Video Mr. Altman Gave us for the Unit 5 Test

The Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUurf0vzxWs&list=PLHwEFig3yI1YCNxHAfD_Ln7Z61NUsYsvP&index=16

Voting

Election Managers

• Choose own voter registration laws
  • Can be used as a loophole to limit certain demographics from voting
• Policies on early voting, accessibility to mail in and absentee ballots
• Voter ID laws

Amendments changing voting

• $15th:$ said voting cannot be given based on race
• $17th:$ allowed direct senate election
• $19th:$ gave women the right to vote
• $26th:$ lowered voting age to 18

Voter Behavior Models

How do voters decide who to vote for?

• Mostly with party identification
• Candidate character
• Current political and social issues
• Demographics (race, gender, religion)

Predicting Who Turns Out to Vote

• Political efficacy has to be considered
  • belief that their votes matter

Linkage Institutions

Political Parties

• Goal is to win elections and gain power to influence policy

• Mobilize and educate voters

• Establish a party platform

• Recruit and nominate candidates and members of the party

• Assist in campaign strategy and management and deal with the media

• Work to fundraise

• In Congress it is all organized by party!

• They are changing with candidate centered politics

  • Focus is more on the candidate themselves and party identification

• Critical elections can cause realignments and dealignments

• Campaign finance law has made it easier for candidates to fundraise by themselves without party assistance

• Social media has created more access to voters

• Third parties

  • Winner-take-all system makes it hard to win a single state, much less electoral college
  • Plurality system
  • Single-member district
  • Electoraal College
  • Ballot fees
  • People feel as if they are wasting their vote
  • Less attention and funding ability
  • Major parties can take supported ideas of third parties and incorporate them to steal their supporters

Interest Groups

• Mission is to influence policy for a specific or broad purpose
• Educate voters and office holders
• Push for people to vote for candidates that would push for their goals
• Lobbying
  • Expert info is given to legislators to pass policy in their favor
  • Easy access is used greatly
  • Legislation is even drafted for legislators
• Mobilization is needed to take action and show initiative
• Part of Iron triangles with congressional committees and bureaucratic agencies
• Provide electoral support and fundraising for campaigns and receive legislation and regulations in return
• Create an uneven playing field because of more resources, access and support some have
• The Free Rider problem makes it so that citizens feel as if they do not have to join the group and will get the benefits of their efforts nayway
• Single-issue groups are focused on only one issue (NRA)
• Social movements have broader goals and is less organized

Elections

• Primary elections are done for parties to chose presidential candidates
  • Open primary is when registered voters can participate in any party’s primary
  • Closed primary means they have be a registered party member and registered voter
  • Some states have caucuses (Iowa and New Hampshire) when candidates are debated and discussed before selected
• National convention are held by parties to officially nominate candidates and adopt a party platform
• The general election is when the winner takes office
• Presidential elections
  • Electoral college has electors officially choose the president
  • Votes from states are given to only one candidate, all or nothing except in Nebraska and Maine
  • Electoral college problems
    • Small states are overrepresented
    • Candidates focus campaigns on swing states with many electoral votes
    • Elite democracy
    • Popular vote does not have an effect
  • Electoral college benefits
    • States retain importance in presidential election
    • Ensures balance across the nation
    • Guards against uninformed voting for president
• An incumbency advantage is there
  • Campaign experience
  • Network of donors and support
  • Already recognized and seen as presidential
  • Bully pulpit
• Congressional elections
  • Primaries and cuacuses
  • Incumbency advantage
  • Casework, provided constituent service
  • More name recognition
  • More PAC money is raised
  • Midterms have lower voter turnout and happen between presidential elections
• Campaign fundraising is essential for campaigns

Campaign Finance

• Debated because of free speech it can represent
• Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act banned
  • Soft money
  • Soft money: unlimited contribution to parties
  • Corporations making political ads within 30 days of the election
  • Corporations may also not make direct contributions

Citizens United v. FEC

• Struck down ban on soft money
• Struck down corporate ad timing bans
• Corporation are people and therefore also have free speech and unlimited independent political donations
• Upheld ban on direct corporation contributions to candidates

Political Action Committees - PACs

• Purpose is to raise money to support candidates or causes
• Most PAC moneys go to incumbents
• Can raise and spend an unlimited amount
• Direct candidate donations limited to $5,000
• Corporations and unions cannot contribute to PACs but ot Super PACs

Super PACs

• Corporations and unions can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money independent of the candidate
• No direct candidate donations

The Media

• From traditional print to TV and social media
• Gatekeeper role
  • Choosing which issues to report on, for how long, what is newsworthy, influences peoples views
• Watchdog role
  • Investigative journalism to uncover corruption
• Scorekeeper role
  • Wins and losses ine lecitons
  • Leads to horse-race journalism with an obsession on polling instead of substantive issues and candidates
• Increased media choices lead to consumer driven media an increased bias and partisanship
  • Therefore certain groups are targeted and confirmation bias is fed
• Reliability is questionable becuas eof many news sources now and the biases they have