AP Gov U5 - Part 1

Electorate

All the people in a country qualified to vote in an election

How “We The People” changed

Originally - white males with land, now expanded to almost everybody except for felons

Franchise

The right to vote granted to people

Expansion of Electorate through 1823

Only a handful of elites voted in 1st election, originally no popular vote just electors from each state voted in DC. By 1823, election of electors by popular vote was allowed

Suffrage

Another word for franchise, the right to vote in political elections

Who was denied suffrage?

Women, African Ams, and immigrants banned from voting. Took more than 100 yrs to get states to change voting practices.

Expansion of universal male suffrage

Andrew Jackson called for the end of property requirement to vote, resulted in universal white male suffrage.

15th Amendment

Gave African American MALES right to vote, first amendment to change voting practices

Literacy Test

Used to stop people from voting, designed so people administrating could pass/fail whoever they wanted

Grandfather Clause

Said that someone could vote if their grandfather could.

White Primaries

Used to prevent African Am voters, where political parties were private organizations and so blacks couldn’t vote in the primaries.

17th Amendment

Allowed direct election of Senators via popular vote. Stated that 2 senators will be elected from each state for 6 yr terms

Policies that Allowed for Voter Increases in 20th century

Guinn v. Us - ruled grandfather clause unconstitutional

Smith V. Allwright - Ruled white primaries unconstitutional

Dem party included a pro rights part of their platform

19th Amendment

Allowed women to vote

Civil Rights Act (57)

Established US office of civil rights which addressed discrimination, investigated voting right violations, protected voting rights, Southern Dems opposed it 

Civil Rights Act (64)

Outlawed discrimination by anything, outlawed segregation in public places and employment, and in voter reg.

24th Amendment

Outlawed poll taxes in federal elections. By the time it passed in 62, only 4 states had it still

Voting Rights Act

Most effective at letting blacks vote. Outlawed literacy tests, put states with low African Am voting under watch

Preclearance

Put states under Federal supervision if they attempted to get loopholes against blacks. Lots of voters came after this

23rd Amendment

Granted people in DC to vote and have senators

26th Amendment

Prevents states from denying citizens 18+ right to vote.

Rational Choice Voting

Voter examines everything about canidate and votes based off of a concious choice. SELF INTEREST

Retrospective Voting

Look back on candidate’s past records, assess accomplishments

Prospective Voting

Anticipate the future, analyze campaign promises. CANIDATE CENTERED

Party Identification

When someone actively identifies w/ a party, very good indicator of how they’re going to vote

What elections have lower turnout?

Congressional midterms, county, municipal, school board

Voting-age Pop v. Voter Turnout

Turnout highest in 19th century. As people got older, the more likely they are to show up to vote

Wards

Counties, cities and towns break into wards which break into precincts

Precincts

Each ward breaks into multiple precincts, small area of 500-1k people who all vote at one place

Nat’l Voter Reg. Act

Increases citizen participation in voting

Increased how many can vote, added more polling places, makes easier to register

Moter-Voter Law

the NVRA offered a chance to register at gov’t run agencies like the bureaus of motor vehicles

HAVA

Created requirements on states for national standards for voting like electronic voting, made it accessible for blind people, allows voters to glance at pics before submitting

Australian Ballot

Used in the US, people mark their choices privately on uniformly printed ballots

Absentee Ballot

Mail in Ballots. People can vote early, making it easier for everyone

Provisional Ballot

Set aside until officials verify that voting occurred at correct polling place based on address

How have convivence voting increased participation

Early voting increased turnout by 2-4%, African Am voting increased

Wait time and Voting

People whose living depends on being at work, cannot afford to wait for 5 hours at a booth. 1% less likely to vote next time for every hour they spend waiting

Midterms

Lower turnout than Pres. House of Reps and Senate elected in these as well as other smaller roles

Voter Apathy

Lack of concern for election outcome, caused by lack of political efficacy, or feeling satisfied w/ the gov’t

Political Efficacy

Sense that their vote makes a difference. Past events make voters discouraged to vote in current elections

Men v Women political leanings

Women oppose big punishments and death penalty, favor gov’t spending on welfare, less war-prone. Lean left. Men opposite.

African Am. Voter

Were Rep but more recently sharply Dem. Less favorable of justice system than whites, want less $$ on international affairs and foreign policy.

Hispanic Voters

#’s increasing, turn out lower than other races, sided with Dems but Cubans with Reps. Immigration law high saliency

Asians

Vote Rep. Reps have anti-communism and fascism, unlike their countries which they left. Voter turnout increasing

Religious Right

White Evangelical Protestants are biggest religious group. Large followings, most do not believe in evolution

Labor, Business, and Unions

Rich people tend to be Cons. Small business owners want less reg. Factory workers = Dem, Unions lost much influence today, Factory workers more and more Rep now

Development of Political Parties

Started after Am. Rev. due to differing opinions about gov’t. Founders critiqued them

How are Political Parties Linkage Institutions

Connect with and persuade voters. Enough voters can change a party’s overall views. NOMINATE CANDIDATES Parties are hierarchical

Party Platform

Written list of beliefs and political goals. When writing this, leaders take into account beliefs of members

Party Platforms Reps vs Dems

Reps - Strong military & defense, less gov’t spending, limited regs on businesses.

Dems - Aggressive efforts for minority rights, stronger protections for env. More gov’t services, programs to solve public problems

Candidate Recruitment Process

Party will look for candidates to run the state legislature
1. Identification and Vetting

2. Party formally nominates candidate

3. Party gets support to help candidate with general elec

2 Stage Process of Political Campaign

1. Primary Campaign: Before official election, securing party nomination

candidates compete with others in their party

2. General election campaign: Candidate shifts strategy for general election. Major fundraising, broadening appeal, ads, etc

How DNC and RNC operate

They both have hierarchies, led by a chair who is also spokesperson. Both have state delegates that elect members every 4 years at the nat’l convention. Delegates elected in state primaries

National Chairperson

Biggest strategist and spokesperson for party. Runs party machinery

Congressional Campaign Committees/Hill Committees

Strategize on how to win seats. Both have subcommittees that direct party platform & manage recruitment, communications, etc. Recruit candidates, reelect incumbents, poll, etc

How parties influence how the gov’t operates

At Nat’l level, Reps & Dems pass laws, construct policy, have power. President allows party in power to elect judges

Early Parties

Originally Feds and Anti-Feds. Feds = strong central gov’t, anti feds = power to the states Then Dem-Reps headed by T.Jeff were on top

Birth of Rep Party

Whig party died and Dems and old Whigs gathered to form the Rep Party. Originally free-soil party but then were rep party

Parties Shift Under Andrew Jackson

Dem party founded under Andrew Jackson, had CONS beliefs. The other party had a more liberal view

How Parties Appeal to Coalitions

Dems appeal to racial & ethnic minority groups, now more white-college educated voters. Embrace diversity

Reps appeal to conservative voters and religious groups. Trump appealed to working class voters w/ Populist economic messages

McGovern-Fraser Commission

Created by Dem party to rewrite convention rules. Brought big changes; ensured minorities and women could vote for their candidate

Superdelegates

DEMS ONLY. Elite members of the party like former VPs and Presidents. Only vote if they feel it’s necessary. Vote for anybody that they want

Party Realignment

A change in underlying electoral forces due to changes in party ID, marked by Critical Elections

Critical Elections

Signals a critical and significant shift in the electorate. Lasting changes to loyalty of political parties

First Alignment (1828)

Set up the 2 party system we have now.

Splintering of the Dem-Rep party into Dem and Whigs

Dems led by Andrew Jackson. Whigs led by Henry Clay

First time land-ownership is not a voting req’t

2nd Alignment (1860)

1860 Marked the Reps winning w/ Abe Lincoln

Reps were 3rd party until that point. Reps pledged to end slavery. Rallied around nationalism

Dems split on slavery based on geographical lines

3rd Alignment (1896)

Reps were dominant, but economic depressions hit hard. Dems joined with 3rd parties. Began current division between Dems and Reps. Dems supported by progressives

4th Alignment (1932)

FDR’s Election marked huge Dem comeback, thanks to New Deal which was Dem. First time more Dem African Americans than Rep.

New Deal Coalition

Made up of Dem state and local party orgs, labor unions, blue-collar workers, farmers

Divided Gov’t

Where one party controls congress, the other the whitehouse

Party Dealignment

When lots of voters leave a party/become independents. Vietnam war example of this

Examples of 3rd parties in history

Lincoln’s Reps, Socialists, Libertarians, etc

Splinter Parties

When large factions of members break off from major party, can cause big parties to lose

H. Ross Perot

Texas oil tycoon, ran as independent in 92. Funded himself, founded United We Stand Am. Won 20% of pop vote

Ralph Nader

Green party candidate in 2000. Took votes from Dem Al Gore, propelled Bush into election. Allegedly spoiled it for the Dems.

Single Member Districts

Electoral office represented by one person

Proportional Representation

Multiple parties compete for office, voters vote. If a party gets 20% of vote, they get 20% of the seats

Ballot Access

Each state has a method for candidate to get on the ballot. Usually involves getting signatures. Hard for a 3rd party.

How do Reps and Dems attract voters who supported a 3rd Party candidate?

The independent parties campaign for an issue, then the big ones see the support and add it to their platform

Winner Take All Voting

Where most states award all their votes to who has the popular vote. Discourages independents because they never win the popular vote

Swing States

Either Red or Blue, get the most money and attention in campaigns

Factions

Groups of interested people motivated by pursuit of wealth, etc.

Interest Groups as a Linkage Institution

Connect citizens to gov’t, provide orgs through which voices can be heard

Pluralism

A multitude of views on issues, results in a consensus on some issues

Federalist 10

Madison said 3 separate branches would prevent domination of factions. Said diversity of interests makes it impossible for single group to dominate. Factions are unavoidable but controllable

Lobbying

Applying pressure to influence gov’t, came from citizens influencing lawmakers outside of the lobby of congress

Federal Model of Gov’t

Within each state branch are a multi-member legislature, state agencies, and various courts - all of which are targets for interest groups

Shelby County V. Holder

Undid preclearance. Argued it was outdated and led to closing of 1,000 voting places

Critical Election

Initial election to start a realignment