AP Gov Unit 5 Political Participation

Political Participation:

  • Linkage Institutions:

    • Organized groups that interact w/ gov to change policy ; connect people to government

    • Political Parties:

      • Parties recruit candidates, campaign, and play “watchdog” when other party holds power

    • Interest Groups:

      • adopt formal goals and raise money for causes; influence policymaking

    • Media:

      • shapes public opinion, voter perceptions, campaign strategies, and agenda

  • Elections:

    • Voting

Voting Rights and Models of Voting Behavior:

  • Elections:

    • Presidential elections occur every 4 years

    • Senatorial, Congressional, and local level elections occur in between

    • Electorate:

      • Large group of voting Americans

    • Franchise:

      • Right to vote

    • Suffrage:

      • Qualifications for voting

    • Expansion of Voter eligibility:

      • Initially only property owning white men

      • 1800 , 5/16 states used popular elections for electors

      • 1823, all states allowed popular selection of electors

      • Not all states had same voting rights:

        • Religious tests

        • Poll Taxes

        • Property requirements

        • Banned women, African Americans , and immigrants

Suffrage Amendments:

  • 15th

    • Gave all men the right to vote regardless of race

  • 19th

    • Cannot deny vote based on sex - gave women the right to vote

  • 23rd

    • Gave residents of DC ability to vote in elections and electors in Electoral College

  • 24th

    • Eliminated Poll Taxes

  • 26th

    • Made legal voting age 18

African American Suffrage:

  • Reconstruction Amendments

    • 13th

      • abolition of slavery

    • 14th

      • gave african americans citizenship and due process under the law

    • 15th

      • gave African American men the right to vote

  • Structural Barriers/Disenfranchisement

    • Denied due to property ownership or literacy requirements

    • Poll Taxes

    • Grandfather Clause

      • allowed states to recognize a registering voter the same way his grandfather would have been recognized - eliminating many black men from voting

  • White Primary

    • Kept Southern African Americans from voting

    • Southern Democrats set “rules” for their primaries, establishing it as the “White Men’s Club”

    • By 1915, 13 states had a White Primary

Voting Models:

  • Rational Choice

    • voters who research campaigns, platforms, candidates, and consciously

  • Retrospective

    • voters who look at previous track records

  • Prospective

    • voters who choose based on future predictions

  • Party-Line

    • voters who lie along party lines - strong loyalty

Other Factors that influence voting:

  • Personality/Character

  • Integrity

  • Competence

  • Military Service

  • Government Experience

  • Economic (incumbent blamed if economy is bad)

Voter Turnout:

  • 2016 and 2020 had highest turnouts of 138 million and 159 millions respectively

  • Amount of people who show up to vote

  • Voting Age population:

    • everyone at or over the age of 18

  • Wards:

    • for purposes of voting counties are broken down into smaller groups which are then broken down into precincts

    • Precincts:

      • small geographic area of 500-1000 voters all assigned to the same polling place

  • National Voter Registration Act (1993):

    • Increased the locations where citizens can register to vote

  • Help America Vote Act (2002):

    • designed to create a more uniform voting system. Afforded states to shift from older voting machines to the touch screens used in most states today.

How one can become President

  • Candidates must:

    • Be a natural born citizen

    • 35 years old at least

    • Reside in US for 14 years

    • Campaign well over a year

    • Raise millions, even billions of dollars

    • Participate in debates

    • Travel around the country

    • Advertise, be marketable

    • Ability to navigate the media

  • Primaries

    • Government run, decided by secret ballot

  • Caucuses

    • debate to sway undecided voters

  • Caucuses and Primaries can be open or closed

    • Open

      • Do not have to register for party

    • Closed

      • Has to register for party

Election Process

  1. Potential candidates announce intent to run

  2. Participate in initial debates/campaigning

  3. Primary elections and Caucuses determine one final candidate for each party

  4. Party choices are official at National Conventions

  5. Candidates and parties launch campaigns, travel, and participate in debates

  6. General election occurs in November, Electoral College votes in December

Factors determining who gets nominated

  • Important Factors

    • Reputation and Popularity

    • Recognized by Media

    • Political Position/Experience

    • Possibility of winning

      • appeal to a wide base

Vice Presidential Nominations

  • Presidential Candidate must choose vice-presidential nominee, or running mate

  • Running mate is often chosen to “balance the ticket”, they often represent characteristics the presidential candidate lacks or may differ in

    • Political Ideology

    • Gender

    • Religion

    • Age

    • Racial Diversity

    • Appeal to different demographics

Campaign Funding

  • Limits to funding through laws

  • Individual Donations

    • Limited

  • The Candidates themselves

    • Unlimited

  • Political Parties

    • Legal limits

  • Public / Federal State funds

    • Provides a limited amount of matching funds

  • Outside Groups

    • 527

      • tax exempt organization

      • may are PACs or Super PACs

      • no campaign limits

    • 501(c)(4)

      • May engage in lobbying and other activities

      • Not required to disclose donors (dark money)

      • Social welfare must be for the good and large majority (it’s subjective)

    • Political Action Committees (PACs)

      • Groups and organizations with special interests in electoral politics

      • set up on behalf of corporations, interest groups, and unions to raise funds and get candidate elected

      • Traditional PAC vs Super PAC have different laws and rules

      • Separate

        • Only funds associated with connected groups

      • Non connected

        • financially independent and pay for themselves

    • Super PACs

      • May raise and spend unlimited funds, but they may not donate directly to a candidate

      • All Spending must be independent expenditures, campaign for advocates and against others but not coordinated with the candidate or party

      • does not have to immediately report funding

  • Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA)

    • Limited individual contributions to $1000 per election

    • limited candidates own contributions to $50,000 per election (primaries and general election are considered 2 separate elections)

    • originally only tracked “hard money”

    • created the FEC (Federal Election Commission)

    • defined and regulated donations of PACs

      • have to have at least 50 members

      • donate to 5+ candidates

      • register w/ FEC 6 months prior to election

    • created a voluntary public fund to assist candidates

  • Federal Election Commision (FEC)

    • Established in 1974 to enforce the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA)

      • committees must list the name, address, occupation and employer for each individual contributor who gives more than $200 to the campaign during an election cycle (or calendar year for PACs and party committees).

      • also requires the FEC to make campaign finance disclosure reports available to the public, including on its website, within 48 hours of receipt.

    • seeks to protect the integrity of the federal election campaign process through transparency of finances and fundraising by enforcing federal campaign laws

    • no jurisdiction over anything to do with voting, elections themselves, ballot access, etc.

  • Bucky v Valeo

    • 1976- Buckley v. Valeo: argued FECA unconstitutional; limiting free speech

    • Ruled candidates may contribute as much of their own money as possible to their own campaigns (free speech).

    • upheld $1000 individual & $5000 PAC donations

    • no maximum spending requirement on a federal campaign

    • Ruling: Unlimited donations make for unfair elections

    • led to loopholes w/ soft money

  • Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA)- 2002

    • banned soft money contributions to national parties

    • increased limits on hard money donations to $2000 from individuals (can be adjusted for inflation), $5000 from PACS, $25,000 from national parties

    • prohibited PACS from electioneering within 60 days of general election & 30 days of primaries

    • “I approve this message”

    • Citizens United v. FEC overturned parts of it in 2010

The Media

  • Keeping score: 

    • Horse race journalism: reporters update constantly on ups and downs of elections and candidates

      • Overemphasis on polling w/ data changing day to day

      • Policies from candidates are static/not changing- boring to report on

      • Can cause political events to turn into “popularity contests”

  • Gatekeeper:

    • Determines what is “newsworthy” & should go to public

    • What they publish greatly influences which issues people find important

  • Watchdog: (investigative journalism)

    • Keeping eye on government

    • Look for scandal, controversy

    • Strengthened during/after Vietnam War: reporting led to mass protests that influenced removal of troops

    • Famous “watchdog” journalists: Walter Cronkite, Carl Bernstein, Bob Woodward

  • Government Utilization of Media

    • Test popularity of ideas/trial balloons

    • Politicians try to interact w/ media in a way that paints them & the gov’t in positive light

      • Keeps politicians on their toes

      • Unfavorable press can be detrimental, although some believe “all press is good press”

      • “Cancel culture”

      • Sound bites

    • Officials and candidates may call journalists to feed a story

    • Get messages to constituents

    • Press Secretary: speaks on behalf of president to the press