Unit 2 government flashcards

Includes chapter 3, 4 and 5, as well as quizzes topics: political parties, interest groups and voting and elections

political party

activities American engage in to influence govt in decision making

most common forms of political participation

voting (most common)
volunteering on political campaign
attending campaign rallies
contracting local/state officials: if you want to make change for ex book banning
yard signs/bumper stickers

Why you should vote

1.civic duty
2.voters elect candidates
3.voting decreases alienation
4.voting affects public policy
5.voting helps prevent corruption

Voting Requirements

1. U.S citizen
2.resident of the Texas County in which registration application is made
3. 18 years old on election day
4. Not be a convicted felon
5. Not determined by the final judgement of a court execerscising jurisdiction as totally mentally incapitate or partionnaly incapitated

Voting requirement procedure

1.obtain a registration card either in person or by mail at least 30 days before elections
2.can be requested on Texas secretary of star website or pickup at DMV post office
3.registered as long as you don't move
4.card must be mailed to the voter's registrars office in county of residence

Voting Requirements: casting ballot

Show up with their voter ID and cast a ballot at a local polling center
Early voting: begins on the 17rh day before election day and ends 4 days before the election is held

absentee ballot

sick, disabled, over the age of 65, out of town on election day, military

voting rights act require countires with an ethnic minority of 5% or more of the country's voting age residents to \__________ in their \___________

print ballots in their native language

Voting ID requirements

1.Tx Drivers Liscense issued by the 2.Tx Department of Safety (DPS)
3.Texas Personal Identification Card issues by DPS
4.Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPS
5.U.S Military Identification Card containing person's photgraph
6.U.S Citenzship Certificate containing person's photgraph
7.U.S Passaport

Alternate voting ID

a govt document that shows the voters name and an adress including the voters voting registration certificate
a current utility bill
bank statement
govt check
paycheck
a certified domestic birth certificate or document confirming birth admissible in a court of law which establishes the voter's identity

Type of Election: General election

Held in November on the first Tuesday after the first Monday
Governors are elected in "off years"
Secretary of State is the main election officer

Types of elections: General Election Ballots

1.Australian Ballot (2 versions)
2.ticket splitting

Australian ballot

introduced to Tx in 1892, is cast in secret and is counterd by the state

What are the 2 versions of the Australian ballot?

Massachusetts ballot and Indiana ballot

Massachusetts ballot

list all candidates by office by encouraging ticket splitting

Indiana ballot

list all candidates on the ballot by party, encouraging party voting

ticket splitting

instead of voting straight party line, where a voter casts all of his or her votes for one party, the voter divides his or her votes between the parties

Primary election routine

1.Half on the 1st Tuesday of march
2.administered by countries or the state depending on the level of office
3.drawings are held to determine order of names placed on ballot

direct primary

election held by a political party to determine the part's nominee for political office

closed primary

a primary in which only registered partisans can participate

open primary

a primary in which all registered voters can determine which party's primary vote in on primary election

"Raiding" a Primary

supporters of one party vote in the other party's primary to select the weakest nominee

blanket primary

a primary in which voters do not have to be partisans and ballots contain the names of all candidates from all parties

Types of Elections: Run off elections

1.A second vote in which the top 2 candidates face off against each other if neither received an absolute majority
2.If results require a run off it has to be held on the fourth Tuesday in May

Other type of elections

1.Mayors and city councils (nonpartisan)
2.special elections

Why are special elections usually held?

to fill vacant positions and to vote on constitutional amendment

Determinates of the Votes

Ethnic background, gender, age and education

Voting turn out

voting age population
registered population
voting age citenzens
partisan
independent

voting-age population (VAP)

total number of individuals in the U.S who are 18 years or older

Registered population (REG)

Total number of U.S citizens registered to vote

Voting-age citizens

U.S citizens who are 18 and older

Partisan

A voter who identifies with a political party

Reasons for low turn out

1.frequent elections cause low 2.voter turnout
3.lengthy ballots
4.decline of party identification
5.decline of electoral competiveness (decline in 2 party conflict in the U.S and Texas)
6.Level and Type of election

Interest groups

an organization that seeks to influence public policy

Lobbyist

A person who is employed by and acts for an organized interest group or corporation to try to influence policy decisions and positions in the executive and legislative branches.

pluralist theory

the theory that political power is distributed among a wide array of diverse and competing interest groups

pluralist theory principles

1.people join together for their own interest and government benefit
2. ensure policy will benefit majority
3. As groups feel disadvantages, it will begin to organize and compete for benefits

elite theory principles

1. some of more powerful than others, eventually acquiring a monopoly on political power
2.dominate other interest and push for public policies benefiting only them and their members
3.are unable to be counterbalanced; once they have the power it's hard to take it away from them

Elite Theory

A theory of government and politics contending that societies are divided along class lines and that an upper-class elite will rule, regardless of the formal niceties of governmental organization.

Why join interest groups?

1. Material benefits
2. ideological reasons - your beliefs
3.solidary incentives: get the word out, be with people who are like minded

Types of Interest Groups

economic interest groups, professional organizations, public interest groups, governmental structures, ideological interest group

Econmic Interest Groups

focused on economic interest

profressional organizations interest group

more powerful because of the members prestige and their monetary resources

example of professional organization interest group

accountant, chiropractor, anything in the medical field, American Medical association

public interest groups

push for policies benefitting the majority of the people

governmental structures

interest groups that can work for themselves and local governmental structure

Ideaological interest groups

ideological in nature, the groups push for very narrow, specific policies - beliefs

sources of powers for interest groups

membership size, monetary resources, intensity of members conviction, prestige of members, organizational stucture, leadership

Functions of Interest Groups

interest aggregation, electioneering, use of litigation, credible source of information for political officeholders. lobbying

interest aggregation

the act of joining like-minded citizens to acquire political power

electioneering

interest groups attempt to influence who gets elected to public office by supporting candidates for office

use of litigation

interest groups may have to resort to litigation to stop or advance policies

Lobbying

Engaging in activities aimed at influencing public officials, especially legislators, and the policies they enact.

Coalition Lobbying

2 or more interest groups pull their financial and contact resources and work together to attain a specific public policy goal

grassroots lobbying

interest groups encourage the public to support their demands which facilitates their attempt to influence policymaking

poltical parties

•: A group of citizens, who organize to contest elections win public office, and impact policy making. They are composed of three components:

party in the electorate

Voters who identify with a political party

party as an organization

the local, state, and national structure of a political party and its paid leaders

party in government

Local, state, ad national elected or appointed officials who identify or belong to a political party

2 party system

: A political system in which only two parties have a realistic chance of winning political office

Duvenger's Law states that

single-member district result in two-party sytems

single member district electoral law

an electoral system in which the person who wins the most votes in a district is elected office. (discriminates against third or minor parties)

proportional representation

an electoral system in which seats are allocated based on the proportion of the vote a party receives.

characteristics of political parties

1. 2 party system
2..All encompassing
3. negative public view of their existence and function
4.Political parties categorized into mass and cadre parties
5.weak parties
6.One party dominance

Cadre Parties

decentralized and part-time political party whose major purpose is to win office

mass parties

centralized and full-time political party whose major purpose is to represent a certain ideological view point.

weak parties

creating a presidential or gubernatorial system based on the separation of powers.

party identification

people connecting with a political party

\_______ % of all voter in America base their vote on party identification

80

What are the 8 functions of political parties?

1. Facilitate the voting process for the average votes.
2. Political Socialization: the process of how people acquire their political values.
3. Recruit and nominate candidates for politically office
4. Running Candidates' Campaigns
5. Mobilizing Voters
6.Provide voters with information (party platform)
7.Organizing the policy
8.Interest Aggregation

party platform

document drawn up every two years at the state convention that outlines a party's policies and principle

organizing the policy

making process at all governmental levels.

interest aggregation

the act of joining with like-minded citizens to acquire political power.

political power

the ability to make people engage in political act they would not engage in of their own free will.

Realignment

when a core group of supporters of a political party switch to the opposite party

Critical Alignment

a core group of political party's supporters switching to the opposition. This switch also creates a new majority party. A switch of the conservative white vote in Texas constitutes a critical alignment at the state level

dealignment

a core group of supporters leaving a political party and refusing to join another political party.

What is the lowest structure level of a political party?

A precinct

characteristics of a precinct \=

•Every Precinct elects a precinct chair (serve 2-year terms)
•In charge of: recruiting volunteers, coordinating campaign volunteers, mobilizing voters, getting them registered.
•Serve on executive county committee in charge of planning & conducting local primaries and county conventions
Precinct hold conventions to elect delegates for county level

structure of county level

•County party chair is elected (serves 2-year term)
•Preside over county executive committee
•Determine polling stations
•Responsible for: renting machines, printing ballots, constructing primary ballots, recruiting for local & regional offices, incharge of local funds & spokesperson for at local level
•At county level, delegates for state convention are chosen.

State level structure

•State Party Chair: the most powerful party official in state (2-year term)
•Responsible for: recruiting local & state offices, raising funds for candidates & party,
•Certify all party primary winners, preside over state executive committee, which determines the site of the next state convention. They raise money, distro press realese, works closely with the party at national level.
Every even number of years, state convention is held

Why are 3rd parties formed?

because they are dissatisfied with the two major parties and believe that their policy issues are being ignored

2 types of third parties

single cause and multi cause

single cause third party

they focus on one major issue \=

multi cause third party

they focus on multiple issues spanning social and economic policy

green party

A voter who identifies with a political party is known as

partisan

Who is the main official in Texas when it comes to elections?

secretary of state

When can a recount be requested in Texas and what is required from the candidates?

Which election has the worst turnout in Texas?

special election

When counties with an ethnic minority of \___ or more of the country's voting age residents, they must print ballots in their native language

The process of how people acquire their political values is known as

Political Socialization

Someones ability to make people engage in a political act they would not engage in of their own free will is known has

political power

Which of the following is one of the third parties in Texas? a. Democratic party
b. Tea Party
Selected:c. Constitutional PartyThis answer is incorrect.
d. Libertarian Party

Libertarian Party

What is a party in the electorate

voters who identify with a political party

Grass top

The attempt to mobilize prominent people rather than all or a large portion of society

astro turf

involves interest group spending monies to create the appearance of public support for their agenda

PAC'S

Political Action Committees, raise money for candidates &/or parties

soft money

unlimiting raising and spending of monies by politcal parties

independent expenditures

money spent on behalf of candidates by interest groups w/o consent with the candidates or with their campaigns