Unit 5: Political Participation

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    5.1

    Factors associated with political ideology, efficacy, structural barriers and demographics influence the nature and degree of political participation.

    Voting Rights and Models of Voting Behavior

    Amendments Relating to Voting - they expand the opportunities for political participation

    • The 15th Amendment to the Constitution: The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.  (1870). This amendment gave men of color the right to vote.

    • The 17th Amendment to the Constitution: The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. (1912). This amendment gave citizens the right to directly elect senators.

    • The 19th Amendment to the Constitution: The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. (1920). This amendment gave women the right to vote. Now anyone who is a citizen, male or female, white or a person of color could vote if they were 21 years old, registered to vote and there were no other impediments to voting (such as being a felon).

    • The 24th Amendment to the Constitution: The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax. (1964). This amendment prohibits fees that were often required (particularly in the south) to vote.

     

    • The 26th Amendment to the Constitution: The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age. (1971). This amendment gave the right to vote to persons 18 years old. Previously, you had to be 21 years old to vote.

    These amendments expand the opportunity for people to participate politically by voting.

    Examples of Voting Behavior:

    • Rational Choice Theory - A popular theory in political science to explain actions of voters as well as politicians. It assumes that individuals act in their own best interest, carefully weighing the costs and benefits of possible alternatives.

    • Retrospective Voting - Voting to decide whether the party of candidate in power should be reelected based on the recent past.

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

    • Party Line Voting - Supporting a party by voting for one political party for all public offices at the same level of government.

    Ticket splitting – Voting for one party for one office and with another party for other offices (for example, voting for a democrat for your local representative for the House of Representatives and voting for a Republican for your Senator). Ticket splitting can result in opposing parties having difficulty working together to enact policy.

    Rise of Independents - For the past 40 years, people are increasingly defining themselves as Independent rather than belonging to one party or another. People identifying themselves as Democrats are the next largest group and Republicans are the third largest group.

    The 1980s changed the voting trends of the South. The South is now more Republican than Democrat. Virginia is an exception – it has two democratic senators. Florida had one democratic senator, but the 2018 election resulted in two Republicans senators. Alabama had one Democratic Senator until 2021.

     

    5.2 Voter Turnout

    Structural Barriers, Political efficacy, can predict differences in voter turnout in the US, and the following can influence voter turnout among democracies worldwide:

    • National vs. State Controlled Elections

    • Voter registration laws and procedures

    • Voting incentives or penalties or fines

    • Election type - Midterm or Presidential

    Examples:

    Voter ID laws have resulted in lower voter turnout. Other barriers to voting include long lines at polling places, one day only voting (Washington state does mail in voting allowing people to vote at their convenience), restrictive hours and polling places spread apart in rural areas. A difficult or confusing registration process (signing up to vote) also lowers voter turnout.

    Motor Vehicle Act - A 1993 Act that requires states to permit people to register to vote when they apply for a driver's license.

    Demographic characteristics and political efficacy or engagement are used to predict the likelihood whether someone will vote.

    Who votes?

    Who doesn't vote?

    Factors influencing voter choice include:

    • Party identification and ideological orientation

    • Candidate characteristics

    • Contemporary political issues

    • Religious beliefs or affiliation, gender, race, ethnicity, and other demographic characteristics

     

    The gap is much bigger now. In 2014, for instance, citizens eligible to vote were 72 percent white, 12 percent black, 12 percent Latino, and 4 percent Asian. But those who actually voted were 78 percent white, 12 percent black, 7 percent Latino, and 3 percent Asian. According to Pew Research, the trend has continued (see chart below).

     

    5.3 Political Parties

    Political parties, interest groups and social movements provide opportunities for participation and influence how people relate to government and policy makers.

    Linkage institutions are channels that allow individuals to communicate their preferences to policy makers:

    Parties

    Interest Groups

    Elections

    Media

    The functions and impact of political parties on the electorate and the government are represented by:

    Mobilization and education of voters

    Party platforms

    Candidate Recruitment

    Campaign Management including fundraising and media strategy

    The committee and party leadership systems in legislature

     

    Structural barriers, political efficacy and demographics can predict differences in voter turnout in the US.

    Factors influencing voter choice include:

    Political parties recruit and run candidates in elections. The purpose of winning the election is to govern and enact the policy agenda. The policy agenda are the issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actively involved in politics at the time. Examples of issues would be climate change, immigration, and health care.

    Political parties raise money for campaigns, craft the party platform, advertise for candidates and get out the vote for candidates.

    Two major parties: Republican and Democrat.

    Party Platform - A political party's statement of its goals and policies for the next four years.

    Key parts of the Democratic platform include: protecting individual freedoms (such as allowing access to abortion as an individual right), raising the minimum wage, and reforming Wall Street.

    Key parts of a Republican platform include: Limiting the size of the Federal Government (this is a classic conservative agenda but the Republican party since the 1980s had expanded the role of the federal government), lowering taxes, limiting access to abortion, and decreasing regulation. In 2020, the Republican party did not adopt a new platform.

    Party era – a period of dominance for one political party, typically around 30 years (Ex. New Deal Era 1932-1964).

    Party dealignment  - The gradual disengagement of people from parties, as seen in part by shrinking party identification.

    Party realignment - like a revolution (without physical fighting); the identity of the party & membership can completely change.

    Party Identification - a citizen's self-proclaimed preference for one party or another.

    Party Machine- A type of political party organization that relies heavily on material inducements, such as patronage to win votes and to govern.

    National Committee - One of the institutions that keeps the party operating between conventions. The national committee is composed of representatives from the states and territories.

    National Party Convention - The supreme power within each of the parties. The convention meets every four years to nominate the party's presidential and vice-presidential candidates and to write the party's platform.

    Nomination - The official endorsement of a candidate for office by a political party. Generally, success in the nomination game requires momentum, money and media attention. 

    5.4 How and Why Political Parties Change and Adapt

    Parties have adapted to candidate centered campaigns and their role in nominating candidates have been weakened.

    Parties modify their policies and messaging to appeal to various demographic coalitions.

    The structure of parties have been influenced by:

    • Critical elections and regional realignments

    • Campaign finance law

    • Changes in communication and data management technology

    Parties use communication technology and voter data management to disseminate, control and clarify political messages and enhance outreach an mobilization efforts.

     

     

    5.5 Third Party Politics

    In comparison to proportional systems, winner -take all voting districts serve as a structural barrier to third party and independent candidate success.

    The incorporation of third party agendas into platforms of major political parties serve as a barrier to third party and independent party success.

    Third Parties - Electoral Contenders other than the two major parties. American third parties are not unusual but they rarely win elections.

    Examples: Libertarian Party / Green Party

    5.6 Interest Groups Influencing Policy Making

    Interest Groups very specific or more general interests and can educate voters and office holders, conduct lobbying, draft legislation, mobilize members  to apply pressure on and work with legislators and government agencies.

    Examples of interest groups include: NRA (National Rifle Association - advocated for CDC be prohibited from using federal funds to advocate for gun control), MADD (Mothers against Drunk Driving - advocated for minimum drinking age of 21) and AARP (American Association of Retired Persons - advocates for people over 50).

     

    In addition to working with party coalitions, interest groups exert influence through long standing relationships with bureaucratic agencies, congressional committees and other interest groups; such relationships are often described as iron triangles and issue networks and they help interest groups exert influence across political party coalitions.

    Example: Tobacco industry donating to congressional campaigns and lobbying, through paid lobbyists and interest groups they funded, for no restrictions on tobacco products. Successful for years.

    Interest groups influence may be impacted by:

    • Inequality of political and economic resources

    • Unequal access to decision makers

    • The free rider problem (The problem faced by unions and other groups when people do not join because they can benefit from the groups' activities without officially joining.)

     

    5.7 Groups Influencing Policy Outcomes

    Single issue groups, ideological/social movements, and protest movements form with the goal of impacting society and policy making. 

    Example: The Black Lives Matter Movement

    Competing actors such as interest groups, professional organizations, social movements, the military, and bureaucratic agencies influence policy making, for example, the federal budget at key stages and to varying degree.

    Elections and political parties are related to major policy shifts or initiatives occasionally leading to political realignments of voting constituencies.

    Example: The fear of critical race theory being taught in schools has led to suburban moms voting for Republicans in 2021 elections after voting for Democrats in 2020 elections. In the 2020 election, 58% of white women voted for Trump.

     

    5.8 Electing a President

    The impact of federal policies on campaigning and electoral rules continues to be contested by both sides of the political spectrum.

    The process and outcomes in US Presidential elections are impacted by:

    • Incumbency advantage phenomenon

    • Open and closed primaries

    • Caucuses

    • Party Conventions

    • General (presidential elections)

    • Electoral College

    The winner take all allocation of votes per state (except Maine and Nebraska) under the set-up of the Electoral College compared with the national popular vote for president raises questions about whether the Electoral College facilitates or impedes democracy.

    Primary Election – a preliminary election to select the candidates for a presidential election. Primary elections are also used for selecting candidates for the Senate, House of Representatives and state-wide offices and initiatives.

    Types of Primary Elections

    • Runoff –Only the top two vote getters advance to the next election.  

    • Closed – only those who belong to a certain party can vote in the primary for that party.

    • Open – anyone can vote in the primary.

    • Caucus – a system for selecting convention delegates used in about a dozen states (formerly in Washington state) in which voters must attend an open meeting to express their political preference.

    In primary elections, the people who vote tend to be better educated, wealthier and be more involved in politics.

    Frontloading – The recent tendency of states to hold primaries early in the calendar to capitalize on media attention and have a larger voice in determining the presidential candidates.

    5.9 Congressional Elections (save for LegSim)

    5.10  Modern Campaigns

    The impact of federal policies on campaigning and electoral rules continues to be contested by both sides of the political spectrum.

    The benefits and drawbacks of modern campaigns are represented by:

    Dependence on professional consultants

    Rising campaign costs and intensive fundraising efforts

    Duration of election cycles

    Impact and reliance on social media for campaign communication and fundraising

    5.11 Campaign Finance

    The impact of federal policies on campaigning and electoral rules continues to be contested by both sides of the political spectrum.

    Federal legislation and case law pertaining to campaign finance demonstrate the ongoing debate over the role of money in political and free speech, as set forth in:

    • Bipartisan Campaign reform Act of 2002, which was an effort to ban soft money and reduce attack ads with "Stand by your ad" provisions. Example: I am (candidate's name) and I approve this message.

    • Citizens United vs. The Federal Election Committee  (2010), which rules that political spending by corporations, associations and Labor Unions is a form of protected speech under the First Amendment.

    Debates have increased over free speech and competitive and fair elections related to money and campaign funding (including contributions from individuals, political actions committees (PAC) and political parties.

    Different types of PACs influence elections and policy making through fundraising and spending.

    Direct Mail - A method of raising money for a political cause for a candidate, in which information and requests for money are sent to people whose names appear on lists of those who have supported similar views or candidates in the past.

    The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1972 required congressional candidates to disclose campaign contributions. Campaign contributions are donations that are made directly to a candidate or a party and must be reported to the FEC.

    Created the FEC (Federal Election Commission) to regulate campaign finance.

    Limited individual donations to candidates ($1000 limit)

    Created option for matching funds– publicly finance campaigns so candidates don’t have to do as much fundraising.

    Independent Expenditures - Expenses on behalf of a political message that are made by groups that are uncoordinated with any candidate's campaign.

    Problems with reform:

    • People begin donating to parties/PACs instead

    • Unrestricted donations = soft money

    • Restricted donations to candidates = hard money

    Political Action Committees - Groups that raise $ from individuals and then distribute it in the form of contributions to candidates that the group supports.

    • Must register with the FEC and report donations and contributions.

    • Individual Contributions limited to $5,000 per year.

    • PAC may give up to $5,000 to a candidate for each election

    The U.S. Supreme Court case, Citizens United vs. The Federal Election Committee  (2010), led to the rise of Super – PACs.  A Super-Pac is a political action committee that can spend unrestricted amounts of money if it does not coordinate with the candidate.

    • Supreme Court case– court declares that individuals, unions & corporation’s ability to spend money in elections is constitutionally protected

    • Money = speech (1st amendment)

    • Campaigns, Parties, PACs still have limits on how much they can accept but…

    • Newly established “Super-PACs” may accept unlimited donations as long as they don’t directly coordinate with campaigns.

     501(c) organization - A nonprofit organization in the federal law of the United States according to Section 501(c) and is one of over 29 types of nonprofit organizations exempt from some federal income taxes.

    527-organization or 527 group is a type of U.S. tax-exempt organization organized under Section 527 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 527). A 527 group is created primarily to influence the selection, nomination, election, appointment or defeat of candidates to federal, state or local public office.

     

    5.12 The Media

    The various forms of media provide citizens with political information and influence the ways in which they participate politically.

    Traditional news media, new communication technologies, and advances in social media, have profoundly influenced how citizens routinely acquire political information, including news events, investigative journalism, election coverage and political commentary.

    The media's use of polling results to convey popular levels of trust and confidence in government can impact elections by turning such events into "horse races" based more on popularity and factors other than qualifications and platforms of candidates.

    Mass Media - Means of communication that reach the public, including newspapers and magazines, radio, television (broadcast, cable, and satellite), films, recordings, books, and electronic communications.

    News Media – media that empathizes the news.

    Print Media - Newspapers and magazines as compared with electronic media.

    Electronic Media - Television, radio and the Internet, as compared with print media.

    Media Event - events that are purposely staged for the media and that are significant just because the media is there.

    Press Conference - Meetings of public officials with reporters.

    Trail Balloons – intentional news leaks by a candidate or elected official for determining public opinion to a plan.

    Narrowcasting -the transmission of television programs, especially by cable, to a comparatively localized or specialist audience.

    Sound Bites - Short video clips of approximately 10 seconds. Typically, they are all that is shown from a politician's speech on the nightly television news.

    Talking Head - A shot of a person's face talking directly to the camera. Because such shots are visually unstimulating, the major networks rarely show politicians talking for very long.

    Media as “watchdog” or investigative journalism (the use of in-depth reporting to unearth scandals, scams, and schemes, at times putting reporters in adversarial relationships with political leaders):

    • Exposes scandals

    • Keeps us informed of information we need

    Gatekeeper – decides what information is released/shared.

    Agenda Setter - Keeps us focused on specific issues and influences how we think about government, candidates, policies, etc.

     

    5.13 Changing Media

    The various forms of media provide citizens with political information and influence the ways in which they participate politically.

    Political participation is influenced by a variety of media coverage, analysis and commentary on political events.

    The rapidly increasing demand for media and political communications outlets from an ideologically diverse audience have led to debates over media bias and the impact of media ownership and partisan news sites.

    The nature of democratic debate and the level of political knowledge among citizens is impacted by:

    • Increased media choices

    • Ideologically oriented programming

    • Consumer-driven media outlets and emerging technologies that reinforce existing beliefs

    • Uncertainty over the credibility of news sources and information

    Consumer driven media – the rapidly increasing demand for media and political communications outlets from an ideologically diverse audience have led to debates over media bias and the impact of media ownership and partisan news sites.

     

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