Campaigns and Elections

U.S. GovernmentPOL 110

Topics

• Political participation and what people think they are achieving by participating in the electoral process

• How effective political campaigns are organized, and

• What role interest groups play in campaign organization

Political Participation and the Electoral Process

• Politically active and politically inactive voters

• Voters with high levels of income and education

• The 15th, 19th and 26th Amendments and the Voting Rights Act

• Two views about low voter turnout

• Low voter turnout– Party divide– Perception only

• American voters as compared to the rest of the world– Voting age population vs registered voters– Difficulty in registering to vote– American beliefs– American political parties

Political Participation and the Electoral Process, Continued

Check Your Understanding

PROPERTIES

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The Organization of Effective Political Campaigns

• The primary and the primary season• How the electorate votes• The three factors deciding presidential

elections– Voters’ party affiliation– The state of the economy– The character of the candidates

• Retrospective and prospective voters• The two kinds of party realignment

– A party altogether disappears– A massive shift by voters from one party to

another

• Coalitions

The Organization of Effective Political Campaigns, Continued

Check Your Understanding

PROPERTIES

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Interest Groups and Campaign Organizations

• Campaign finance reform laws• Soft money contributions• Politics and their substantial positive

changes• Does the election process make any

difference?• Who does the election system reward?

Summary

• Political participation and what people think they are achieving by participating in the electoral process

• How effective political campaigns are organized, and

• What role interest groups play in campaign organization