Pennsylvania.

arguments in favour of electoral college reform
what is an argument in terms of possible constitutional crisis?

-faithless electors undermine the basic principle of democracy.

arguments against electoral college reform
what is an argument in terms of representation of small states?

-electoral college ensures small states remain represented.

-with the population concentrated in a few big states such as California, the EC is needed to ensure that these dont dominate the electoral process.

-also upholds federalism due to different electoral procedures in each state.

arguments against electoral college reform
what is an argument in terms of tryanny of the majority?

EC guards against tyranny of hte majority. The founding fathers were not convinced on the wisdom of popular voters, and the EC disperses power away from the majority.

arguments against electoral college reform
what is an argument in terms of lack of replacement?

-there is no consensus on what should replace the EC.

-some reforms have been suggested, such as a proportional allocation of ECV’s

-the idea of a straight up national popular vote contradicts key principles of the founding fathers.

arguments against electoral college reform
what is an argument in terms of history?

-historically, the EC has produced a clear winner.

The two party system
how does the ‘winner takes all’ lead to a 2 party system?

third parties gain no representation unless they come first in a state or district.

despite the threefold jump in third party votes in 2016 to 7 million votes, they gained no representation.

The two party system
how does party ideology create a 2 party system?

2 main parties have a broad ideology making it hard for 3rd parties to have a distinct policy

-in the 2024 presidential election, RFK jr intially decided to run as an alternative for democrat voters. despite this, he withdrew from the race to endorse Trump.

The two party system
how does the expense of politics createa 2 party system?

US elections have become so expensive that the only parties able to compete are those with money.

The two party system

how do electoral rules create a 2 party system?

rules of presidential debate excludes 3rd parties who struggle to acheive 15% polling.

-this restricts their legitimacy to gain an electoral breakthrough.

diffiulcty in reforming campaign finance
why is it diffiulct to reform campaign finance?

-those in power have benefitted from the current system, and are reluctant to reform it.

PACS 527'‘s and Super PACs have been able to circumvent existing legislation

-on numerous occasions, the supreme court has exacerbated this issue.

key ideas and principles of the democratic and republican parties
what are the different basic ideologies of the 2 parties?

Democrats - generally liberal, push for progressive rights and government socioeconomic intervention.

Republicans - generally conservative, push for inidivdual rights and limited government socioeconomic intervention. Push for a larger role however in defence and homeland security.

key ideas and principles of the democratic and republican parties
what are the key 5 ideological beliefs of the democrats?

-improving the union
-a government which serves the people
-liberty and equality
-government socioeconomic intervention
-strong military, while seeking peace.

key ideas and principles of the democratic and republican parties
what are the 6 key ideological principles of the republicans?

-american exceptionalism
-rights of the individual
-originalist interpretation of the constitution
-limited government
-politcal and economic freedom
-strong military, while seeking peace.

key ideas and principles of the democratic and republican parties
what are some general key policies of the democrats?

a larger government that protects abortion rights and gay rights, along with enforcing gun control and reoforming immigration.

key ideas and principles of the democratic and republican parties
what are hte key policy of the republicans?

a more limited government that restricts abortion, allows gun rights, state/parent run education along with tax cuts and less social welfare.

changing significance of the parties
how are the significance of the parties changing?

-hyperpartisanship is increasing in congress, as parties become more important and less bipartisanship is seen in congress.

US population has also become more polarised in recent decades.

changing significance of the parties
how have constituents changed the significance of parties?

members of congress must be mindful to the views of constituents, especially given the nature of primaries.

changing significance of the parties
how have congressional caucuses effected the significance of parties?

groups in congress who share a common goal often come together when voting on issues, ignoring party lines.

-there is a womens caucus, black caucus and steel caucus.

changing significance of the parties
how have interest groups effected party significance?

-it would be rare for an interst group to lead a member of congress to vote against their own party.

however, in the age of expensive elections, interest groups are crucial in funding both parties and can sometimes effect voting behaviour.

democratic factions
what is the liberal faction within the democratic party?

-liberals/progressives are on the left of the democratic party, and promote more government intervention to acheive equality and protect rights.

-Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren ran against biden in 2020, with Sanders promoting free education, universal healthcare and a green new deal.

-in 2018, Alexandria Ocazio Cortez caused a ‘political earthquake’ as she defeated incumbent congressmen Joe Crowley in the New York 14th district democratic priamry.

democratic factions
how have the liberals faction recently effected politics?

in 2021, the liberal faction of the democrats held up bidens infratructure bill. they refused to vote for the bill alone, pushing for a larger social security package.

-the bill eventually passed but only after guaranteeing the social security vote.

democratic factions
what is the moderate faction within the democratic party?

moderates are centrist democrats. they uphold liberal values while willing to compromise on some issues.

-Feinstein, a former Senator from California, opposed the death penalty and supported enviromental policy, but does not support government takeover of healthcare.

-she was booed in a 2017 town hall meeting for this, demonstrating the more partisan public.

democratic factions
what is the conservative faction within the democratic party?

conservative democrats are on the very right of the party
-increasingly uncommon in an era of hyperpartisanship

-tend to be socially/morally conservative agree with democras economic policy.

democratic factions

what is an example of a conservative democrat effect politics?

Joe Manchin was a senator for west virginia, who advocated some gun control, while also voting to confirm Brett Kavanaugh in 2018.

-Manchin often challenged bidens policies on welfare, spending, voting rights and abortion.

Republican factions
what is the moderate faction within the republican party?

moderate republicans favour more conservative fiscal policy, while promoting more progressive views on rights.

-in february 2022, LIsa Murkowski and Susan Collins introduced a bill to codify the right to an abortion.

-increasginly uncommon due to hyperpartisanship.

Republican factions

what is the fiscal conservative faction within the republican party?

Fiscal conservatives aim to cut the size and cost og government to reduce taxes, with social and moral issues not being a main concern.

-these republicans strongly supported trumps fiscal policies.

Republican factions
what is the social conservative faction within the republican party?

-Social conservatives focus on social and moral issues, known as the ‘religious right’.

-support the death penalty and gun rights, while opposing abortion and social welfare.

-the 2020 Republican platform declared that they believe in the sanctity of life of unborn children.

-In May 2022, Republicans voted with joe Manchin to block the codification of abortion rights in the US.

How gender impacts voting
how does gender effect voting turnout?

in every election since 1980, women have voted in higher proportions than men.

in the 2024 presidential election, women made up 53% of the vote.

How gender impacts voting
why do women traditionally vote democrat?

usually between 40-49% of women vote republican, while little over 50% vote democrat.

-this could be due to womens issues such as abortion and the gender paygap and employment equality

-the democrats also have more female representatitves in both houses of Congress, and more female candidates running for office.

How race impacts voting
how does race impact turnout?

turnout of the two biggest ethnic minority groups in the US, Hispanics and African Americans, is typically lower than white americans.

How race impacts voting
how do racial minoritires typically vote?

like women, ethnic minorities are more likely to vote for the democrats in recent elections. However, a significant cohort of these groups do vote republican.

in 2024, African American rap icon 50 cent claimed that more black americans are ‘identifying’ with Donald Trump, highlighting hte slow shift.

-trump also made gains on votes from racial minorities in the 2024 election.

How race impacts voting
why do racial minorities typically vote democrat?

-policies which help ethnic minorities have typically been championed by democrats rather than republicans, such as voting rights and affirmative action.

-There are also far more Democratic African Americans and Hispanic/latino members of Congress than republicans.

How race impacts voting
how has trump managed to gain support with latino/hispanics?

in 2020, for the first time the majority of eligible hispanic voters turned out.

-Trump increased the Republican share of the Hispanic and Latino vote compared with 2012 and 2016.

-twice as many hispanic/latino voters in 2016 considered Obamas immigration policy as being too soft rather than too strict, lending more support to Trump.

how education impacts voting
how is education being focused on more?

-traditionally, education receives little focus from US political pundits when discussing voting patterns.

however, in 2016, education levels of voters became a big headline and continued in 2020 and 2024.

-Those with higher levels of education are more likely to vote democrat, while those with lower education levels are more likely to vote for trump.

how religion impacts voting
how does religion impact policy support?

-religion can be a factor due to moral policy such as abortion, death penalty and marriage laws.

how religion impacts voting
how do the different religions traditonally vote?

-protestants traditionally vote republican, with Trump appealing greatly to these voters.

-Catholics have more split voting patterns, with issues such as abortion causing their votes to swing between Democrats and Republicans over the last 4 elections.

-Jews are reliable democrat voters, traditionally being more liberal in their views.

how religion impacts voting
how has religious voting changed?

in 2020, Trump gained a majority of the protestant and catholic vote, while biden took a majority of the jewish and otehr religious voters.

types of interest groups
what are the different types of interest groups?

in a political system with many access points, groups use whatever means necessary to be heard.

-they appear in 3 main groups, single issue, professional and policy.

single issue pressure groups
what are single issue groups?

single issue groups try to gain influence over specific narrow issues.

the National Rifle Association (NRA) is a single issue group.

-they fought to protect the storage of weapons in DC v. heller [2008], fought against restriction on attatchemnts, and an assault rifle ban.

single issue pressure groups
how has the NRA attacked political leaders?

-in 2022, the NRA condemned Bidens executive order on twitter which banned untraceable guns made from kits, stating ti would “burden law abiding gun owners”

Professional interest groups
what are professional interest groups:?

-professional interest groups seek to represent the interest of a group of workers/professionals

-The American Farm Bureau Federation represents US farmers on issues considered to be revelavant to their group.

Unlike single issue grups, the AFBF campaigns on more than just agricultural policy. they campaign on immigration reform, tax and energy.

policy interest groups
what are policy interest groups?

Policy interest groups are similar to single issue groups but with greater scope.

-they represent issues such as enviroment and foreign policy

-The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) promotes Israel-US relations. However, they also campaign on other foreign policy issues such as defence issues.

resources of interest groups
how does money give interest groups power?

-a group with alot of money can finance election campaigns, hire lobbyists and organise grassroots campaigns.

the NRA spent 4.2 million supporting Trump in 2020, whie spending 12.2 million opposing Biden.

resources of interest groups
how does membership give interest groups power?

-a group with high membership can have an influence due to the short election cycle, as they can mobilise voters.

-members can also include experts who can help shape campaigns, such as big donors and lawyers.

resources of interest groups

how can points of access give interest groups power?

Groups that have access to, or the support of a politican is more likely to be heard.

-in 2022, 453 former members of Congress worked as lobbyists or senior advisers, offering these groups valuable information on the legislative process.

tactic of interest groups
how has lobbying been successful in influeincing poltiics?

-in 2013, a bill that passed the house would have rolled back parts of the Dodd Frank Act, which gave banks more power over savers money. The language of the bill was almost identical to that used by lobbyists for Citigroup (one of the Largest banks in the US)

-in 2016, representative Tipton introduced a bill to allow drilling in protected areas. the language of the bill appeared to have been written by Oil Company SG interests, one of his top owners.

tactic of interest groups
how do report cards influence politics?

interest groups place pressure on politicians by issuing annual report cards on them, making their stance on issues known.

Senator Sanders was given a D- by the NRA in 2016. Sanders referenced his grade during a campaign event, with Politico writing “he is wearing his bad grade as a badge of honour”

tactic of interest groups
how has campaign finance and electioneering effected poltiics?

wall street reported nearly 3 billion dollars spent lobbying the 2020 election.

-interest groups can offer endorsements to candidates. this ‘electioneering’ gives voters a sign that the candidate is supportive of their issue.

in 2018 thee NRA publically endorsed Joe Manchin due to his stance on gun control.

tactic of interest groups
how do interest groups use grassroots activity?

-thousands of protestors attended the womens march in october 2020 to campaign against the confirmation of Amy Coney Barret to SCOTUS.

tactic of interest groups
how do interest groups use litigation?

-if groups have money and legal reason, they can launch court cases.

-Citizens United challenged the FEC’s campaign finance laws, and the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action challenged Michignas 2016 ban on affirmative action.