USA GOVERNMENT UNIT 6 POLITICAL PARTIES ELECTIONS VOTING

USA GOVERNMENT UNIT 6 POLITICAL PARTIES, ELECTIONS, & VOTING VOCABULARY TERMS

2 parties to choose from!?

IMPORTANT PEOPLE & $ IN VOTING • Campaign Manager The head of the campaign organization. • bosses powerful party leaders • soft moneya contribution to a political party that is not accounted as going to a particular candidate, thus avoiding various legal limitations

GLAD-HANDING – shaking hands with everyone whether you care for them or not (a political tool)

HOW PEOPLE VOTE & PRIMARIES • Cross-Pressured Voter A voter who is caught between conflicting elements in his or her own life such as religion, income level, and peer group. • Straight-Party Ticket When a voter selects the candidates of their party only. • direct primary An election in which party members select people to run in the general election • closed primary A primary in which only registered members of a particular political party can vote • open primary A primary in which any registered voter can vote (but must vote for candidates of only one party).

The Burning Question--Who’s gonna win the states with the most electoral votes?

CHOOSING SIDES IN AN ELECTION • political party a group of people with broad common interests who organize to win elections, control government, and influence government policies. • coalition government Several parties combine forces to obtain a majority • third party A political party other than the two major political parties (Republican and Democratic). • independent not supporting any particular party • patronage Giving political jobs in exchange for political support.

How much do political parties really have to do with this?

GETTING OUT THE INFORMATION • precinct captain a volunteer who organizes party workers to distribute information about the party and its candidates and to get the voters to the polls • Issue Advocacy Campaigns Advertising paid for by interest groups that urges voters to support a particular position on issues such as gun control or health care.

This is the “Marylandforhillary” headquarters & it’s many volunteers

THE TERRITORY INVOLVED • single-member districts An electoral district in which voters choose one representative or official • precinct A voting district • ward A large district comprised of several adjoining precincts. • proportional representation An electoral system in which members of legislatures are chosen in proportion to the numbers of votes their parties receive.

A number of these places to vote occur in each voting district

ORGANIZATIONS RUNNING THE MACHINE • Federal Election Commission (FEC) An independent agency in the executive branch to administer federal election laws. • Political Action Committees (PACs) Organizations established by interest groups to collect money and provide financial support to favored candidates or political parties. • The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BRCA) • A bill that targeted the use of issue advocacy advertising and the use of soft-money donations to national political parties. • state central committee a committee usually composed largely of representatives from the party's county organizations

Here’s a typical example of a Political Action Committee:

THROWING A PARTY TO GET A CANDIDATE • national convention A gathering of delegates of a single political party from across the country to choose candidates for president and vice president and to adopt a party platform. • national committee A standing committee of a national political party established to direct and coordinate party activities between national party conventions • nominating convention An official public meeting of a party to choose candidates for office.

Nominating conventions like this one can draw 1000 s & shut down cities

SOME HISTORY OF VOTING/ELECTIONS • Suffrage The right to vote. • Grandfather Clause Provided that only voters whose grandfathers had voted before in 1867 were eligible to vote without paying a poll tax or passing a literacy test. • Poll Tax An amount of money a citizen had to pay before he or she could vote. • 1965 Voting Rights Act One of the most effective suffrage laws passed in United States history. • theocracy A government ruled by religious leaders

50 yrs. ago, it took an act of Congress to make voting equal for all races

• • THE PSYCHOLOGY OF ELECTIONS Image The mental picture that voters have of a candidate. ideologies Basic beliefs about government. planks An individual belief in a platform A statement of the party's principles, beliefs, and positions on vital election issues.

Some terminology to know:

MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS OF THOUGHT • caucuses An informal gathering where voters express their preference for a candidate. It's a pyramid, starting from a local level, to a county then district then state level. 14 states use caucuses. • plurality Candidate or party with the most votes cast in an election, not necessarily more than half. • runoff primary A second primary election held when no candidate wins a majority of the votes in the first primary. • ticket Candidates for president and vice president

Some states that use the caucus system are Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, North Dakota, Wyoming and Iowa (a crucial state!)