Political participation includes various forms of engagement, such as voting, discussing politics, attending political meetings, forming interest groups and PACs, contacting public officials, campaigning for a candidate or political party, contributing money to a candidate or political party, running for office, and protesting government decisions.
Voting is the most common form of political participation in the United States, but Americans are less likely to vote than citizens of other countries.
The composition of the American electorate has changed throughout history, with two major trends: the elimination of restrictive requirements and the transfer of more authority from the states to the federal government.
Changes in Voting Requirements in the US:
Before 1800, religious qualifications, property ownership, and tax payments were required to vote.
In 1870, the Fifteenth Amendment eliminated race disqualifications for voting.
In 1913, the Seventeenth Amendment allowed for the direct election of Senators.
In 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment eliminated gender disqualifications for voting.
Federal civil rights legislation and court decisions eliminated grandfather clauses, white primaries, and literacy requirements for voting.
In 1961, the Twenty-Third Amendment allowed residents of Washington, D.C., to vote in presidential elections.
In 1964, the Twenty-Fourth Amendment eliminated poll taxes in federal elections.
In 1971, the Twenty-Sixth Amendment lowered the minimum age for voting in federal elections to 18.
Voting behavior is influenced by various models, including rational-choice voting, retrospective voting, prospective voting, and party-line voting.
The Progressive Movement of the early 20th century fostered the development of mechanisms for increased direct participation, such as the direct primary, recall, referendum, and initiative.
Voter turnout in the United States has decreased compared to other nations and over time.
Political campaigns are expensive, with the Republican and Democratic parties raising over $1.1 billion for the 2000 elections.
The Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) of 1971 placed restrictions on campaign funds, required disclosure of contributions and expenditures, and limited the amount candidates could donate to their own campaigns.
After Watergate, the FECA was amended to create the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to enforce the Act and establish public financing for presidential candidates.
The amendment also limited contributions, prohibited foreign contributions, and restricted PACs.
The Supreme Court declared in Buckley v. Valeo (1976) that spending limits established by the FECA Amendments of 1974 were unconstitutional and that the FECA ban on self-financed campaigns was unconstitutional.
The use of “soft money,” donations to political parties that could be used for general purposes, was banned in federal campaigns by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) of 2002.
The Supreme Court's Citizens United v. FEC (2010) ruling found limiting funding from businesses, unions, and other groups for their own candidate efforts to be unconstitutional.
A political campaign is an organized effort to influence voters with a clear structure and staff to carry out campaign operations.
Campaigns can start several months or years before election day and are often long.
The duration of an election cycle depends on the office being sought, with members of the House of Representatives running every two years and members of the Senate running on a longer cycle.
The use of social media in politics has changed the way campaigns are run, providing candidates with a means to speak directly to voters without paying for advertising and allowing for fundraising, sharing of information, and public opinion gauging.
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