Party as Organization

1. Party as Organization Last week The personal vote Ballot reforms, communications technology and the political economy of modern campaigns Party as Organization

2. 2nd Homework assignment • Due in class Oct. 22 • abstract: put it on your title page; one paragraph that states the take-home message of your essay (along the lines of “I argue that … because ….” • 3-paragraph introduction: hook, thesis, roadmap • hook: state your question and something about why it is important. • thesis: state your answer to the question, including at least a hint of why your answer is a good one. • roadmap: what are the key points you want your reader to pay attention to in your argument?

3. The personal vote • states varied in their election timing, but federal election dates were standardized before the Civil War • If the federal office on the ballot is way more important than other offices, voter choice at the “top” of the ticket determines choice of ticket • personal characteristics of candidates at the top of the ticket matter • reelection strategies: advertising, position-taking, claiming credit • collective policies are problematic for credit-claiming • incentives to personalize policy actions for voters

4. Problems with the personal vote • Multiple offices on a party-strip ballot create “free-riding” opportunities • Party organizations built on patronage may induce inefficiently large government • this is a form of rent-seeking; encourages third-party entry • Australian ballot and primary elections allow voters to hold individual candidates accountable for their performance, but make it harder to hold a party collectively accountable

5. Evolution of campaigning • 19th-century campaigns depended on party labor to spread the message and get out the vote • Ballot reforms allowed voters to hold individual incumbents accountable at the expense of collective responsibility • Personal accountability  incentive to have personal organization  incentive to raise money to hire staff and expert advisers • Radio, telephone, automobiles all dramatically lower the costs of communicating with individual, distributed voters. Each costs money

6. Party as organization • Scott Lay discussed the structure of party organizations in Calif. and the U.S. • the parties are quasi-public entities; their structure and governance in Calif. are regulated by state law • central authority in each constituency that controls use of the brandname; functions include authorizing clubs to use the brandname; candidate recruitment; fundraising; coordinating campaign efforts; some policy advocacy

7. Local machines • 19th century party organizations tightly tied together electoral activities with governance activities • before synchronous mass communications, campaigning was highly distributed, highly personal • few government jobs were “professional”; most changed hands with changes in administration or “patron” – hence, “patronage” jobs

8. Progressive/Populist reforms • Pendleton Act of 1883, municipal and state reform movements in 1880s-1900s pushed for increased efficiency and accountability in government • many gov’t jobs became professional civil service positions (careerist, not partisan) • many other gov’t jobs were outsourced via contracting, which allows for competitive bidding • Sources of pressure: Tiebout hypothesis about competition for resources

9. Ballot Change and Reform • Australian ballot separates co-partisans on a ticket; each is more responsible for his/her own electoral fate than under party strip • Primary elections open greater opportunities for within-party competition for nominations • primary electorate is (potentially) much broader than old convention-style nominations • party hierarchy risks splitting the party when it gets involved in primaries

10. Communications and Party Structure • Synchronous mass communications technology (radio, tv) allows the candidate to speak directly to voters. Greater control of the message; shift from labor to cash as key resource • telephone and direct mail strategies also reduce dependency on labor, increase need for cash • parties switch from managing labor to fundraising as key function