AP US Government Unit 5

***These are incomplete

5.1 Voting Rights Protections

Constitutional Framework

Article 1, Section 4 of the Constitution - States determine voting regulations for senators and representatives, but Congress can alter these regulations.

Originally, in 1789, only white, property-owning men could vote. This was based on the idea that they had a stake in society's betterment.

Expansion of Suffrage

By 1830, under President Andrew Jackson's influence, all white men gained the right to vote. Western territories often extended voting rights more broadly than eastern states.

Constitutional Amendments

A series of amendments from the Civil War to 1971 expanded voting rights:

Amendment

Provision

Impact

15th

Recognized the right of black men to vote

Expanded suffrage based on race

17th

Granted people the right to directly elect senators

Expanded opportunity for political participation

19th

Recognized women's right to vote

Expanded suffrage based on gender

24th

Abolished poll taxes

Removed financial barriers to voting, especially for minorities

26th

Lowered the voting age from 21 to 18

Expanded suffrage to younger citizens

Current Limitations

While suffrage is broadly extended, two caveats exist:

  • Some states have erected barriers that make it harder for certain groups to vote.

  • Some states restrict voting rights for certain groups, such as convicted felons.

15th

Recognized the right of black men to vote

Expanded suffrage based on race

17th

  • Granted people the right to directly elect senators

  • Expanded opportunity for political participation

19th

  • Recognized women's right to vote

  • Expanded suffrage based on gender

24th

  • Abolished poll taxes

  • Removed financial barriers to voting, especially for minorities

26th

  • Lowered the voting age from 21 to 18

  • Expanded suffrage to younger citizens

Models of Voting Behavior

  • Rational Choice Voting

    • Voting based on individual self-interest after carefully studying issues and candidates.

    • A rational voter makes a decision that benefits them the most after being informed about the political landscape.

  • Retrospective Voting

    • Voting based on a politician's recent track record.

  • Prospective Voting

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

  • Party-line Voting

    • Voting for all candidates of a voter's party.

    • Straight-ticket voting where voters choose candidates solely based on their party affiliation.

    • Split-ticketing is voting for candidates from different political parties - Opposite of party-line/straight-ticket voting

5.2 - Voter Turnout

Already covered in other topic notes anyway.

5.3 - Political Parties

Linkage Institutions

A linkage institution is a societal structure that connects people to their government or the political process. They act as intermediaries between average people and policymakers. The four linkage institutions are:

  • Political parties

  • Interest groups

  • Elections

  • Media

Political Parties as Linkage Institutions

A political party is an organization defined by a certain ideological belief that puts forward candidates for election. The two major political parties in America are:

  • Democratic Party: Represents a more liberal ideology.

  • Republican Party: Represents a more conservative ideology.

The main goal of each party is to put forward candidates who will win elections. Parties play a significant role in which candidates run for office and in the drawing of legislative districts which ultimately benefit the candidates of the party

Functions of Political Parties

  • Mobilization and Education of Voters: Political parties expend energy to get their members and those sympathetic to their platform to the voting booth. They:

    • Hold voter registration drives

    • Drive voters to the polls

    • Organize canvassing campaigns

  • Write and Publish a Party Platform: This is a formal set of principles and policy goals written and endorsed by the party. The party platform lists the kind of policies the party will enact if their candidate is elected.

    • The Democratic Party platform reflects liberal ideology (e.g., universal healthcare).

    • The Republican Party platform reflects conservative ideology (e.g., deregulation of business).

  • Finding Quality Candidates: Parties expend energy finding quality candidates. Ideal candidates should be:

    • Likable

    • Already have a significant following

    • Unite different segments of the party

    • Able to raise a lot of money

  • Provide Campaign Management Support: Parties try to get their candidate elected by:

    • Hosting fundraisers

    • Implementing targeted media strategies

How Parties Link People to the Political Process

Political parties act as linkage institutions by providing the money, volunteers, and infrastructure needed to run a political campaign.

Post-Election Influence of Parties

After a party's candidate is elected, the party continues to play a significant role. A politician's party membership determines committee chairs and leadership roles in the legislature.

5.4 - How and why political parties change

Candidate vs. Party

  • In the past, the party was most important and the candidate was secondary.

  • Now, the candidate is most important and the party is secondary.

  • New media technology allows candidates to:

    • Speak directly to their supporters.

    • Gather a following.

  • This has weakened the party's role in nominating candidates.

  • Some criticize this because it can lead to opposing factions within the party.

  • Candidates who build their own following can benefit the party, especially those who champion underrepresented opinions.

    • Even if the candidate doesn't win the nomination, their followers are still likely to engage in the political process and support the winning candidate.

Changing Platforms

  • Parties change their platforms over time to appeal to a larger electorate.

  • The changing platform will almost never contradict the larger ideology of the party.

  • Parties shift emphasis or change messaging to appeal to more voters.

  • Coalition: A demographic group (e.g., millennials, retired persons, evangelical Christians) that, if they vote as a bloc, can significantly alter the outcome of an election.

  • Parties do everything they can to appeal to different coalitions.

  • Pay attention to the topics candidates mention during speeches or debates.

    • The topics chosen say a lot about the coalitions that the politician is trying to win over.

    • Example: A candidate who promises to uphold or expand gun rights is appealing to a coalition mainly of conservative white males.

    • Example: A candidate who promises protections for immigrants and their families is appealing to America's large immigrant population.

Altering Party Structure

Parties have changed over time by altering the entire party's structure in three main ways:

  1. Party Realignment - When a party realigns itself, usually after an election or series of elections where the party is badly defeated

  • This occurs when the losing party's priorities don't align with the general electorate's priorities.

  • Ex: The Democrats won big in the presidential elections of 1932 and 1936.

    • This led the Republican party to a major realignment of their future platforms and priorities.

  • Realignment can also happen from the bottom up.

  • Example: The Republican party, with Abraham Lincoln, abolished slavery.

    • For a long time, much of the Black American population aligned with the Republican party.

    • Starting in the 1920s, the Republicans' failure to pursue civil rights legislation and the grinding poverty caused by the Great Depression led a majority of Black Americans to switch to the Democratic party.

  1. Changes to Campaign Finance Laws

    • Since the 1970s, campaign finance laws and Supreme Court decisions have changed how much money can be lawfully given to candidates and parties.

  2. Changes in Communication and Data Management Technology

    1. As technology has advanced, so too has a party's ability to mine data on certain groups and use that data to win elections.

    2. Example: 2012 Presidential Election

      • Republican candidate Mitt Romney's campaign developed Project Orca.

        • A web app for voters to let the campaign know that they voted.

        • Romney's campaign could see in real time the areas in which there was low voter turnout and engage in some last-minute efforts to get those people to the polls.

        • The technology didn't work well.

      • Barack Obama's campaign had developed new technology under the name Project Narwhal.

        • A significant leap forward in canvassing techniques.

        • Obama's campaign could target emails and text messages to people based on their demographics and psychographics.

          • Demographics - Classify people according to their external traits like race, gender, age, and region.

          • pychographicd Classify people according to their inner life like their personality, their attitudes, their aspirations, their desires, etc.

Majority-Minority - When there are more of a minority group than the majority group

Census - Measures the demographics of Americans

Chinese Exclusion Act - excluded Chinese from immigrating to America

Chain Migration - People already in the US can sponsor other immigrants, doesnt necessary

Melting Pot vs Mixed Salad - Melting pot mixes cultures into one American culture, and the Mixed Salad shows the diversity and multiple cultures in America. Mixed salad is more common.

1986 Simpson Mazzoli Act: employers cannot knowingly hire undocumented immigrants.

Regional/population Shifts

  • After WW2: population bomb, southwest migration

  • >65 is the highest growing demographic

  • Fertility rate dropping since 1960s

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Political Socialization - the process by which individuals develop their political beliefs.

  • Family

  • Mass Media

  • Education

Sample: A small proportion of people surveyed meant to represent the whole population. Ideally at least 1,500

Sampling Error: the chance a sample may not represent the general population

  • Polls can be manipulated and biased, based on the sample set, wording of the poll, etc.

  • Age, Gender, Race, Eduction can impact political opinions, need a diverse sample

  • Push Poll: Bias poll that pushes people to vote a certain way based on phrasing

Random digit dialing - dialing random phone numbers to get a random sample.

Exit Polls:

  • Conducted at voting sites.

  • Entrance polls are administered before voters cast their ballots.

  • Exit polls are administered after voters cast their ballots.

  • Considered highly valuable because they reflect the opinions of actual voters.

Decline of trust in the gov

  • Watergate

  • Vietnam War/Pentagon Papers

Political ideology - A person’s set of believes about politics, public policy, and public purposes.

  • Ideologies generally fall along a spectrum from liberal (Democrat) to conservative (Republican)

  • Political culture war: More Americans have some split beliefs/are more moderate, but media paints there to be only liberals vs conservatives

Ideological Trends:

  • Women Support social services, oppose military spending

  • Religion

    • Jewish - liberal

    • Catholic Christian - Conservative

  • Age: people get more conservative as they age

Conventional Participation: Participating in politics through voting, running fo office, door-to-door petitioning

Unconventional Participation: Participating in policies through protests, civil disobedience

Participating levels and how people participate is impacted by demographics

Political Party - a group of persons organized to acquire and exercise political power

  • Party in the electorate (PIE)- voters

  • Party organization (PO) - structure of the party

    • Party machines - relied on patronage, elected officials helping people in return for their vote, often targets immigrants due to lack of knowledge/language (naive to corruption + need help)

  • Party in the government (PIG) - elected office

Parties are supposed to be the linkage institution between the people and the government

Rationale choice theory - people vote in their best interest

Party identification - what party a person prefers/identifies with (incr independents)

  • Becoming less and less effective to predict voting patterns

Ticket Splitting - Voting for different parties for different offices

Open primaries - primary elections where anyone can vote

  • Texas in open primaries

Closed primaries - only those registered as a part of specific party can vote in that party’s primaries

Coalition - a group of individuals with a common interest on which every political party depends.

National Party Organizations

  • National Convention - presidential nomination

  • National Convention - state rep nominations

  • Nation Chairperson - chairperson of a party, in charge of staffing and fundraising

First political parties - federalists and antifederalists/democratic republicans

Third parties

  • Splinter party - major party breaks

  • rarely win elections

  • Fail due to the winner-take-all system

Super PACs

  • unlimited spending according to citizen united vs FEC

  • no directly paying political

  • No directly supporting a candidate

PACs

  • Directly paying politicians

  • Directly support a candidate

  • limited spending

  • must be reported

chpt9

Nomination Campaigns - Campaigns to win the party nomination

  • Nominees are endorsed by a certain party

Election Campaigns - Campaigns to win the election/office

  • Campaign strategy = candidate game plan for election

Caucus - When party leaders meet and select delegates, long open meetings, lower turnout

Primaries - quick vote and high turnout

Superdelegates - popular delegates that are guaranteed a spot in the presidential nomination

Issues with the system

  • Low voter turnout

    • Less young voters, less minority voters (except for women)

  • People vote based on policy views, not the canidiate, which can lead to awful people in office

  • Money is too influential

  • The media it to influential

  • Increasing social media relevance

    • Trump’s twitter

    • Facebook ads

    • Television

    • Targeting ads

(Party) Convention send-off

  • Formality

  • Basically an infomercial

Media Campaigns

  • Direct Mail - Sending out texts/mail to individuals who has voted for a candidate/political party in the past asking for money for campaign funding

  • “Free Media” - gaining unpaid media attention, mainly news coverage. Harder than paying for media

Campaign Spending

  • Campaign Contributions - donations to a candidate or political party

  • Independent Expenditures - Expenses on behalf of a political message, unrelated to any candidate’s campaign

  • Campaign spending is regulated by FEC, which was created after Nixon’s watergate

  • 2012 election had $6.3 billion spent

  • Doctrine of Sufficiency - Enough money must be spend to get a message across to compete effectively, but outspending one's opponent is not always necessary

    • more money ≠ more success

  • Selective Perception - people ignore information that contradicts current beliefs, people will ignore campaign media/ads

Motor-Voter Act - Anyone with a license could vote, made it easier to vote

Electoral college - Founding Fathers wanted to keep voting out of the hands of the uneducated and only allow elite to vote, so only the elite could vote (538 votes)

  • Winner-take-all system

  • Need 270 to win, 538 total

  • What if theres a tie?

Apprenticeship System (not US)

  • Small circle of party leaders vote

Entrepreneurship system(US)

  • Citizens vote

Watchdog - Watch and call out politicians for lies or corruption

Print vs Electronic Media

  • Those who read print media are more likely to vote

  • Less bias in print, paper newspaper (no tone like in TV)

  • Electronic media (ex, radio) emerge after WW2

  • Nixon v Kennedy

    • In the presidential debate, Nixon had just been sick and looked ill, so those who watched the debate though Kennedy won, but those who just listened to the debate thought Nixon won.

Broadvasting vs Narrowcasting

  • Narrowcasting - Media focused on a specific interest, like sports, or belief, like conservatism

Media Event - PR Events for politicians to communicate their message

Trial Balloons -

Policy Entrepreneurs - Investors of political capital of an issue

Initiative petition -

Sound-Byte journalism - taking a small sound-byte or clip for sensationalism without regard for the context behind that clip.

Investigative Journalist - In-depth reporting used to reveal scandals, scams, and schemes. Puts politicians against reporters.

FCC - Government Regulate of Media, prevents monopolies

Equal Time Rule - news should give different candidates equal amount of coverage

Who Controls the Media

  • 6 Main companies

    • Disney

    • Warner

    • general electric

    • CBS

    • Viacom

  • Private vs public ownership

    • US has mainly privately owned media due to freedom of press

Internet Effects

  • Easier access to information

  • Misinformation

  • Echo chambers

  • The digital divide

    • Some demographics, like younger people, are overrepresented on the internet because they use it more often. Can be misleading for demographics

Role of the Media

  • Hold Politicians Accountable

Issues with the media

  • Bias

  • Public distrust of media

  • Negative news stories get more attention

  • Over-emphasize certain events