Unit 2 Political Behavior: Government by the People

1. Unit 2Political Behavior: Government by the People By Caroline Rudkin and Jaclyn Sterman-Soroko

2. Constitutional Principles • Popular Sovereignty • The people rule, the people are sovereign. • Federalism • Voting for office holders. • Judicial Review • Courts have the right to overrule individual state’s decisions.

3. What is a party? • A political party is a group of persons who seek to control the government through the winning of elections and holding of public office. • Major parties: • Democratic • Republican

4. What do parties do? • Vital link between the people and the government • Encourage compromise • Bring conflicting groups together • Soften the impact of extremists at both ends of the political spectrum • Nominate candidates • Inform and activate supports • Govern • Partisanship • Acting as a watchdog

5. Why a two-party system? • Historical basis • Force of tradition • The U.S. had always been this way since the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists • Electoral system • Winning candidate gets plurality (largest number votes cast for office). • The American Ideological Consensus • American society does NOT permit more than two major parties

6. Multiparty Systems • A system where several major and many lesser parties exist. • They seriously compete for and actually win public offices. • This is seen in European democracies. • Coalition is temporary alliances of several groups who come together to form a working majority and so control a government.

7. Also called “no party” system Citizens have no say Dictatorships Two party competition had been spreading Voluntary membership Each party is made up of different people Individuals identify themselves with party for many reasons Family being the number one reason. Party Membership Patterns One Party System

8. The Two Party System in American History • Nation’s First parties: • Federalists • Lead by Alexander Hamilton • Supported the Constitution • Wanted stronger national government • Were considered the “rich and well born” • Anti-Federalists • Lead by Thomas Jefferson • Sympathetic to the “common man” • Wanted limited role for the new government

9. The American Party Patterns • 1800-1860 • Era of Democrats • Civil War • 1860-1932 • Era of Republicans • Great Depression • 1932-1968 • Era of Democrats (again) • Height of Vietnam • 1968-Present • Back and Forth

10. Ideological Party Party founded on their ideas Socialist party, Communist party ect. Single Issue Party Only have an opinion about one thing Prohibition party, Free soil party Economic Protest Party Supported issues they did not agree with Came out during recessions Splinter Party Broke off from one of the major parties “Bull Moose” party Minor Parties

11. Importance of Minor Parties • The third party can: • Play “spoiler” role • Pull votes from one of the major parties • Be critical of the major party • Bringing political issues to the surface • Continue to be active to this very day!

12. Party Organization • No one is actually in charge • National Party State Committee County Comm.  Local Comm. • Incumbent president is the head of the party council. • The structure of the national parties have four basic elements • National convention- choose candidate and platform • National committee- between conventions party business is addressed • National chairperson- spokes person for the party • Congressional campaign committee- deal with campaigns and reelections

13. State and Local Levels of Organization • State: • Chairperson and central committee work together • Local: • Ward • Unit into which cities are often divided for the election of city council members • Precinct • Smallest unit of election administrations; voters report to one voting destination.

14. Organization Leaders and activists In the electorate Loyalists who vote the straight party ticket Government Office holders Major parties were never really popular There is a weakened state of people willing to identify with republican or democratic views due to: Parties are more open Changes in technology for campaigning Growth in single issue parties and the independent party. Future of the Major Parties Three Components of the Party

15. The Right to Vote • Suffrage or franchise: the right to vote • The electorate is the potential voting population and over the years, the American electorate has faced many challenges.

16. 1800s Religious qualifications disappeared; almost all white males could vote. After Civil War 15th Amendment-the right to vote can not be denied based on race or color. 1920s 19th Amendment-the right to vote can not be denied because of sex. 1960s Federal legislation and court decision focused on making sure the 15th Amendment was followed. 23rd Amendment-voters on D.C. could vote for the president. 24th Amendment-eliminated poll tax. 1971 26th Amendment-no state can set the minimum age for voting at more than 18 years of age. Extending Suffrage: The Five Stages JUST KIDDING!

17. Universal Requirements for Voting • Citizenship • Have to be a citizen to vote. • Residence • Must be a legal resident of the state to vote. • Transients- person living in the state for a short time. • Age • Suffrage to citizens who are at least 18 years old.

18. Requirements Continued… • Registration • All voters must be registered to vote (except in North Dakota). • Purging-local officials review the list of registered voters and remove names who are no longer able to vote. • Poll books-official lists of qualified voters in each precinct • Literacy • Tax Payment • Poll tax- payment of special tax to vote

19. Person Denied the Vote • A person can be denied a vote in some states if they have been… • Convicted of a crime • In a mental institution • Legally found mentally incompetent • Discharged from the armed forces

20. Civil Rights15th Amendment • Ratified in 1870 and declares that no one can be denied the right to vote due to race, color, or previous condition of servitude. • Gerrymandering • The practice of drawing electoral district lines • This was abused by the white male • Injunction • Court ordering forcing or limiting someone’s performance. • Preclearance • States can only change election laws if first approved by the justice department

21. Voting Rights Act of 1965 Civil Rights Act of 1964 • Outlaws discrimination in several areas • Forbids voter registration to be based on literacy • Made the 15th amendment a truly effective part of the constitution • The government crack down on the states trying to go around the amendment

22. Why People Do NOT Vote • “Cannot Voters” • Some people do not care • Racial or religious reason • Actual Nonvoters • People are convinced their vote will not matter • Political efficacy • The lack of feeling of influence or effectiveness in politics

23. Voting Behavior • People in one area that are the majority tend to have the same vote. • Political socialization • Process by which people gain their political attitude and opinions • Party identification • Loyalty to a particular political party • Straight Ticket Voting • Voting for candidates of only one party • Split ticket voting • Voting for candidates on more than one party • Independence • People who have no party affiliation.

24. Factors That Influence Voters • Income or occupation • Education • Gender • Age • Religion or ethnicity • Geography • Family and other groups

25. Fin