AP Gov (Unit 5)

15th Amendment

• 1870, right to vote for African American men

17th Amendment

• 1913, popular election of senators

• gave more people say in government

19th Amendment

• 1920, women’s vote

24th Amendment

• 1964, abolition of poll taxes

26th Amendment

• 1971, lowering voting age from 21 to 18

National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (Motor Voter Act)

• Easier to register to vote

• you can do it when applying for or renewing their driver's license

• also can now register by mail

party-line voting

• voting based on party regardless of candidate

rational choice voting

• voting based on how much candidate can benefit you

retrospective voting

• voting based on how well candidate (usually the incumbent) has done in office

prospective voting

• voting based on which candidate you think will be best for the nation

political efficacy

to what extent a citizen believes that their vote matters and can influence government policies

what affects voter turnout?

• beliefs on political efficacy

• engagement

• state election laws

  • how easy is it to vote?

  • what is the voting time period?

  • are mail or absentee votes allowed?

  • how accessible are polls?

How does the type of election (midterm vs. presidential) influence voter turnout?

• midterms: less engagement, may be considered less important

• presidential: more widespread throughout media, more important, therefore more engagement

• also consider efficacy (gerrymandered districts are more of a midterm issue) and state voting laws that affect this

demographics and voter turnout

• Amongst other examples…

• Age: older you are, less likely that you work, more time to vote

• Race: Minorities could feel that they have a higher stake in politics, or that they aren’t represented and have lower efficacy depending on the area

• Gender: Women also could feel more engaged with the issues, abortion and all

Linkage institutions

• Groups in society that connect people to the government

• Media, elections, interest groups (influence enforcement of legislation, lobbying), political parties

political parties (name 5 functions)

• Party platform of beliefs

• Mobilize/educate voters

• Recruit candidates that have decent election chances, loyal to platform (the party needs sustained influence)

• Campaign management for candidates

• Party leadership structures in legislature to ensure a united front for the implementation of platform

candidate-centered campaigns

• since the early 20th century and the introduction of primaries, campaigns have become much more focused on personalities and issues of individual candidates rather than just parties

dealignment

• when an individual loses alignment to one party without joining another

micro-targeting

• using technology to identify and target voters who might support a particular candidate

• leads to data mining and targeted ads, emails

political machine

A party organization with the goal of enriching party leaders, party workers, and citizen supporters through government contracts and jobs

political action committee (PAC)

• An organization, usually representing an interest group or corporation, that raises money with the goal of supporting or defeating candidates, parties, or legislation.

• There are limits to the amount of money a PAC can donate to a candidate or party in each election

realignment

• major change in partisan composition of government due to new pressing issues or changes over time

• Great Depression leads many African-Americans to switch to Democratic party, eventually leading to changing Democratic platform and ‘migration’ of dixicrats to Republican party, then leading to the Democrats gaining control of government, upsetting the Republican order that had once held firm

• Doesn’t need to be the result of changing party platforms

super-PAC

• "independent expenditure-only committee"

• can raise unlimited funds in support of a candidate or party as long as they do not coordinate in any way with the candidate or party

independent candidate

• no political party

proportional system

• NOT in USA

• If parties win 10%, 20%, 70% of the vote, they will get that % of seats in government

third party

• parties that aren’t the two major parties

• Libertarian Party, Green Party, Reform Party

• Although lacking actual representation, can wield some influence by bringing attention to issues two parties have neglected

why do third parties fail in USA?

• Winner-take-all system, no proportional system

  • all seats are awarded to the party that wins the most votes

• Two major parties often just include third party platforms

attributes and functions of interest groups

• Iron triangle

• Range in membership, focus, funding

  • US Chamber of Commerce has broad pro-business platform

  • NRA is more narrow, gun-focused

• Functions

  • Influence legislation, elections

  • Voter education

  • Legal cases (precedents in some cases)

“free rider” problem

• issue of people receiving public benefit without contributing

• Example: A person can enjoy a radio station without ever contributing to it, assuming other donors will keep it afloat

lobbying (and what is one type)

• seeking to influence a public official on an issue

• an interest group with a particular agenda may be known as its “lobby” (the tobacco lobby)

• Direct lobbying: when lobbyist speak to officials directly

inside strategies

• How interest groups work within Washington D.C to influence policy

• direct lobbying, drafting legislation for officials, or suing the government

outside strategies

• How interest groups influence policy outside of D.C

• Campaign contributions, media coverage, encouraging members to contact local officials

salience

• the degree to which the public is aware of a certain issue

• policymakers are actually less likely to respond to interest groups with high salience (abortion, gun rights) as they are more divisive and thus more likely to spawn backlash (alienating voters)

  • Therefore, what interest groups can be more successful?

single-issue groups

• Interest groups dedicated to one issue as opposed to a broad platform like the Chamber of Commerce

  • NRA opposes gun regulation

4 main groups influencing policy

• political parties

• interest groups

• bureaucracy

• social movements

name 5 steps of policy process and where each of the 4 main influencing groups fit into them

• Agenda setting

  • social movements, less likely to directly influence legislation due to large, decentralized nature but can raise awareness

• Policy formulation

  • Interest groups

• Policy legitimization

  • Political parties (they vote on it, party lines and platforms matter)

• Policy implementation

  • Bureaucracy, interest groups (want to control how laws are implemented, regulations, rules, etc.)(the iron triangle)

• Policy assessment

  • All of them, especially social movements (can protest or celebrate)

caucus

• meeting at a voter precinct where party members choose nominees based on hours of speeches and debate

• tends to favor more dedicated party members due to the large time commitment

closed primary

• only citizens registered with the appropriate party can vote

open primary

• any can vote in any partisan primary they want

electoral college

• group of electors chosen by each state vote on president usually based on the popular vote of each state (honor system)

• # of electors = senators + representatives

incumbent advantage

• has the “bully pulpit” of the presidency, more influence and publicity

• can be perceived to be more experienced, already associated with presidency

• win the election 80% of the time

party convention and how are delegates chosen

• meeting of delegates from one political party to vote on policy and select nominees for office

• delegates chosen by primaries on a winner-takes-all basis for Republicans and a proportional basis for Democrats (usually)

primary election

• decides party nominees for election

• have become the sole, most powerful way of choosing nominees since the 70s

Timeline of presidential election

• summer before election year: declare intention to run

• early election year: primaries

• summer of election year: party conventions elect nominees and vice presidents

• November: the election (of electors)

• December: the electoral college elects a president

issues with electoral college

• voters in “safe states” are less engaged, less turnout, the outcome is perceived to be pre-determined; swing states more influential

• system is still unequal, a Texan elector is mathematically more powerful than a Wyoming elector

• Candidates will invest, visit larger states more as they have more votes

what happens if the electoral college comes to a tie?

• Vote goes to House of Reps.

• Each state gets one collective vote! (all reps for each state vote together)

Exceptions to “winner-takes-all” electoral college system

• Nebraska and Maine, where half of all electors (rounded up) are proportional and the other half are “at large” or given to whoever wins overall in the state

cost and duration of modern campaigns

• extremely costly, need money for:

  • campaign staff

  • political consultants (strategists, advisors)

  • advertising

• Duration is extremely long

  • ranges from 10 months to 2 years

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002

• McCain-Feingold Act

• Banned “soft money,” reduced attack ads

• corporations/labor unions cannot electioneer

• “Stand by Your Ad” provision

  • ads that oppose or support a candidate must include “I’m ___ and I support this message”

hard money

• money that goes directly to the candidate

• regulated by Federal Election Commission (FEC)

• donations capped

soft money

• not regulated

• money that goes towards “party-building activities” like recruitment, advertising (for party or issues), etc. and indirectly supports candidate

• No limits as long as candidate has no direct coordination

Super-PAC vs. PAC

• PACs are generally affiliated with a campaign, regulated, not allowed to take money from corporate treasuries

• Super-PACs, aka "independent expenditure-only committees,” have no regulation, can receive infinite funding from any source, and can spend as much as they want so long as they are independent of any campaign

  • “Legally independent, ideologically allied”

Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission (2010) and what new trend in campaigns did it start

• CU creates an anti-Hillary Clinton film and pushes it on TV to create a test-case (how interest groups can influence policy)

• Sparks court debate over whether government can regulate speech/electioneering by corporations considering they already allow Press corporations to do the same

• SCOTUS rules that political spending by corporations, associations, and labor unions is a form of protected speech under the 1st Amendment

• After: Campaigns can now secure unlimited corporate and individual funding through Super-PACs (indirectly)

“horse-race” journalism

• election coverage by the media that focuses on who is winning rather than the policies of the candidates

investigative journalism

• Deep, original, sometimes long-term investigations conducted by the media, sometimes expose secret information

“media as a gatekeeper” and their role as a linkage institution

• The media’s role in setting the political agenda by drawing public and government attention to certain issues

  • Media “gatekeeps” what the public sees, how they see it

• Media as a linkage institution: Informing people and holding government accountable while also informing government of the agenda of the people

What is one discrepancy with the media as a linkage institution

• The profit motive: Can lead to sensationalized content, more bias towards a certain audience (left v. right)

• Although some can move to become more centrist and factual as a means of drawing in viewers

citizen journalist

• a person who reports on current events who isn’t a trained journalist

• more of these have arise due to social media

media consolidation

• the process by which a few corporations have gained control of most major media in the USA

• 6 companies control 90% of media today

How has media partisanship changed over time?

• Media has always been polarized since the early days of independence

• new trend emerged, especially during the 20th century, to pursue unbiased and factual reporting as a means of appealing to a larger audience

• But, the Internet, Social Media, echo chambers, and the profit-motive have reduced this trend and ushered a return of partisan media

How has the influence of polarization generally been limited in previous times?

• Good voting habits based on virtue, statesmanship

• larger, national, unifying themes

Factors influencing “democratic media” debate

• Citizen journalism (anyone can report)

• Partisan media outlets (Americans increasingly conforming to echo chambers rather than seeking the viewpoints of others)