Election Unit!

Political Behavior:

Political Parties, Voting & Voter Behavior,

The Electoral Process,Mass Media & Public Opinion,

Special Interest Groups

Parties and what they do:• A political party is a group of citizens who agree on major issues

facing the nation– Broad common interests like economic, social, foreign policy,

etc.– Organize to:

• WIN ELECTIONS• Control the government• Influence government policies

• Two major parties in the United States.– Republican and Democrat

How many parties?

• One-party system– Authoritarian

governments– Gain control

through….?– Examples?– Theocracy –

religious control

• Multi-party system– France has 5, Italy

has over 10– Widely differing

ideologies– CoalitionsCoalitions usually

formed

Political Parties in the US

• The United States has a

“two-party system”.

– Two (2) major parties

– Both parties work to win over voters and control of local, state, and national offices

• Why only two parties?

– Our History

– Tradition

– Our Election System

Why do we have a two-party system?Historical Explanations…

• George Washington warned against, “baneful effects of the spirit of party.”

• James Madison, “the public good is disregarded in the conflicts of rival parties, and…. Measures are too often decided, not according to the rules of justice and the rights of the minor party, but by the superior force of an interested and overbearing majority.”

Historical Explanations cont.

• Ratification produced the first ones – ???– Then you had Federalists (strong central

government) and now Democratic Republicans (strong state governments).

• The force of tradition– Simply accept it because that’s the way

it has been.

Hamilton vs. Jefferson

• Political parties first emerged when followers of Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson disagreed over major issues on the Constitution and government.

• Jefferson’s group: Democratic-Republicans.– Feared a powerful central government.

– Wanted the states to hold more power.

• Hamilton’s group: Federalists– Championed a strong national government

Two Parties…One Administration?

Jacksonian Democracy Reigns

• In 1828, the Democratic Party formed under theguidance of President Andrew Jackson.

– Stood for the common citizen– Looked out for southern and western interests(slavery)

• Those who did not support Jackson formed theirown party called Whigs• The Whigs and Democrats made up the two keyparties in American politics for the next two (2)decades (20 years).

The Two Major Parties Emerge

• In 1854 the Republican Party formed– Opposed the spread of slavery in USterritories– Gained prominent w/ the election ofPresident Abraham Lincoln in 1860

• The Whigs faded from Americanpolitics leaving the Democrats andRepublicans in a two-party system thathas dominated American politics eversince.

What is the difference between a “liberal” and a“conservative”?

“Liberal”

– Equal rights of all

individuals

– Government protection /

assistance

– Gradual change

Issues:

– Equal rights for all

– Social services

– Government assistance

“Conservative”– Personal empowerment

– Limited government

– Personal liberty

– Keep the status quo (unless…)

Issues:

– Less taxation / assistance

– More traditional values

– More economic independence

The Political Spectrum

American Politicians on the Spectrum

Here is how one website places important American political figures on the spectrum.You can take the quiz at

http://www.madrabbit.net/webrabbit/quizshow.html

How do these terms effect our Americanpolitical parties?

Democrats: (“liberal” – “the left”)

Republicans: (“conservative” – “the Right”)

Beliefs:–”Big” Government– Strict Regulations– More social programs– Pro-Choice– Smaller military

Beliefs:– “Small” government– Less Regulations– Less taxes / spending– Pro-Life– Strong military

Parties Move Towards The Center

A platform is astatement that putsforth the party's positionson issues.

– Each individualissue is called a plank.

• Both parties want votes.As a result, parties movingaway from extremepositions.

– “Moderate” (“The Middle”)

Can third parties really compete?

• The Electoral System– Single-member

districts – Ballot obstacles– Financial troubles– USA is

ideologically homogeneous

• Do they impact politics?– Split votes and

change outcome of elections

– Promote unpopular or controversial issues

• They first propose many ideas

Types of third parties• Single-issue - Third parties who base their political

platform on a single-primary issue

– Historical ex: Free Soil Party

• Ideological - Third Parties who base their political platform on a particular set of social or moral beliefs

– Historical ex: Communist, Socialist, Libertarian Party

• Splinter Party - Third parties who have broken away from the major parties to pursue their own agenda

– Historical ex: Bull Moose Party

• Economic Protest Parties – Third parties who base their political platform on economic problems

– Historical Ex: Greenback,Tea Party

How do voters generally receivethird parties?

• Generally, third parties play the role of “spoiler“ in an election

• Sometimes their issues get absorbed into the two-major parties

Should we have a two party system?

Political Parties

The organization of political parties• Talk about Federalism!!!

– National, State, and Local branches thinly connected.

• Select own officers and raise own funds.

• Membership - Member or independent?

• Local Party Organization:– Precinct – voting district,

100-1000’s of people• Don’t forget about

Precinct captains, wards, and party county chairperson

• State Party Organization:– State central committee

and party state chairperson

• National Party Organization:– National convention,

national committee, party national chairperson

What do political parties do?

• Recruiting candidates – to win elections

• Educating the public

• Operating the gov’t

• Dispensing patronage

• Loyal opposition – watchdog

• Reduction of conflict

Voters and Voter Behavior

The Constitution & Suffrage

• The Framers of the Constitution purposely left the power to set suffrage qualifications to each State.

• Suffrage – the right to vote• Electorate – the potential voting population

• What has restricted voting in the past:– Age, gender, race, literacy, property ownership,

religion, language, grandfather clause, poll taxes, etc.

• Today, the size of the American electorate is greater than 200 million people. Nearly all citizens at least 18 years of age can qualify to vote.

Five Stages of Suffrage

• 1st – Religion/Property– Early 1800’s – religious qualifications disappeared.

– Mid 1800’s – property ownership dropped, by this time nearly all white men could vote.

• 2nd – Race– 15th amendment

• 3rd – Gender– 19th amendment

• 4th – Upholding voting rights– 1960’s Voting Rights Acts– No more discrimination!!! Like what…..???– 23rd and 24th amendments

Five Stages of Suffrage

Five Stages of Suffrage

• 5th – Age– 26th Amendment – What historical event was going on at this

time, to make the national voting age lowered to 18?

The Constitution sets five limits on the power that States have to set

voter qualifications:1. Any person whom a State allows to vote for members of

the “most numerous Branch” of its own legislature must be also allowed to vote for members of Congress.

2. No State can deprive any

person the right to vote “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”

3. No State can deprive any person the right to vote on account of sex.

4. No State can require the payment of any tax as a condition for voting.

5. No State can deprive any person who is at least 18 years of age the right to vote.

Voter Qualifications in the States

1. Citizenship - Most States require United States citizenship in order to vote.

2. Residence - One must be a legal resident of a State to vote in elections. Most States require residency for minimum amounts of time in order to vote in the State.

3. Age - The 26th Amendment requires that no State set a minimum voting age above 18.

4 – Registration - National Voter Registration Act (1995)

• Keep ballots at DMV, post office, state offices, etc.

• Former requirements: Literacy (states), Poll Taxes (states)

Issues in Voting• Only about half of

eligible voters turn out in presidential elections.

• Only about 1/3 for off-year elections.

• More vote in federal than state elections.

• Primaries and special elections have the lowest turn-outs.

• Ballot fatigue– Less votes further

down

• Split ticket voting– Delivers blow to party

identification

Why do Americans choose notto vote?

• Many voters who do not exercise their right are known as “cannot-voters”– Aliens– Mentally disabled, Physically disabled– Incarcerated– Religious Beliefs

The Non Voter

• People are satisfied with system

• Distrust the political system

• Bad weather

• Time zone fallout

• Long election procedures

• Apathy

What factors influence whether ornot a person will register to vote?

• Sociological Factors:– Income / Occupation

– Level of Education

– Gender / Age

– Cultural background

– Family

• Psychological Factors:– Party Identification

– Candidates

– Particular issues

Who is MORE LESSlikely to vote? Likely to vote?• Wealth – High

income/occupational status.

• Education

• Age

• Two-party competition

• Strong party identification.

• Younger than 35.

• Not married.

• Lower paying, less skilled professions.

• If you live in the South or in a rural location.

The Ballot

• A device by which a voter registers a choice in an election.– Done in each state by

secret, many diff forms.

• Office-group– Ticket-splitting

• Party-column

The American Election Process

What is an “election”?

• An election is a formal process where members of a community choose an individual for public office

– National

– State

– Local

How are people selected to run in elections?

• Often times candidates must be nominated either by their party or citizens

• Five (5) ways:

– Self-announcement

– Caucus

– Convention

– Direct Primary

– Petition

How to nominate:

• 1.) Self-Announcement – is where the candidate declares their intent to run without a major party’s consent

• 2.) Caucus– Private meetings of party leaders; 19 states use

• 3.) Nominating convention– Official public party meeting to choose candidates for

office• Local to county, county to state• Political machines…. downfall

How to nominate:

• 4.) Primary election– Direct primary – most used method

• Election where party members select people to run in a general election

– Closed Primary – Only party members can vote– Open Primary – Anybody can vote– Blanket Primary – Anybody can run or vote

• 5.) Petition– Self-announcement (oldest)– Write-in candidates

The National Convention

• Held once every four years in late summer.

• Select P and VP candidates.

• Set agenda and platform.

• Unify the party.

What goes into a politicalrun for Congress?

• House:– Raise money (“money” primary)

– Personal Organization

– Visibility

– Benefits of Re-election• Local issues, “pork”, gerrymandering

• Senate:– Whole state to consider

– MORE MONEY

– Split Representation

Who oversees elections in the United States?

• The Constitution gives Congress the power to set elections

– States are responsible for overseeing them

• “Board of Elections”

– A state / local office that oversees polling places and workers

What is the Electoral College?

• Under the Constitution, the Electoral College is a method of electing the president

• States choose electors based on the number

of delegates to Congress

– House & Senate

Election Campaigns• Keep your eyes on the prize…• When do campaigns begin?

– End Election-Day: • 1st Tues, after 1st Mon, in Nov., even # years.

• Must win 270 electoral votes.– 538 electors = 435 reps + 100 senators + 3 Wash

DC electoral votes.– If no one gets that number, the House of

Representatives decides

The Electoral College Map

How does the Electoral College work?

• On Election Day, people vote for their state’s electors

– Gives the electors guidelines to follow

• In December, the electors officially cast their

votes for one candidate or another

– DO NOT have to follow voter preference

Criticisms of the Electoral College

• Several over the years:

– Unequal representation between states

– Unpopular president can win

– Electors can go against the people

Campaign Organization

• Strategy– Aggressive vs. low key– Themes or slogans– What issues stressed?

• Campaign manager – run everything!• Use mass media:

– TV – commercials, Internet, Radio, Magazines• Image…. Soooo important, look at Nixon v. JFK.

Financing a Campaign:Campaign Spending Amounts

• 2004 – Pres and Cong candidates spend $3.9 billion– For what???

• FECA (Federal Election Campaign Act)– 1971, indep from exec

branch, 6 members

• 1.) Require timely disclosure of campaign finance data

• 2.) Place limits on campaign contributions

• 3.) Place limits on campaign expenditures

• 4.) Provide public funding for several parts of Presidential election process

FEC – Federal Election Commission

• 1974 amendment to FECA law.• Must keep record of campaign contributions.

– Open to public

• All contributions over $100 must be reported to FEC.

• Gives Presidential candidates access to public funds.– 3rd parties can get it if they got 5% of the pop vote last

election

• 1976 – Supreme Court said limiting individual campaign contributions to candidates doesn’t violate 1st amend.

Disclosure Requirements: FYI

• No person or group can make a contribution in the name of another

• Cash gifts over $100 are not allowed!

• No contributions from a foreign source

• All contributions must be made through a single campaign comm.

• Any contributions over $100 must have the source and date

• $5000 has to be reported to the FEC no later than 48 hours after it was received.

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act

• No person can give more than :

• $2000 to a federal candidate’s general election campaign

• $5000 to a PAC

• $25,000 to a national party committee

Limits on Expenditures

• Congress first limited spending in 1925• In 1996, no major party contender could

spend more than $30.6 million in preconvention

• After the conventions, the limit for the contenders was $61.8 million

• When Ross Perot ran in 1992, he had no limit because he used his own money.

Mass Media and

Public Opinion

What is public opinion?

• Ideas and attributes a significant number of Americans hold about government and political issues.

• During a campaign, public opinion is important to get a feel for “public mood”

How do we develop public opinion?

• Public Opinion is formed through a number of actions called “political socialization”– Family

– Education

– Occupation

– Race / Ethnicity

– “Peer Groups”–schools,– social characteristics– mass media, etc.

Measuring Public Opinion

• Political party organizations (formed or forming)

• Interest groups

• Mass media

• Letter writing

• Electronic access

• Straw polls– Biased, unreliable, and unscientific

Purpose of Polling

• Provide some input in the policymaking process

• Help candidates detect public preferences

• Provides an outlet for ideas in times other than election years

• Help interpret the meaning of elections

Polling and Elections

• Public’s opinion on the issues help translate the meaning of an election

• Candidates, aware of public opinion, stay away from extremist positions

• Result—political process becomes more responsive to voters

• Elections often between two moderates

Scientific Polling

• 5 components – Random sampling

– Questions must be comprehensible

– Questions must be asked fairly

– Categories of responses must be carefully considered

– Sampling error

Analyzing Polls

• Question? How was the poll conducted?

Self-selected volunteers?Internet Telephone call-in polls

• Sponsor of the study?• Reporting of results

Scientific PollingRandom Sampling

• Usually 1000-1500 sampled

• Idea that each potential voter or adult has the same chance of being selected

• **Stratified Sampling – sampling using subcategories

– Most rigorous sampling technique

– Census data used

– 4 Sampling regions in U.S.

Scientific PollingSampling Error

• In general, the greater the number of people sampled the smaller the sampling error

• Results of polls usually reflect how people will respond with a 95 percent degree of certainty, within plus/minus 3 percentage points

If the election were held today, who would you

vote for President? (+/- 3)

• Obama 48%• McCain 46%

– Add 3 to both. Obama 51%, McCain 49%.

– Subtract 3 from both. Obama 45%, McCain 43%.

– Add 3 to Obama, subtract 3 from McCain• Obama 51%, McCain 43% (O has wide margin)

– Subtract 3 from Obama, add 3 to McCain• Obama 45%, McCain 49% (Mac is now ahead)

• Conclusion? none

Scientific Polling

• In theory, in 19 cases out of 20 the results based on such samples will differ by no more than three percentage points in either direction from what would have been obtained by seeking out all American adults.

Proliferation of Polling

• Proliferation linked to ability of candidates/politicians to raise money to buy polling services– Clinton spent close to $1.9 million alone in

1993 (after the election) on polling

• Hundreds of polls in this as in other presidential campaigns

Polling sites

• Takes an average of all polls.

• www.pollingreport.com

• www.pollster.com

Criticisms of Polling

• People lie– “Likely” or “registered” voters may be

suspect

• Polls show flat snap shots of a three dimensional world

• Passive, often ill informed decisions are substitutes for active expression

Criticisms of Polling

• The wording of polling is important in understanding poll results

• Responses to highly emotional issues are often skewed depending on the wording– Ex. Support for abortion can range from 40 to

90 percent depending on the question asked– Ex. “Welfare” or “assistance to the poor”

Criticisms of Polling

• The Exit Poll

Exit polls may evoke criticism but voter turnout has not been truly influenced

• Polling creates a “bandwagon effect”

• Polling creates an “underdog effect”

The Underdog Effect

• During the primaries, all four candidates claimed at some point to be the “underdog”

• Idea is that people rally around a candidate who is behind in the polls

Is Government Responsive to Public Opinion?

• Government officials pay attention not only to the direction of public opinion but to its intensity (not measurable by polls, can be measured by # of emails/letters/calls)

• When changes in public opinion were clear-cut, government policy usually became consistent with public opinion– Applies to ALL 3 branches

Is Government Responsive to Public Opinion?

• Yet policy can sometimes not be reflective of public opinion– Those who vote often differ in opinion with

those who do not vote – Elected officials respond to voters

• There is nothing sacred about public opinion– Public opinion may be wrong

Where does Mass Media fit?

Mass Media

• All means for communicating information to the general public.

– Like what? TV, Newspapers, Magazines, & Internet

• What role does Mass Media play in our government?

– Think of how the President uses it,

– “Television has done as much to expand the powers of the President as would a constitutional amendment of the three branches of government.”

– J. William Fulbright, 1970

• News release, news briefing, press conference, media event

What role does it play in our government?

• Identifying candidates• Campaign advertising

– Spot advertising

• Keeping an eye on them…– C-SPAN (since 1986)

• 1st amendment– Rights of access, shield laws, libel, fairness

doctrine

• Internet… how has this changed things???

How does the mass media helpedto influence public opinion?

• Because mass media can attract large audiences, people will often look to

• media for political guidance– Political Ads

– Political Commentators

– News Networks

– Political humor?

• Sociologists often call these commentators “opinion leaders”

How do candidates use mass media tohelp their campaigns?

• Candidates will often use the mass media to: – Shape “good” public opinion about themselves

– Shape “bad” public opinion about their opponents

• Examples:– Campaign Ads

– Debates

– Interviews

– Campaign Speeches

1960’s – First TV Presidential Debate

“The people are the only censors of their governors…The only safeguard of the

public liberty…is to give them full information of their affairs through the

channel of the public papers and to contrive that those papers should

penetrate the whole mass of the people.”

Thomas Jefferson, 1787

Special Interest Groups

Example:Tobacco and legislation

What is an Interest Group?

• Group of people with common goals, try to organize and influence gov’t.– Ex: Christian Coalition, NRA, NEA, etc.– Bridge gap b/t citizen and gov’t.

• What do you think J Mad would have said?– “Adverse to the rights of other citizens” – Fed

Paper #10

Interest Groups vs. Parties

• Interest Groups– Don’t nominate

candidates.

– Chiefly concerned with influencing policy.

– Attempt to influence only those policies that directly affect their members.

• Parties– Parties nominate

candidates for office.

– Chiefly concerned with winning elections.

– Must concern themselves with the full range of policy issues.

Interest Group Functions

• Strength in numbers… fair?• Why would you join one?

– Economic self-interests, opinion, social

• Stimulate interest in public affairs.• Provide useful, detailed information to

Gov't officials.• Vehicles for effective political

participation.

Types of Interest Groups:Groups based on economic interests• Business Groups• Labor Groups• Agricultural Groups• Professional Groups• Environmental• Public

• What do they use to get their information out there and to the public?

• PROPAGANDA

8 Types of Propaganda• Spin

– Interpreting a political event or statement from one point of view.

• Plain Folks– Pretend to be a

common person• “I am the

worker’s friend.”

• Bandwagon– Follow the crowed, be

with the majority• “A is voting for X;

so are B, C, and D. Why not you too?”

• Labeling (name-calling)– Don’t discuss facts;

just give the opposition a bad name.• “Un-American”

8 Types of Propaganda• Glittering Generalities

– Broad and vague statements.• “In the interest of

peace and prosperity.”

• Transfer– Use symbols to

accomplish purposes for which they were not intended.• “Uncle Sam”

• Testimonials– Endorsement by a

celebrity.

• Card stacking– Present only one

side of an issue through distortion and juggling of facts.• “2 + 2 = 22”

Lobbying

• The Work of a Lobbyist– Hired by interest

groups– Influence legislation

• Present expert testimony

• Use mass media• Grass-root campaigns

– Shape legislation once passed

• Lobby Regulation– False testimony and

bribery

– Congress requires them to register

– Hard to enforce

Political Action Committees

• Provide funds to interest groups.• Specifically formed to raise money.

– Esp. for political candidates• Created after FECA and FEC passed

– Loophole• Must register with gov’t 6 mos before election.• Can give $5,000 directly to each candidate for an

election.• In 2000 – PAC’s gave $42 million to Senate

candidates and $123 million to House candidates.