Political Parties, Voters, and
Voting
1
Political Parties.
“A political party is a group of
people with broad common
interests who organize to win
elections, control government,
thus influence government
policies.”
2
• The two major parties in
American politics are the
Republican and Democratic
parties.
• Parties can be principle-oriented,
issue-oriented, or electionoriented. The American parties
are election-oriented.
Chapter 5, Section 1
3
What Do Parties Do?
—Recruit, choose, and present candidates for
public office.
• Inform and Activate Supporters—Campaign,
define issues, and criticize other candidates.
• Act as a Bonding Agent—Guarantee that their
candidate is worthy of the office.
• Govern—Members of government act according
to their partisanship, or firm allegiance to a
party.
Chapter 5, Section 1
4
What Political Parties do – Continued
• Act as a Watchdog—Parties that
are out of power keep a close eye
on the actions of the party in
power for a blunder to use
against them in the next election.
5
Multi Party Systems.
Parliamentary Democracy
• Most democracies have a multi party
system.
• Many different IDEOLOGIES
represented in government.
• A COALITION government must be
formed after the election.
6
Multiparty Systems
Advantages
• Provides
broader
representation
of the people.
• More
responsive to
the will of the
people.
• Give voters
more choices at
the polls.
Disadvantages
• Cause parties
to form
coalitions,
which can
dissolve easily.
• Failure of
coalitions can
cause instability
in government.
Chapter 5, Section 2
7
One Party System.
The Party is the government.
The policies of the party is also
the government policy.
8
One-Party Systems
Types of One-Party
Systems
One Party
Systems where
only one party is
allowed.
Modified One-Party
Systems where one
party regularly wins
most elections
Example:
Example:
Dictatorships such as
Stalinist Russia
Mexico.
Chapter 5, Section 2
9
Two Party System.
• The U.S. has this system.
• It’s a winner take all election.
• Difficult for third party candidates to get
elected.
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Why a Two-Party System?
• The Historical Basis. The nation started out
with two-parties: the Federalists and the AntiFederalists.
• The Force of Tradition. America has a twoparty system because it always has had one.
Minor parties, lacking wide political support,
have never made a successful showing, so
people are reluctant to support them.
Chapter 5, Section 2
11
Reasons For Two Parties
continued….
• Ideological Consensus. Most Americans
have a general agreement on fundamental
matters. Conditions that would spark several
strong rival parties have not until recently
existed in the United States.
• The Electoral System. Certain features of
government, such as single-member
districts, are designed to favor two major
parties.
12
The Evolution of American
Parties.
• Hamilton and Jefferson, as heads of the
Federalist and Anti-Federalist groups
respectively, are often considered 'fathers' of
the modern party system. No notes.
• By 1800, this country had a party system with
two major parties that has remained relatively
stable ever since.
13
American Parties: Parties
Today
The Start of a New Era: The Era of Divided
Government
Since 1968, neither Republicans nor Democrats
have dominated the presidency and Congress has
often been controlled by the opposing party.
1968–1976
Republicans hold the presidency
Congress is controlled by Democrats
1980–1992
Republicans hold the presidency
Senate controlled by Republicans 1980-1986,
controlled by Democrats from 1986 to 1994
2000
Republicans hold the presidency
Congress is controlled by Republicans
1976–1980
Democrats hold the presidency
Congress is controlled by Democrats
1992 – 2000
Democrats hold the presidency
Congress controlled by
Republicans, 1994 to present
2006
Democrats retake both houses of Congress.
Chapter 5, Section 3
14
2000 Election Map
Red-Republican—Blue-Democrat
15
2004 Election Map
16
2008 Election Map
17
2012 Election Map
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Problems with the System
• Presidential campaigns target just 10 states, ignore the
other 40
• • 96% of the spending on television ads between April 11th and
.
November 6th by presidential campaigns and allied groups went
to ten battleground states.
• • Nearly six times as much ad money was spent in Florida alone
than was spent in the 40 non-swing states and DC.
• • 99% of campaigns stops by the presidential or vice presidential
candidates were in these states
19
Role Of Third Parties.
• What is a third party?
• Any political party NOT Democratic OR
Republican.
• Examples: Green Party, Independent
Party, Reform Party, Libertarian Party,
or Natural Law Party.
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Types Of Third Parties:
1. Ideological: Want to change society
profoundly. Communist Party.
2. Single Issue: Focus on one major
social, economic, or moral issue.
Whigs anti slavery.
3. Splinter Party: Breaks off from major
party. Bull Moose Party or Reform
Party.
21
Impact Of Third Parties.
• If a third party has a popular issue, it will
be absorbed by a major party.
• A third party can throw an election one
way or another.
22
Why Minor Parties Are Important
Minor parties play several important roles:
“Spoiler Role”
• Minor party candidates can pull decisive votes away from
one of the major parties’ candidates, especially if the minor
party candidate is from a splinter party.
Critic
• Minor parties, especially single-issue parties, often take
stands on and draw attention to controversial issues that
the major parties would prefer to ignore.
Innovator
• Often, minor parties will draw attention to important issues
and propose innovative solutions to problems. If these
proposals gain popular support, they are often integrated
into the platforms of the two major parties.
Chapter 5,5,Section
Chapter
Section 4
4
23
Obstacles To Third Parties.
• Democrats and Republicans are
automatically on all states ballots.
• Third parties must get petitions sighed
in all state to get on ballot.
• Winner take-all-system. NO
representation for second place.
24
Minor Parties: ThirdPartyism
• Minor parties are not a threat to the two major
parties.
• Only eight third parties have won any electoral
votes in a presidential contest.
• The third parties that have had some success are:
–
–
–
–
–
1996 and 1992: Ross Perot’s Reform Party
1968: George Wallace’s American Independent Party
1924: Robert LaFollette’s Progressive Party
1912: Teddy Roosevelt’s Bull Moose Party
1856: Millard Fillmore's American Party
25
Third Party Challenge
• Chance and impact of 3rd party challengers?
– No chance of winning but take votes away from
who?
Nader
Nader’s Green Party had a major effect on Gore during 2000 election
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A view of the political spectrum (the left-right
thing)
Democrat, Republican, or Independent we all fit
the scale somehow
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Loyalty Trends - Democratic
• Labor union members tend to vote Democratic
• Democrats have a lead in garnering the
women's votes
• Over 80% of African Americans and Hispanics
vote 3 to 1 Democratic
• Young people are again more Democratic
• Most blue collar workers and unemployed are
Democrats
• Catholics and Jews are mostly Democrats
• The widowed are mostly Democrats
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• Liberals tend to be Democrats
Loyalty Trends - Republican
•
•
•
•
•
Chambers of Commerce tend to vote Republican
The West tends to be more Republican
Men tend to split fairly evenly between the two parties
Cuban Americans are generally Republicans (anti-Castro)
Professionals, executives, and white collar workers tend to
be Republican
• High status Protestants tend to be Republican
• Married couples tend to be Republican
• Conservatives tend to be Republican
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Democrat or Republican?
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Democrats
– Seen as being more liberal (that is not always the case)
– favor change in society
– oppose government intervention into one’s private and social life
– support regulations on economic activity and businesses
– favor an active role for government in society
– believe that involvement – be it environmental regulations against
polluting or anti-discrimination laws- can improve the quality of our
lives
– willing to increase taxes to support programs
31
Republicans
- Seen a being more conservative (that is not always the case)
– favor traditional institutions and the status quo
– favor laissez-faire system
• define
– favor a limited role for government in society and believe
that people should help themselves, not rely on the
government
– favor lower taxes
– believe in the trickle-down theory
32
Declining Party Loyalty?
• Pollsters often find that many self declared
independents often 'lean' quite strongly to either the
Democrat or Republican party.
• “Leaners” do feel party affiliations, but choose not
to self-identify with a party.
• Would they support either party if a “third” party had
the opportunity to gain elected power?
33
The Problem with Parties
34
Demographics and Voter
Turnout
• America is changing as a nation. Who we are
as a people is not who we were 50 or 100
years ago.
• As America changes, how it vote changes.
• This impacts elections and who is governing
our nation
35
Youth Vote
Approximately 46 million 18-29 year olds are eligible to vote in
2012.
•By 2015, this generation will make up one-third of the electorate.
Voters ages 18-29 comprised 21% of eligible voters in 2012.
39% of Millennials identify as non-white, making them the most
diverse generation in American history. Young Latinos account
for the largest percentage of the population boom.
In 2012, 35% of youth who didn’t attend college voted vs. 66%
of youth who did.
4% more young women voted than young men in 2012.
36
Youth Vote Continued
Fifty percent of eligible young voters cast a vote in the 2012 election,
accounting for 23 million votes.
The 2004 elections marked the largest increase in young voter turnout
since 1972. Over 20 million young people ages 18-29 cast a ballot (42
million were eligible to vote), an increase of 4.3 million voters. This was
a nine point increase in turnout over 2000, more than double that of any
other age group.
In 2004, there were nearly as many voters under 30 years old than voters
over 65 years old.
When asked party affiliation, young voters considered themselves
Democrats (35 %), Republicans (26%) and Independents (29%)
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Youth Vote – Part 3
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Race and Political Identity
• African Americans and minorities have
tended to favor Democrats over
Republicans
39
Latino Vote
For the first time one in ten voters were Latino
10 percent of the electorate turning out to vote was
Hispanic. That figure was even higher in some
western states, including the battleground states of
Colorado (14%) and Nevada (18%).
Latinos will account for 40% of the growth in the eligible
electorate in the U.S. between now and 2030,
doubling in size.
Black voters were 13% of the electorate and their
turnout rate may have exceeded that of whites for the
first time in 2012.
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Political Party Organization.
•
•
•
•
•
Party membership.
Local Party:
1. Precinct.
2. Precinct captain.
3. Ward.
41
State And National
Organizations.
•
•
•
•
•
•
State Party Organizations.
National Convention.
National party function:
1. Recruiting candidates.
2. Educating the public.
3. Operating government.
42
Political Party Functions
Continued….
• 4. Dispensing patronage.
• 5. Loyal opposition.
• 6. Reduction of conflict.
43
Methods of Nominating
Candidates
Direct
Primary
Open
Primary
Closed
Primary
Blanket
Primary
44
Direct
Primary
An election in which
voters and not party
leaders directly choose a
party's nominees for
political office.
45
Open
Primary
A direct primary in which
voters may choose which
party primary they will vote
in on Election Day
46
Closed
Primary
A direct primary in which
voters must register their
party affiliations before
Election Day
47
Blanket
Primary
A direct primary in which
voters may cast ballots for
candidates of any party, but
may only vote once for
each office.
48
Getting Elected!
After the party nomination a
candidate must then win the
overall election.
49
Getting The Message Out
In the past campaigns were based on TV
ads, newspaper ads, and other
traditional forms of advertising.
Like everything else youth and technology
are changing the way we elect people to
office.
50
Social Media and Elections
•
•
•
94% of people on social media
who are of voting-age have
actually watched an entire
political message.
Not only have they watched it,
but 39% of them also shared it
with, on average, 130 friends.
51% of those users also said
they would use social media
sites to learn more about the
candidates for the upcoming
2012 election.
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