Unit 5 Ap Gov

15th Amendment (1870)

Gave suffrage to African Americans (Only Males)

How did the Southern states make it difficult for black people to vote?

Poll Taxes and Literacy Tests

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Outlawed discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states – no more literacy tests or other prerequisites to voting.

17th Amendment (1913)

Direct election of Senators. (They were previously chosen by state legislatures.)

19th Amendment (1920)

Gave women suffrage on the national level.

24th Amendment (1964)

Abolition of Poll Taxes.

26th Amendment (1971)

Gave 18 year olds the right to vote. Influenced by the Vietnam War; “If you are old enough to fight, you are old enough to vote.”

Motor-Voter Law of 1993

Allowed a person to register to vote at the same time they register their car or update their drivers license. If you are under 18 they ask if you want to pre-register.

Rational Choice Voting

Voting based on what is perceived to be in the citizen’s individual interest.

Retrospective Voting

Voting to decide whether the party or candidate in power should be re-elected based on the recent past. (If they use the word incumbent it probably relates to Retrospective voting).

Prospective Voting

Voting based on predictions of how a party or candidate will perform in the future.

Party-Line Voting (Straight Ticket Voting)

Supporting a party by voting for candidates from one political party for all public offices across the ballot.

1842 Law

House of Representative members had to be elected by divided up districts.

Gerrymandering

Gerrymandering is a practice intended to establish an unfair political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating district boundaries.

Voting Apathy

When citizens don’t care about voting or politics.

How long do you have to register before voting?

Different states have different rules.

What race votes the most?

Whites vote the most,

Blacks vote less than whites,

Asians and Hispanics vote at the lowest rate.

What gender votes more.

Women vote slightly more than men.

How does age relate to political participation?

Usually the older you are, the more likely you are to vote.

How does education relate to political participation?

The higher education you have, the more likely you are to vote.

Political Party Coalitions (Voting Blocs)

The smaller groups within a political party

Ex. African American Democrats, Pro-Life Democrats, Libertarian Conservatives, etc.

How does the state you are in relate to your political participation?

People in non-swing states tend to vote less.

Linkage Institutions

A structure within a society that connects the people to the government or centralized authority.

Ex. Political parties, interest groups, elections, and the media.

*Linkage institutions are not government institutions . . . but they work to influence the government or work within the government.

Political Party

A team of men and women seeking to control government by gaining offices through elections.

*Political parties call people to mobilize them to vote.

Party Platform

A “blueprint” for what policy the party supports; Written every 4 years.

How has the power structure shifted over the years in political parties and candidates?

Nowadays, there is less power in the party and more power in the candidate.

Critical Election

An electoral “earthquake” which leads to major party realignment. Key supporters (or coalitions) of one party switch to the other party.

Party and Regional Realignment

An ideological and demographic (coalition) shift within a party. Usually happens before or after a critical election.

New Deal Coalition (1932 - 1964)

Forged by Democrats- relied upon urban working class, ethnic groups, Catholics and Jews, the poor, Southerners; During the Great Depression.

Divided Party Government (1968 - Present)

One party holds the presidency while one or both houses of Congress are controlled by the other party.

What are the 2 kinds of realignment?

A major party is defeated so badly that it disappears and a new party emerges. (rare)

Two existing parties continue but voters shift their loyalty from one to another.

Dealignment

Not identifying with any one party (becoming independent).

*During the 60s / 70s, many Dealigned because of Vietnam and Nixon Pres.

Federal Election Commission (FEC)

Limits donations to candidates during election; Was created after the Watergate Scandal.

Hard Money

Limits individual direct contributions to specific candidates.

What are the 2 work arounds the FEC’s limit?

Independent Expenditures: (Work around the limit): An organization or PAC can spend unlimited on advertising, as long as it is not coordinated with a candidate’s campaign.

Soft Money (Work around the limit): Unlimited amounts of may be given to a political party for “party building activities,” but not for supporting a specific candidate.

Winner Takes All

In the electoral college if you get the most votes over your opponents for the state, you win the entire state.

Ex. If 9/16 vote for you in NC, you get 16 votes in the electoral college.

“Wasting your vote”

Because of the “Winner Takes All” rule, voting for a 3rd party is seen as “a wasted vote”.

Types of 3rd Parties

Ideological Parties: comprehensive, sometimes radical view; most enduring (Examples: Libertarian Party, Socialist Labor Party, Green Party)

One-issue Parties: address one concern, avoid others (Example: Free Soil Party – Pre-Civil War)

Factional/Splinter/Bolter Parties: from split in a major party, usually over the party’s presidential nominee.  More recently, feeling the major party is not addressing an issue sufficiently.

Tea Party

Stands for “taxed enough already”, not an actual party, they run as republicans.

It is a faction within the republican party.

How do 3rd Parties impact elections?

3rd parties develop ideas and push major parties to adopt, co-opt and/or accept those ideas.

They can also impact the outcome of presidential elections by splitting parties voter base.