INTA 1200 Exam 3 Study Set - Political Science Terms & Definitions

if you understand elections, you understand _____________

political behavior and decisions

government represents _________

those who vote. anything else is based in idealism !!!

largest voting block

millennials and gen z

lowest turnout voting block

millennials and gen z

__________________ makes it more likely that people will vote later on

younger civic education. ex teaching kids to recycle

early suffrage rights

10% of people could vote in the beginning. those were white, property-owning men. voting rights were left up to the states - all of which discriminated by ethnicity, race, gender, religion. based on owning property because that meant you had an economic stake in the country

civil war amendments

13, 14, 15

african american voting rights

during reconstruction, a few black representatives were elected to the house, then there was a 71 year gap until another black person served. after amendments 13-15 gave them the vote, states attempted voter suppression with things like literacy tests and character tests that were impossible to pass

1965 Voting Rights act

put in penalties for suppressing black votes, ended "literacy tests" etc

19th amendment

extended right to vote to women in 1920

why are women a key voting block?

they are not as partisan as men

women's voting rights

before 19th, some women owned property but majority had no voting power. us was super late on giving women the right to vote. impacted in us by british women's movement and was opposed by men, manufacturing (women would be more likely to vote against child labor laws), and catholic church

types of people that run for office

self starters, recruited candidates

self starter

candidates who gain publicity outside of the field of politics (ex mary carey was an adult film actress who ran for california governor) and run on specific policy issues. focus on political cause and calling attention to a larger issue, not necessarily on winning. ex green party

recruited candidate

people running for office who are recruited based on particular qualities such as demographic, location, and success that will translate well into politics so they are able to get funding. specifically characteristics that will play well in the district

how has campaigning changed?

it used to be personalized but has changed to create a dependence on funding/donations. most candidates' time is split 50/50 campaigning and fundraising because the cost has increased. rise of negative campaigning

methods of determining presidential nominee

primary, caucus, convention

closed primary

voters can only cast a ballot for the party they are registered for

open primary

voters can vote in either party's primary, but not both

jungle primary

a primary election system in which all the candidates for an office run in the same primary regardless of political party affiliation. took place in louisiana for a while it was wild

challenges of a primary

candidates have to defeat members of their own party

caucus

A meeting of local party members to choose party officials or candidates for public office and to decide the platform. presidential elections begin with iowa caucus, then vermont and south carolina. candidates try to convince that group to vote for them and they just keep going until someone wins. winner of iowa caucus has an advantage bc it means they have captured personal president vibe

convention

where nominee is officially decided, but now we know who the candidate is before the convention and it's basically just like a party to celebrate and hype them up

article 2 section 1

establishes electoral college along with president/vice president

12th amendment

presidents choose their own vice president instead of giving the position to the runner up

23rd amendment

extended right to vote to residents of dc

number of electors

number of representatives + number of senators = 538

how many electoral votes does a president need to win

270

how many states does a president have to win to guarantee victory

11

swing states

5 percentage points or below, can be flipped so are very important to campaigns. ex. florida, ohio, pennsylvania. tend to be states that are mostly rural with divided urban areas

voting by mail

used to increase voter turnout, ex georgia's text to register

how is voter turnout in the us

around 50% which is the 2nd lowest of all industrialized democracies in the world

individual factors in deciding to vote

socioeconomic, motivational, institutional, electoral proportionality, number of parties, registration process, mandatory voting, electoral format

socioeconomic factors in deciding to vote

individuals who are older, educated, higher income, and not minorities are more likely to vote

motivational factors in deciding to vote

the theory that people are satisfied with govt and dont want change is wrong. 1/3 of non-voters cite negative campaigning as their reason for not voting, lack of social rootedness

social rootedness

level of connection people feel to their community. if they don't feel a part of the community, then they dont feel obligated to vote

institutional factors in deciding to vote

structure of political comptetition/district design. if someone doesnt feel like their vote is going to make a difference (ex a democrat in a red state) then they wont feel the need to vote

electoral proportionality as a factor in deciding to vote

how represented people feel in government so if people vote and dont get what they voted for then theyre less likely to vote again

number of parties as a factor in deciding to vote

party competition is a source of argument but if there are more parties then more beliefs are represented so turnout is higher

unicameralism as a factor in deciding to vote

serves as a second source of competition

registration process as a factor in deciding to vote

us is making it harder to register. when registration is easy, or if there is no registration process, people are a lot more likely to vote

mandatory voting

increases voter turnout and neutralizes some of the cost of voting

electoral format as a factor in deciding to vote

plurality/majoritarian system will produce less turnout than a proportional system because people do not feel as represented

why hasn't the electoral system been fixed?

the people making those decisions are elected so why would they change a system that they benefit from

psychological considerations for candidate choice

how candidates or voters identify with a party or perceive the candidate. also making the most rational choice - which candidate supports the issues they care most strongly about. also about 30% of people go for the party their parents supported

history of suffrage

search for equality

people who run for office have become a reflection of ___________________

modern changes to campaigning, specifically to contribution-based campaigning bc they also have to be something people want to give money to

high turnout is a sign of a _____________

healthy democracy. not the only sign though !!! also do we even WANT high turnout like some people are dumb

public opinion

the aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs shared by some portion of adults; how the people can influence policy. measured in polls!!!

straw poll

unscientific and unrepresentative. doesn't actually give any sort of accurate prediction

american political values

broad!!! liberty, equality, and property, justice, religious freedom, community service, personal achievement

major opinions of americans

lack of confidence in politicians, level of factual knowledge about politics low

influence of public opinion

2/3 of the time a change in public opinion means a change in policy, esp when shifts are "large, stable, and in a liberal direction" the other 1/3 of the time, it doesn't change bc people don't vote, maybe don't believe in something that intensely, and there is nothing sacred about public opinion!!!

interest group

organizations that try to achieve at least some of their goals with government assistance

federalist #10

madison writes that factions don't have to be a threat because they check each other esp in a large country. ensuring that no one faction gets too much power

political party

a group of political activists . who organize to win elections, operate government, & determine public policy

how do political parties differ from interest groups

they want to determine public policy and operate government

functions of political parties

recruiting candidates, organization & running of elections, presenting alternative policies, operating government, organized opposition

which party is responsible for organized opposition

the party that does not hold the majority of seats in government

how have parties changed in regards to the electorate

now candidates run independent campaigns to win the vote of a specific district. campaigns aren't as representative of the party's values as they are of the electorate

how have parties changed in regards to government

increased party fragmentation, personal and local influences

single issue groups

beholden to interests, not to party

categories of electorate

core groups, independents, loose affiliates

independents

groups of voters that can be swayed by policy to one party or another (tend to lean one way)

loose affiliates

feel an attachment to a candidate, rather than a party

party structure

umbrella!! there's lots of people and they can't all fit under the umbrella, so it tends to focus on the people who they most need in the party

is party presence a constant

no !!!

why do parties still matter

because we still believe that parties matter

how big is government

big !!! us has more than 87,000 units and over 500,000 elected officials. most significant influence for day to day is state government

tensions in georgia

between rural and urban areas and white and black populations

georgia rural to urban vote significance

went by a county unit system meaning that even as urban centers grew, rural counties maintained the same amount of power and eventually more. 1 rural vote was equal to 30 urban votes. it is not a coincidence that the urban populations also tended to be more black !!!!

constitutionalism argues that a constitution should lay out

fundamental powers of government, institutions to exercise the powers, powers that are specifically excluded

to pass, the GA constitution must have

2/3 vote of the legislature and public approval

governor of ga (extra credit!!!)

brian kemp

how many constitutions has georgia had

10

prevailing doctrine of previous constitutions

unless the state constitution specifically allows it, the state government cannot do it. thus over 1000 amendments made to allow the state to do stuff. most political scientists would disagree with that and say that the details should be contained in ordinary laws, not the constitution

voting on ga amendments

the people only vote on general amendments which means they actually impact everyone

god and family

values named in the ga constitution, very few other states if any have these. gives some indication as to how states could view laws - those that go against these values could be called unconstitutional

current ga constitution

went into effect july 1, 1983. covers fundamentals and is more mainstream when compared to other states. special amendments are prohibited because i think we've had enough of those

governor eligibility in ga

30, 15 yr citizenship, 6 yr state residency. serves as chief of state, commander in chief, chief administrator/chief executive, chief legislator

governor of ga as chief executive/chief administrator

power as chief executive is limited - weak appointment powers bc department heads are elected. has more fiscal power and has complete power over first draft of budget

line item veto

Presidential power to strike, or remove, specific items from a spending bill without vetoing the entire package

ga state budget

first draft by governor, planning begins 16 months prior to fiscal year and submitted to general assembly for passage

governor of ga as chief legislator

can veto bills with 2/3 of general assembly to override. veto decision must be made in 6 days in session, 40 days not in session

governor of ga no action on bill

bill becomes law!!! not like president

general assembly of ga

bicameral (two chambers) in session for january - march to pass statutory laws. on average 1000 bills pass/session. 56 senate seats and minimum of 180 house seats; both were controlled by democrats from reconstruction until 2002. since then, both have been controlled by republicans as well as office of governor

is georgia still divided

yes !!! rural/urban, black/white, republican/democrat. all of these overlap !!! however, demographics are changing and becoming more diverse so hOpefully that means less division but like we'll see