Political Participation Notes

Political Participation

  • Definition: Ways voters get involved in the political process.
  • Factors Influencing Participation: ideology, efficacy, structural barriers, demographics.

Amendments to Know

  • 15th Amendment: Voting rights to Black males.
  • 17th Amendment: Popular elections of US senators.
  • 19th Amendment: Suffrage to women.
  • 24th Amendment: Declared poll taxes void in federal elections.
  • 26th Amendment: Lowered voting age to 18 year-olds.

Legislation

  • Voting Rights Act 1965: Helped end formal & informal barriers to voting for Black people.
  • National Voter Registration Act 1993: "Motor Voter Act" - makes it easier for voters to register by requiring states to allow citizens to register when applying for/renewing driver's licenses.

Voting Behavior

  • Rational Choice Voting: Voting based on what is perceived to be in the citizen's best interest.
  • Retrospective Voting: Voting based on whether a candidate should be re-elected based on recent past.
  • Prospective Voting: Voting based on predictions of how a candidate will perform in the future.
  • Party-Line Voting: Voting for candidates of one party for all public offices at the same level of government.
  • Compulsory Voting: Laws that require citizens to register & vote in local & national elections.

Elections

  • Midterm Elections: Congressional elections that occur in even-numbered years between presidential elections.

Political Efficacy

  • Definition: Citizen's belief that their vote matters & can influence government policies.
  • State voting registration laws can affect voter turnout by removing/adding structural barriers.
  • Political scientists use demographics of a voting population to predict voter turnout.
  • Demographics are associated with political engagement & political efficacy.
  • Party identification is the strongest driver of voter choice.

Linkage Institutions

  • Definition: Groups in society that connect people to the government & facilitate turning people's concerns into political issues.
  • Party Platform: Goals outlining a party's position on issues & political priorities.
  • Party Roles:
    • Party organization.
    • Party in government.
    • Party in electorate.
  • Parties create platforms and help elected officials.
  • Parties manage campaigns, educate voters, debate and mobilize voters.
  • Parties focus on platform goals and mobilizing & donating.

Campaign Finance

  • Funds raised to promote candidates, parties, or policy initiatives.
  • Candidate-Centered Campaigns: Focus on candidates, their personalities & issues, rather than parties they represent.
  • Critical Election: Election that leads to major party realignment.
  • Realignment: A number of key supporters of one party switch to the other party.
  • Dealignment: Individuals lose their loyalty to one party without developing loyalty for another.
  • Direct Primary: Current process by which parties choose their party's candidate for national office.
  • Micro-Targeting: Using computer models to identify voters who might support a candidate.
  • Political Action Committees (PACs): Organizations representing an interest group or corporation that raises tosupportordefeatcandidates.<ul><li>Limitstotheamountofto support or defeat candidates.<ul> <li>Limits to the amount of a PAC can donate to each candidate each election.
  • Super PACs: May raise unlimited funds in support of a candidate as long as they don't coordinate with the candidate directly.
  • Political Machine: Party organization with the goal of enriching party leaders, party workers, & citizen supporters through government contracts & jobs.
  • Realignment: Major change in the composition of party coalitions, often brought on by a new/pressing issue.
    • Ex: Many left the Republican party & joined Democrat after the Great Depression.
  • Independent Candidate: No formal affiliation with a political party.
  • Proportional System: An electoral system in which legislative seats are awarded in proportion to the of votes garnered by a party in an election.
  • Third Party: Not Democrat or Republican.
  • Two-Party System: Electoral system in which 2 major parties dominate voting at all levels.
  • Winner-Take-All: Electoral system in which legislative seats are awarded only to the party who received most votes.
    • Most common system & does not benefit minor political parties.
    • Major parties adopt platforms of independents & independents will vote for that major party instead.

    • Interest Groups

    • "Free Rider" Problem: Problem of group behavior that occurs when an individual can receive a public benefit without making a personal contribution of or effort.
    • Lobbying: Seeking to influence a public official on an issue.
      • Direct Lobbying: Speaking directly with bureaucrats or elected officials.

    Strategies

    • Inside Strategies: Interest groups working inside of DC.
      • Direct lobbying, drafting legislation, suing government.
    • Outside Strategies: Working outside of DC.
      • Campaign contributions, media coverage, encouraging constituent mobilization.
      • PACs donate onbehalfofinterestgroups.</li></ul></li><li><strong>Salience:</strong>Degreetowhichthegeneralpublicisawareofapolicyissue.<ul><li>Policymakerslessaccommodatingofinterestgroupsonissueswithhighsalience−riskalienatingvoters.</li></ul></li></ul><h4id="electionscont">Elections(Cont.)</h4><ul><li><strong>Caucus:</strong>Partymemberschoosenomineesforpoliticaloffice.</li><li><strong>ClosedPrimary:</strong>Primaryelectionlimitedtoregisteredmembersofapoliticalparty.</li><li><strong>GeneralElection:</strong>Electiondecideswhichcandidatewillfillanelectivepost.</li><li><strong>PopularVote:</strong>Totaloron behalf of interest groups.</li></ul></li> <li><strong>Salience:</strong> Degree to which the general public is aware of a policy issue.<ul> <li>Policymakers less accommodating of interest groups on issues with high salience - risk alienating voters.</li></ul></li> </ul> <h4 id="electionscont">Elections (Cont.)</h4> <ul> <li><strong>Caucus:</strong> Party members choose nominees for political office.</li> <li><strong>Closed Primary:</strong> Primary election limited to registered members of a political party.</li> <li><strong>General Election:</strong> Election decides which candidate will fill an elective post.</li> <li><strong>Popular Vote:</strong> Total or of votes won by each candidate.
      • Primary Election: Election decides which candidate a party will send to the general election.
      • Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act: Banned soft & reduced attack ads.
        • "Stand by your ad" - requires ads to say "I'm {Candidate Name} and I approve this message"
      • Soft Money: spent in support of a candidate without directly donating to the campaign.

      Media

      • "Media as a gatekeeper" = Media draws public & government attention to certain issues.
      • Framing: Way media portrays an issue.
      • Ideologically-Oriented Programming/Partisan News Sites: Media caters to specific ideology.
      • Media Consolidation: Few large companies have acquired majority news sources.