Civics Unit 2: Political Parties Chapter 22.1

Civics Unit 2: Political PartiesChapter 22.1

In just a few short years you will be able to vote. How can you prepare yourself now for deciding what characteristics in a candidate and what issues are important to you? Quick Think

An organization of citizens who want to influence and control the government by getting their members elected to office • Why? • Acting in a group is more powerful! Strength in numbers! What is a Political Party?

Selecting Candidates • Setting Goals • Providing Leadership How Do Parties Help Government?

Nominate: name candidates who run for public office • Partisan vs. Non-partisan • Partisan: declaring themselves for one partyif elected they will try to carry out the party’s programs Selecting Candidates

Political Parties set goals for government and positions on issues • Platform: a statement of the party’s official stand on major public issues • Plank: position statements on each specific issue in a party’s platform Setting Goals

Party Platform Planks

Party in Power: Necessary to make the laws and programs that citizens want • Party Not in Power: Acts as a “watchdog” Providing Leadership

How do political parties act as “watchdogs”? Why do political parties play such an important role? Quick! Think!

Voices in Governmentproviding a way for citizens to be heard • Informing Citizensabout issues via mail, TV, radio, internet • Canvass: door-to-door info for their candidate • Involving CitizensNeed help, esp. during election time! • Both your right and responsibility How do Parties Help Citizens?

How do political parties provide citizens with a voice in government? How does a political party become a source of information for citizens? Quick! Think!

Our Two-Party System Chapter 22.2

Republicans Democrats Founded by Thomas Jefferson Shift in power after Great Depression FDRNew Deal Programs • Formed to oppose slavery • Primarily a Northern party • Supported business • Abe Lincoln • Dominated politics until the Great Depression Brief History: Our Current 2 Parties

With a partner, complete the Political Parties Comparison Chart • As a class, we will fill it out after you complete it. What do Today’s Parties Stand for?

What does the term liberal mean? • What does the term conservative mean? • Do you consider yourself to be more liberal or conservative? • Let’s look at the party platforms to see which party is liberal and which is conservative Liberal vs. Conservative

Both need wide supporttend to avoid taking extreme stands on issues • Let’s look at the Political Spectrum to see where our current political parties align themselves (complete with a partner) • Discuss as a class Political Spectrum

Organization • Both have local, state, and national organizations • Localprecincts: voting districts • Statewrite party platforms & nominate candidates • Nationalonce every four years, nominate Pres. & VP candidates How are our parties similar?

How do Third Parties form? • In support of ideas or a cause • Ex: Green Party • To support a candidate • Ex: “Bull Moose” Party Third Parties

Nationwide elections • Difficult to get on the ballot • $ is hard to come by • Some think it is wasting a vote Third Party Problems

Can change the outcome of an election by drawing votes away from one of the main parties • Ex: Ralph Nader in 2000 • Can press for action on certain issues and/or bring up new ideas • Ex: Ross Perot and the National Debt (19% of pop vote in 1992) Influence of Third Parties

Choosing Candidates Chapter 22.3

Becoming a Member • Just think of yourself as a member • In some states, can register w/party Supporting a Party

Most important role of political parties • Ways to become a candidate • Self-nomination • Write-in candidate • Caucus • A meeting of party leaders to discuss issues or choose candidates Nominating Candidates

Members of the party choose candidates to run for office for that party • Candidate with the most votes is the party nominee for the general election • Two types • Closed Primarymust be member • Open Primarydo not have to be a member (but can only vote in one primary) Direct Primaries

What is the difference between a caucus and a primary? • Caucus: group meetings to choose (discussion) • Primary: direct voting to choose (casting a ballot) Caucus vs. Primary

Let’s look at how candidates are chosen • With a partner, complete the Choosing Candidates Worksheet • This will be collected for points! Choosing Candidates Activity

Pass out Political Philosophy SFA • As a class, discuss the issues and decide whether they are economic or social issues. • Put a check in the correct column Political Philosophy:Which side are YOU on???

Voting and the Electoral College Chapter 23.1

Voting Basics • 18 years or older and a U.S. citizen • Be a resident of the state you want to vote in • Register: the process of signing up to be a voter • National voting: the Tuesday after the first Monday in November So you know who you want to support, now what?

We DO NOT vote for the President directly • We elect electors, people who promise to cast their vote for the candidate selected by the voters. • President is chosen by votes in the Electoral College The Electoral College

538 Electors, each state getting electors based off of its population (larger pop., more electors) • To win, a candidate needs an absolute majority of electoral votes270 (or more) • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUS9mM8Xbbw&feature=youtu.be How the Electoral College Works

Civics Unit 2: Political Parties Chapter 22.1