Political Parties, Elections and Demographics

“King Caucus“

A group of elites choose a nominee

Convention System

The convention chooses the nominee

• Strong parties, patronage, and high participation

Changes from Convention System

1. Civil service made federal jobs based on merit (so no more job offering to patrons)

2. Communication technology allowed people to see the corruption

3. Emergence of primary elections

Mixed System

Mixes primaries and conventions

• Candidates can choose to run in primaries

• Real decision made at convention

Primary System

• McGovern Fraser Commission → anti-discrimination and mandates diversity of opinions

How to choose delegates

• State convention

• Primary

• Caucus (mini conventions across a state; vote until there’s a majority)

Consequences of mixed system

• Increase in number of primaries and importance of media (money matters)

• Increase in importance of early primaries

• Decreases importance of conventions

• Candidate is more important than party (candidate centric campaigns)

Problems with mixed system

• Creating ideological primary voters

• Candidates mobilizing factions

15th Amendment

Prohibits the federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on "race, color, or previous condition of servitude"

17th Amendment

Established the direct election of U.S. Senators by the voters of each state (replacing the original method of election by state legislatures)

19th Amendment

Granted women the right to vote

24th Amendment

Prohibited the use of poll taxes in federal elections

26th Amednment

Lowered voting age from 21 to 18 years old

Rational voters

Voting based on interest

Retrospective voters

Voting based on past efforts

Prospective voters

Voting based on what the candidates say they’ll do

Party-line voters

Partisan voting (based on a political party)