7-14 POLS FINAL open

•McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

Incorporated the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms to the states The Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms for self-defense is applicable to the states

Over 1 million Florida felons win right to vote with Ammendment 4

"In a key ballot initiative, Florida will restore voting rights to citizens convicted of certain felonies after they have served their sentences, including prison terms, parole and probationary periods. Voting rights will not be restored to those convicted of murder or felony sexual offenses." - Flordians gave them the right, republican lawmakers put a big obstacle in the way. In November, Florida voters approved a groundbreaking ballot measure that would restore voting rights for up to 1/5 million people with felony convictions. But the Republican-led Legislature voted on Friday to impose a series of sharp restrictions that could prevent tens of thousands of them from ever reaching the ballot box."

Over 1 million Florida felons win right to vote

"In a key ballot initiative, Florida will restore voting rights to citizens convicted of certain felonies after they have served their sentences, including prison terms, parole and probationary periods. Voting rights will not be restored to those convicted of murder or felony sexual offenses."= a referenda vote given to the voters in FL who approved the restoration of voting rights for ppl who had been convicted "In November, Florida voters approved a groundbreaking ballot measure that would restore voting rights for up to 1/5 million people with felony convictions. ... 6 months later But the Republican-led Legislature voted on Friday to impose a series of sharp restrictions that could prevent tens of thousands of them from ever reaching the ballot box."

How "open" should the party nomination process be?

"Now, in my view, the Democratic Party needs to make fundamental changes. We need to do away with the extraordinary number of superdelegates that now exist in the presidential nominating process. We've got to do away with closed primaries. We've got to reform the caucus system to allow everybody to vote." (Sen. Bernie Sanders, Nov. 12, 2017) a process not open enough Since 2016 the D party responded to sanders has stripped super delegates of their presidential nom power

What about Alternatives to Having the State Legislature Draw the Boundaries

"The 357-page ruling is the first major decision on partisan maps since the Supreme Court ruled in June that even the most extreme gerrymandered maps were beyond its jurisdiction." "The NC court said ... the maps violated the State Constitution's clauses guaranteeing free elections, equal protection under the law and freedom of speech and assembly."

Article I, Section 3

"The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided."

HDD Partisanship as "Tribalism"

"The civil rights movement, culminating in the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act, put an end to this partisan arrangement.... [This would] define the Democrats as the party of civil rights and the Republicans as the party of racial status quo." (p. 169) This ushered in a period of "realignment" between the parties. "The post-1965 realignment also began a process of sorting out voters ideologically. For the first time in nearly a century, partisanship and ideology converged, with the GOP becoming primarily conservative and the Democrats becoming predominantly liberal." (p. 169) REALLIGNMENT= lib repub mostly in NE left the party and became dems, conservative southern democrats suddenly left the party and began sorting into the Republican Party

fourth party system

A term scholars have used to describe national politics from 1896-1932, when Republicans had a tight grip on the White House and issues like industrial regulation and labor concerns became paramount, replacing older concerns like civil service reform and monetary policy.

propotional representation

A multiple member district system that awards seats to political parterres in proportion to the percentage of vote that each party won

party caucus or conference

A nominally closed party meeting to select candidates or leaders, plan strategy or make decisions regarding legislative matters. Termed caucus in the D party and Conference in the R party

whip system

A party communications network in each house of Congress by which whips poll the membership to learn their intentions on specific legislative issues and convey to members the wishes and plans of the leaders

standing committee

A permanent legislative committee that considers legislation within its designated subject area; the basic unit of deliberation in the House and Senate

conservative

A person who generally believes that social institutions (such as churches and corporations) and the free market solve problems better than governments do, that a large and powerful goverment poses a threat to citizens freedom and that the appropriate role of government is too uphold traditional values

Closed Primary

A primary in which only registered members of a particular political party can vote Voters can participate in the nomination of only those candidates of the party in which they have been enrolled for a period of time before primary day

Cloture

A procedure by which three fits of the members of the senate can set a time limit on debate over a given bill

Greg Sargent PEW

A sizable majority of Republicans supports a governmental safety net for the elderly. But far smaller percentages of Republicans supporta governmental role in ensuring access to health care and helping people out of poverty. As Pew's write-up notes, those percentages are by far the lowest of any role for government tested. Ron Brownstein has suggested that Dems are increasingly shaping their agenda around the priorities of an emerging coalition that prizesactivist government, and less so around the preoccupations of culturally conservative white voters who are suspicious of governmentactivism and are drifting into the GOP, thus deepening the partisan divide over government's proper role.

Filibuster

A tactic in which members of the senate prevent action on legislation they oppose by continuously holding the floor and speaking until the majority abandons the legislation. Once given the floor senators have unlimited time to speak and a cloture by 3/5 the senate is req to end the filibuster

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before Congress, April 2018:

Mr. Zuckerberg admitted that the company's efforts to find and stop Russian meddling was 'slow,' and called that failure "one of my greatest regrets.' He said Facebook was tracking known Russian hacking groups in real time but took much longer to recognize the inflammatory posts of the Internet Research Agency, a private company with Kremlin ties." "'There are people in Russia whose job is to exploit our systems,' Mr. Zuckerberg said. 'This is an arms race.'" -NYTimes, April 10, 2018

House Leadership

Nancy Pelosi (CA)- Speaker of the House Steny Hoyer (MD)- Majority Leader James Clyburn (SC)- Majority Whip

Fifth Party System

New real party system, 1932 Franklin Roosevelt, put together a large democratic majority in electorate over republicans that supported his view of great democracy

moot

No longer requiring resolution by the courts typically because the fact of the case have changed or been resolved by other means

judicial review lowi

The power of the courts to determine wether the actions of the president, th congress and the state legislatures are consistent with the constitution

agenda-setting effect

The power of the media to focus public attention on particular issues

Presidential Elections

The presidential election is held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, every four years (2016, 2012, 2008, 2004, etc.). •Presidents are selected by electors, as required by Article II of the Constitution. (This process is commonly referred to as the "electoral college.") •WHY did the framers choose this method for selecting the president? •All 435 members of the House of Representatives and roughly 1/3 of the 100 members of the Senate are also elected on this day, but we've already talked about that a bit.

open rule

The provision by the House Rules Committee that permits floor debate and the addition of amendments to a bill

closed rule

The provision by the House Rules Committee that restricts the introduction of amendments during debate

The Incumbency Advantage

The relative infrequency with which members of Congress are defeated in their attempts for reelection. Incumbents hold their offices at very high rates, even today. •However, an argument can be made that incumbency advantages are not the real threat to a well-functioning Congress right now: -Madison, Federalist 51: "Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. The interests of the man must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place."

ripeness

The requirement that a case must involve an actual controversy between two parties, not a hypothetical one `

standing

The requirement that anyone initiating a court case must show a substantial stake in the outcome

oral argument

The stage in supreme court proceedings in which attorneys for both sides appear before positions and answer questions posted by justices

priming

The use of media coverage to make the public take a particular view of an event or a public figure

majority rule

A type of electoral system in which, to win a seat in a representative body, a candidate must receive a majority (50 percent plus one) of all the votes cast in the relevant district

pocket veto

A veto that occurs automatically if a president does not sign a bill for 10 days after passage in Congress and Congress has adjourned during that 10-day period.

breif

A written document in which an attorney explains why a court should rule in favor of his or her client

pork-barrel legislation

Appropriations that members of congress use to provide goverment funds for projects benefiting their home district or state

What distinguishes political parties from interest groups

is that parties sponsor candidates for gov office under the parties label

seniority

the priority of status ranking given to an individual on the basis of length of continuous service on a congressional committee

nomination

the process by which political parties select their candidates for election to public office

Redistricting

the redrawing of legislative boundaries The redrawing of congressional and other legislative district lines following the census, to accommodate population shifts and keep districts as equal as possible in population. - can become gerrymandering

recall

the removal of a public official by popular vote

due process

the requirement that citizens be treated according to the law and be provided adequate protection for individual rights

Jurisdiction lowi

the types of cases over which a court has authority

opinion

the written explanation of the Supreme Court's decision in a particular case

Even if Americans don't trust the government,

they still want the government to do a whole bunch of stuff."

Why have filibusters

to delay business, to show lack of support for what other ppl are doing such as Amy Cooney barret, - to end a flight you need a vote for cloture

on party polarization Levitsky and Ziblatt HDD

to remind ourselves what they have to say about party polarization: •"Today, however, the guardrails of American democracy are weakening ....[beginning] in the 1980s and 1990s and accelerat[ing] in the 2000s....Donald Trump may have accelerated this process, but he didn't cause it....The weakening of our democratic norms is rooted in extreme partisan polarization - one that extends beyond policy differences and into an existential conflict over race and culture." (p. 9)

Party Polarization in Congress (Desilver article)

two political parties from the 70s to the 90s to the 2010s have become more ideologically distant with less overlap

Voter Turnout

two years ago in midterm elections ( national elections where there is no presidential election at stake) voter turnout hits 50 year high

Senate Filibuster

using the Senate rule of unlimited debate to prevent a bill from passing. - places where 1 or few people can hold progress on a bill - not listed anywhere in the constitution, the senate controls this procedure and can change it - the senate is seen as the more elite body compared to the HOR because they have this access to unlimited debate on the floor and start talking

Congress and "Veto Points"

•"Veto Points" (a place where one or a few people can halt progress on a bill) include: -Speaker of the House/Senate Majority Leader -Committee or Subcommittee -House Rules Committee -Senate Filibuster

Civil Liberties

Civil Liberties are the protections we have to conduct our lives without government intrusion. Based largely on the rights contained in the Bill of Rights. •First Amendment •Second Amendment •Rights of the Criminally Accused •Right to Privacy

Maine has 4 electoral votes.

Clinton earned 3 (winning the state and the 1st Congressional District), Trump earned 1 (winning the 2nd Congressional District)

Administrative Efficiency/Competence/Consistency

Concerns over difficultly filling positions/high turnover rate in the Trump administration... •According to the Brookings Institute's definition, the president's "A Team" includes positions such as National Security Adviser (and Deputy), Chief of Staff (and Deputy), Press Secretary (and Deputy), Senior Intelligence Director of the National Security Council, and CIA Director (and Deputy) •It does NOT include Cabinet offices

Since Trump was elected the Washington Pst has been tracking Trumps political misinformation...

"As President Trump entered the final stretch of the election season, he began making more than 50 false or misleading claims a day. It's only gotten worse - so much so that the Fact Checker team cannot keep up." "In 2017, Trump's first year as president, he averaged six claims a day. That jumped to 16 a day in 2018 and 22 in 2019. So far in 2020, the president has averaged 27 claims a day."

amicus curiae

"Friend of the court," an individual or group that is not party to a lawsuit but has a strong interest in influencing the outcome

Berman article

"There were problems in the primaries, without a doubt, and Sanders is right that the nominating process should be reformed. He's called for open primaries, same-day registration, and abolishing superdelegates - worthwhile ideas that merit more discussion." "Yet not all of these reforms would benefit a future Bernie Sanders. Open primaries, for example, tend to produce more moderate candidates for local offices and can be an impediment to progressive insurgents like Sanders." "Moreover, it's hypocritical for Sanders to call for more democracy in the Democratic Party and ignore the role of caucuses, which are the most antidemocratic part of the nominating process." -while sander raises good points, why is he criticizing states that have closed primaries but not states that use caucuses that benefit him

Marc Fischer article Washington Post

'I've never seen anything like it,' said Frank Luntz, a Republican political consultant who has been convening focus groups of undecided voters for seven presidential cycles. 'Even the most balanced, mainstream people are talking about this election in language that is more caffeinated and cataclysmic than anything I've ever heard." - the end of democracy, to many Americans the future looks dark - democrats were saying how horrible it would be if T won vice versa

past methods to limit voter participation

- property owernershiop and literacy req - poll taxes -race and gender restrictions -placement of polls and scheduling of polling hours -voter registration rules

Political Party Identification txt book graphic

- Gold, ppl who affiliate with no political party bc they label themselves as independents - Number of independents has increased over time - Fewer ppl are associating with the D and R party - Political scientists know tht some independents are not pure, they lean D or R - PEW; shows more independents than D or R but once you add the ppl who lean towards the R, the # of R picks up. - Still more D than R - Out of I D and R, the smallest in recent years is the Republican Party, the Republican Party is currently a minority party. he came into a united house and senate R - more ppl voted for D in the senate but it stays controlled by R bc states like Idaho, NDK, have as much representation in the senate as NY and California

Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 (aka the "Len Bias Act")

- Len od from a coke od and it was framed as a crack od Established a 100-1 sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. (E.G. Established a 5 year mandatory minimum sentence for possessing 5 grams of crack cocaine/500 grams of powder cocaine) Eric Sterling (counsel to the House Judiciary Committee at the time): "We would not have had mandatory minimums if it had not been for Len Bias, because that changed the whole political equation." [This 100-1 disparity was reduced to an 18-1 disparity via the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010]

Party Polarization in the Electorate (Graham article)

- Trend is seen in both the electorate (Graham article on inter-party marriage) and in government (Desilver article on polarization in Congress). - would you want your daughter to marry a democrat - average everyday ppl would say they are upset. at a member of their family marrying someone of another political party - Americans are demonstrating more upset at the same time ppl are less upset at interracial and interreligous marrige - numbers are not very updated after 2010

Modern data on use of judicial review

- early on the Supreme Court rarely struck down acts of congress - in more recent decades the supreme court has been more willing to invalidate acts of congress

How about some more recent data?

- in 2017 2/3 of us adults got their news from social media - "Two-thirds of Americans (67%) get at least some news on social media. This represents a modest increase from 62% in 2016, but ... this growth was driven by substantial increases among older Americans. For the first time in Pew Research Center surveys, more than half (55%) of Americans ages 50 and older report getting news on social media sites, a 10-percentage-point jump from 2016." - Pew Research Center, "Key Trends in Social and Digital News Media," October 4, 2017

Independent Redistricting Commissions

-Elections Clause of Article I, Section 4: •"The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof ..." Non-partisan groups (like in Iowa) who draw up Congressional Districts to prevent gerrymandering

Raysor v. Desantis is from SCOTUSblog.com.

- restrictions passes included req to say that saw has completed their sentence - in the wake of the change to voter access in FL the legislature in FL passed a law that said in order to qualify you would need to finish sentence and pay court costs, fees, and fines or not have right to vote. - this summer. 3 justices announced dissent of letting the Supreme Court staying out of it bc the law would prevent 1 million people from voting. - lower court heard the case and decided last month to uphold FL 2019 law and keep it limiting voters

Professor Gierzynski's work on Harry Potter and the Millennials: Agents of Socialization

- •Professor Gierzynski's work on Harry Potter and the Millennials: -"Millennials" defined as those born between 1980 and 1992 -Compared to millennials who had NOT read the Harry Potter books, millennials who HAD read them were: •More tolerant of diversity •Less supportive of torture •More skeptical about ruling powers •More eager to participate in the political process - correlation btwn reading Harry Potter books and those traits •There is the question of causality in this kind of research: -Does reading Harry Potter books make you more tolerant, or are people/families who are already more tolerant more likely to read the Harry Potter books? -Professor Gierzynski's research attempts to account for this by controlling for things like what kind of political or ideological environment in which kids were raised. - popular culture can affect

The Executive Branch

-"Big Government" (Sargent article) -Administrative efficiency/competence (Lewis article) -Administrative consistency (Graham article) - the president is in charge •Although we've given a LOT of attention to the president, remember that the executive branch also includes the administrative agencies/bureaucracy

What happened in the state of Washington

-"States can require members of the Electoral College to cast their votes for the presidential candidates they had pledged to support, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled...." - -"Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia have laws requiring electors to vote as they had promised, but recent court decisions had come to opposite conclusions about whether electors may disregard their pledges." - -"The Supreme Court resolved the dispute ... by saying that states are entitled to remove or punish electors who changed their votes. In states without such penalties, electors remain free to change their votes." - such as charging them. those 32 states have done nothing wrong. usually electors are faithful

Why does political knowledge, that we don't tend to know much, matter in a republic?

-"[T]hose who lack political information often do not understand where their political interests lie, and thus do not effectively defend them." (Lowi et al., p. 269) - "[T]he political process can be more easily manipulated by institutions and forces that want to do so." (Lowi et al., p. 269) makes us more vulnerable to manipulation

Senator Jim Jeffords (VT)

-2001 defection from the Republican party gave Democrats control of the Senate in the early months of the W. Bush administration. -Recall that in Congress, "Independents" do not formally affiliate with either political party, but that Independents in Congress typically "caucus" with one party or the other.

New Bright line Watch Public

-Compared to before the election, confidence in the election process and legitimacy of the outcome became much more polarized between supporters and opponents of president trump -most notably, confidence in the national vote count plumeted among trump supporters, declining from 56% before the election to 25% afterward -Breif polarization abt voter fraud grew wider- in particular even larger majorities of Trump supporters now believe that fraud is rampant and compared to before the election -more encouraging, willingness to condone political violence declined slightly after the election From october to november there was increased polarization Belief in joe biden as the rightful winner increased among D, decreased among R More polarization among trump supporters and opponents after the election than before Trump supporters were more willing to not accept the results Confidence that votes were counted as intended by level of government; before and after the election asking regular everyday people Since the election we have seen more polarization Trump supporters confidence dropped dramatically in counting of votes Less confidence in national votes than personal local votes Avg everyday americans belief that thousands of illegal votes or more were cast; propaganda is being circulated about elections in cities

Committees play a crucial role in the legislative process

-Markup, hearings, investigation -Committees are also one place of many where a bill can die in Congress (Committees, in other words, serve as a "veto point" in the legislative process) -Committees (and subcommittees) are also where hearings are held

•The Supreme Court has established a three-tiered system for determining when government violates our "equal protection of the laws" ...

-Most scrutinizing of laws that treat us different based on "suspect classifications" like race, legitimacy of birth, religion, national origin (strict scrutiny) -Somewhat scrutinizing of laws that treat us differently based on sex (intermediate scrutiny) -Least scrutinizing of laws that treat us differently based on anything else (including age, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, handicap status, socioeconomic status) (rational basis) •This three tiered system is how SCOTUS interprets the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. State or federal governments can still pass other protections through the legislative process: -Civil Rights Act of 1964 -Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990 -Title IX in 1972

Who still cannot vote?

-Non-citizens, including permanent legal residents Some people with felony convictions. Rules vary by state. Check with your state elections office about the laws in your state. -Some people who are mentally incapacitated. Rules vary by state. -For president in the general election: U.S. citizens residing in U.S. territories

President's options when a bill is passed through Congress:

-Sign the bill to become a law -Do nothing •If Congress is still in session 10 days later, the bill becomes law •If Congress adjourns within 10 days, the bill dies (pocket veto) -Veto (subject to a 2/3 override vote in House and Senate)

President's options when a bill is passed through Congress

-Sign the bill to become a law -Do nothing... (to express disagreement w the law or maybe to be symbolic) •If Congress is still in session 10 days later, the bill becomes law •If Congress adjourns within 10 days, the bill dies (pocket veto) -Veto (subject to a 2/3 override vote in House and Senate)

Why is reducing the size of the government so difficult

-The federal government has a lot of essential programs. (Remember the Department of Energy article) -American Hate Big Government, but They Like What It Does" (Sargent opinion piece) -Cutting programs means creating winners and losers -An entrenched bureaucracy is hard to remove

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

-•When a statute and the Constitution conflict, the Constitution prevails and the statute must be voided. (This is judicial review!) -The Supreme Court was under the leadership of Chief Justice John Marshall. Who is William Marbury? The Supreme Court first struck down an act of congress as unconstitutional. Not v diff from Amy Barret. William was appt to be a low lvl judge of peace in the district of Colombia in the whining days of Adams presidency after he lost the election of 1800 where Jefferson won. Adams trys to pack the judiciary including nominating Marbury but Marbury does not get his paperwork intime bc all the court packing -What is he upset about? - Jefferson commands Madison to not deliver the commissions and Marbury was nom and confirmed but does not get to be a judge -So, what does he do? - he brings his case to the us supreme court immediately. why would he do that? bc congress had passed a law allowing claims like his to go straight to the Supreme Court -What does SCOTUS say about it? - SCOTUS says we feel for you, you should have been allowed to be a judge, but you have brought your case to the Supreme Court imporperly. Congress has no authority to change which cases can come straight to us versus which ones work through the heiarchy in article 3 - article 3 also lays out original jurisdiction = narrow array of cases in which cases can go directly to the Supreme Court NOT marburrys claim

Department of energy four risks

1-It's the office of science for all science in America. I realized pretty quickly that it was the place where you could work on the two biggest risks to human existence, nuclear weapons and climate change." Along the way he'd come to know a nuclear physicist, Ernie Moniz, who asked him to join an M.I.T. task force to study the future of nuclear power. 2-MacWilliams explains, patiently, that there lately have been signs that the risk of some kind of attack by North Korea is increasing 3-It was that the president of the United States would not understand his nuclear scientists' reasoning about the unlikelihood of the Iranians' obtaining a weapon, and that he would have the United States back away foolishly from the deal. 4-Project management.

8th Amendment

8th Amendment ban on "excessive fines" (2019, in Timbs v. Indiana). ban on "excessive fines" No cruel or unusual punishment

Sixth Party System

1968-present. Era of divided government.

Senate election

35 Senate seats are up for election in 2020, including special elections in Arizona and Georgia. Of the 35 Of the 35 seats up in 2020, 23 are currently held by Republicans. statewide, only 1/3 run for reelection every two years

popular loser phenomenon

4 yrs ago

writ of habeas corpus

A court order demanding that an individual in custody be brought into court and shown the cause for detention. Habeas corpus is guaranteed by the Constitution and can be suspended only in cases of rebellion or invasion. p 225

Supremacy Clause

A clause of Article VI of the constitution stating that all laws and treaties approved by the national government are the supreme laws of the United States and superior to all laws adopted by any state or other subdivision

Disenting opinion

A decision written by a justice who voted with the minority opinion in a particular case, in which the justice fully explains the reasonings being her opinion

conference committee

A joint committee created to work out a compromise for House and Senate versions of a piece of legislation/ bill

Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990

A law passed in 1990 that requires employers and public facilities to make "reasonable accommodations" for people with disabilities and prohibits discrimination against these individuals in employment. unfunded mandate

class action suit

A lawsuit in which a large number of persons with common interests join together under a representative party to bring or defend a lawsuit

bicameral legislature

A legislative body composed of two chambers or houses

cacus

A meeting of a political or legislative group, normally closed to nonmembers, to select candidates, plan strategy, or make decisions about legislative matters

Media function and effects

Agenda Setting •Power to bring attention to particular issues and problems •Crime example Priming •Preparing people to take a particular view on an issue, event, or person •"Crime is so bad!" "Our mayor's doing a terrible job with it!!!!" Framing •Influencing how events and issues are interpreted •"We need to do something to prevent crime. Let's increase criminal sentences."

The Power of the Judiciary

Alexander Hamilton, Federalist 78: - lays out the power of the judiciary and key nuts and bolts in the American political system and Hamiltons sense of power or lack of among 3 branches in nat goverment "[T]he judiciary, from the nature of its functions, will always be the least dangerous to the political rights of the Constitution; because it will be least in a capacity to annoy or injure them. The Executive not only dispenses the honors, but holds the sword of the community. The legislature not only commands the purse, but prescribes the rules by which the duties and rights of every citizen are to be regulated." The judiciary, on the other hand, has "merely judgment." - The executive branch is the law enforcing branch but also includes the president, federal law enforcement arms and president is commander in Chief of the military - congress controls the purse (the budget)

right of rebuttal

An FCC requirement that broadcasters give individuals the opportunity to respond to the airing of personal attacks on them

equal time rule

An FCC requirement that broadcasters provide candidates for the same political office an equal opportunity to communicate their messages to the public

executive agreement

An agreement between the president and another country, which has the force of a treaty but does not require the Senates "advice and consent."

single member district

An electoral district in which voters choose one representative- the typical method of representation in the US

single member district

An electoral district that elects only one representative—the typical method of representation in the United States

winner-take-all system

An electoral system in which legislative seats are awarded only to the candidates who come in first in their constituencies. - more states could do what Maine and Nebraska do

Electoral college

An institution established by the constitution for election of the president and VP. Every 4 years voters in each state and the District of Colombia elect electors who in turn cast votes for president and VP. The candidate receiving the majority of the electoral vote for president and VP is elected.

concurrence

An opinion agreeing with the decision of the majority in a Supreme Court case but not with the rationale provided in the majority opinion

The "power of political misinformation"

Birther Myth: Birthirism when Obama was running was the lie that Obama was not born in the United States. NO credible allegation ever thrown against the 1st black candidate brought to the stage by Donald Trump •"His grandmother in Kenya said, 'Oh, no, he was born in Kenya and I was there and I witnessed the birth.' She's on tape. I think that tape's going to be produced fairly soon. Somebody is coming out with a book in two weeks, it will be very interesting." - Donald Trump, April 7, 2011, on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" •"I have people that have been studying [Obama's birth certificate] and they cannot believe what they're finding ... I would like to have him show his birth certificate, and can I be honest with you, I hope he can. Because if he can't, if he can't, if he wasn't born in this country, which is a real possibility ... then he has pulled one of the great cons in the history of politics. - Donald Trump, April 7, 2011, on NBC's "Today" show •The Public Policy Polling survey showed 1/2 through Trumps presidency 59 percent of those who said they viewed the presumptive Republican presidential nominee [Trump] favorably think Obama was not born in the United States and only 13 percent believe Obamas a Christian." only looked at trump supporters -Alex Gangitano, May 10, 2016, Roll Call article

U.S. Supreme Court at the Beginning of the 2015-2016 Term

Bottom Row (l-r): Thomas (Bush I), Scalia (Reagan), CJ Roberts (Bush II), Kennedy (Reagan), Ginsburg (Clinton) Top row (l-r): Sotomayor (Obama), Breyer (Clinton), Alito (Bush II), Kagan (Obama)

Kavanaugh

Brett Kavanaugh is the man nominated by Trump to replace Kennedy. And, according to the New York Times: "Judge Kavanaugh is considerably more conservative than the justice he would replace." What does this mean for the Supreme Court moving forward? Kennedy had a pivotal role in making important decisions, and Kavanaugh being more Conservative will only make the decisions that the court makes more conservative. Existing laws regarding abortion, LGBTQ rights, and gun laws, could be overturned if he is appointed.

Congress and Committees

Congress uses committees to push through bills Senate Judiciary Committee Vote on Judge Amy Coney Barrett's Nomination to the Supreme Court, October 22, 2020 Judge Brett Kavanaugh testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee (Sept. 4, 2018) Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee (Sept. 27, 2018)

To end a filibuster

Current rule (2/3 vote for "cloture") adopted in 1917, changed to 3/5 vote in 1975

•District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)

Court held that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that firearm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self- defense within the home. Ruled the 2nd Amendment protects an individual's right to possess a firearm for lawful, private use (Roberts Court)

•tension and trade-off between "efficiency" and "representation" in Congress ...

Critics of Congress want it to be both more representative and more effective.... [However], polities that may make Congress better able to act - such as strong central leadership, fewer committees and subcommittees, and more members with seniority and experience - may make it less representative. Efficiency and representation are often competing principles in our system of government; we must be wary of gaining one at the expense of the other." (p. 156)

Currently, the House of Representatives is controlled by

Democrats, and the Senate is controlled by Republicans

Brennan Center for Justice The False Narrative of Vote-by-Mail Fraud

Despite this dramatic increase in mail voting over time, fraud rates remain infinitesimally small. None of the five states that hold their elections primarily by mail has had any voter fraud scandals since making that change

3 high profile jurisdictions

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev - Convicted in federal court in Mass nof 30 counts of violating federal law (law passed by congress), including use of a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death, for his role in the Boston marathon bombing in 2013. Donald Fell - Pled guilty in federal court because it is a federal offense to kidnap and bring across state lines. to federal charges related to carjacking, kidnapping, and murder in relation to the death of Terry King in 2000. OJ Simpson - Acquitted on state charges related to the 1994 murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. seen in state court bc it was not different from most muirders

Ross Perot, Independent

EX of the implications of the winner take all system 1992 Presidential Election; Ross did well enough in his support of the public, had his name on enough ballots and he was invited to participate in the presidential debate 19.74 million votes 18.9% of the popular vote, 0 electoral votes bc he never won a popular vote NO electoral college votes Ran again in 1996 as Reform Party candidate, winning 8.4% of the popular vote What changed? 1- Candidates can bring ideas to the table tht resonate w the public to have major party candidates steal those ideas, He emphasized federal spending and concern over increasing national debt . he was very rich= the D and R party noticed and started talking about reducing the debt 2- Back in 1992 you only needed 8% of support. The 2 main political parties don't like ross bc a minor party candidate that gets a lot of attention it makes the parties nervous bc they cannot predict where his support is coming from. So they raised it to 15% by the 1996 debates and could not meet the newer more rigorous demands -how the electoral college makes it difficult for independents or minor party candidate

•Jim Crow

Efforts to deny equal treatment and voting rights to Black Americans in the wake of the ratification of the Civil War Amendments (14th Amendment in 1868, 15thAmendment in 1870) •For voting, this included things like "white primaries," poll taxes, literacy tests, voter intimidation, etc.

New residency law in NH sparks charges of voter suppression and a lawsuit

Essentially, the law changes the definition of a legal resident in New Hampshire, adding new requirements to vote. It means if a student drives, they'd need to get a New Hampshire license and register their car there. It used to be that students - or other part-time residents - could vote in New Hampshire if they were 'domiciled' in the state, which is a fancy way of saying 'lived there fore than anywhere else. - targeting college students, if you have only recently moved you would need to get a DL, register your car, - VT has no voter ID required no wallet req

New residency law in NH sparks charges over voter suppression and a lawsuit

Essentially, the law changes the definition of a legal resident in New Hampshire, adding new requirements to vote. It means if a student drives, they'd need to get a New Hampshire license and register their car there. It used to be that students - or other part-time residents - could vote in New Hampshire if they were 'domiciled' in the state, which is a fancy way of saying 'lived there fore than anywhere else.'"

The Right to Privacy

Established by SCOTUS in Griswold v. CT in 1965: -Right to Privacy is found in the "penumbras" (shadows) of the Constitution - -The Right to Privacy would eventually extend to the constitutional right to have an abortion, be allowed to die, engage in sodomy, and have some protection from suspicion-less drug testing

New Brightline watch experts

Expert forecasts in October correctly identified six nightmare scenarios that did actually transpire among the eight that they forecast most likely, but generally overestimated the probability of outcomes seen as somewhat or not very likely (none of which actually took place) -Experts believe it is highly likely that president trump will continue to refuse to recognize Bidens presidency and to obstruct the transition, and that the president will take actions to protect himself and those around him from legal exposure after leaving office. They regard problems w the electoral college and the formal recognition of Bidens presidency highly unlikely -large majorities of experts regard trumps attacks on us elections and the press as serious or grave threats to American democracy. By contrast, experts do not consider mail in balloting as a threat to democracy and divided over Amy coney barretts supreme court appt. Experts in BLW= political scientsts Experts regarded trump's attacks on us elections and the press as serious threats to american democracy. In november poll experts rated presidents repeated calling the press the enemy of the free people was viewed very negatively Experts classified recent events as usual or highly unusual, not everything trump does is abnormal or important Important and abnormal; from trump presidency: regular claims of fraud after the election, refusal to concede, uncovered plot to kidnap and kill gov whitmer, businesses board up before the election, Expert ratings in US democracy faith/health Experts have more faith in american democracy and it sparked up Less polarization and more convergence, trump supporters dropped and disapporovers upticked Green expert, purple public, red trump supporters

Congress and Political Parties

For each chamber of Congress, the party that has a majority controls committees (membership and chair) and the most important leadership positions.

The Media Brief History (Starr, "Governing in the Age of Fox News")

Founding period through much of 19th century: •Partisan, competitive, and government subsidized •Could help foster "insurgent" candidates (Jefferson in 1800 and Jackson in 1828) •Coining of the term "yellow journalism" in 1890's. 20th century rise of the "mass press" •Rise of radio and television •Coincided with rise of presidential power •Helpful to presidents (FDR, Teddy Roosevelt, JFK) who were good at utilizing the mass media to reach a captive mass public Late 20th century digital revolution •Once again becoming more partisan •Harder for a president to reach a mass audience, but provides opportunity to reach out directly to public

state tools to address valid security concerns and protect election integrity when it comes to mail ballots

Identity verification Bar codes Ballot tracking through the U.S. Postal Service Secure drop-off locations and drop boxes Harsh penalties: Polling sites as a fail-safe Informed citizens are our democracy's best defense

Voter Fraud

Illegal interference with the process of an election. Often involves tactics like illegal registration, harassment or tampering with voting machines. It is an attempt to narrow an election by swaying the direction of a vote

Electoral college

Institution established by the const for the election of the president and vp of the US. Every 4 years, voters ...

Administrative law

Involves disputes about the authority, jurisdiction or procedures of admin agencies

Gorsuch appointment

January 31,2017 - Pres. Trump nominates Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court April 7, 2017 - The Republicans trigger Nuclear option II and eliminate the filibuster for appointments to the Supreme Court, allowing a 54-45 confirmation vote.

yellow journalism

Journalism that exploits, distorts, or exaggerates the news to create sensations and attract readers

•Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on September 18, 2020

Judge Amy Coney Barrett before testifying at the first day of her confirmation hearing, October 12, 2020 Senate Judiciary Committee Vote on Judge Amy Coney Barrett's Nomination to the Supreme Court, October 22, 2020 Chief Justice John Roberts administering the judicial oath to Justice Amy Coney Barrett on October 27, 2020

Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction is the power of a particular court to rule on a particular case. - the judiciary is not a free for all. you have to bring a dispute to court with proper jurisdiction - According to the U.S. Constitution, federal courts have jurisdiction over certain cases, and state courts have jurisdiction over all the others. - state courts hear far more cases than federal courts, 99% •Federal versus state jurisdiction: •Article III, Section 2: "The Judicial Power [of the United States FEDERAL COURTS] shall !! extend to all Cases ... arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made ..." = if u think your us constitutional rights have been violated it is the federal courts business •This list goes on to include things like cases involving controversies between two states, citizens of different states, cases where the U.S. is a party, etc. •This list forms the jurisdiction of federal courts. Other cases are resolved by state judiciaries. - @@ FEDERAL courts have jurisdiction over cases that are federal in nature deals w constitution or involves an act passed by congress so on and so forth... everything else is left to state judiciaries

What happened in 1968

L & Z pointed to 1968 as an incredible turning point in American political party systems and functions - assignation of MLK and Kennedy and in early yrs of Vietnam. Johnson decided not to run so the dems had to scramble to choose their party nom = democratic convention chose Hubert Humphrey who lost in the general election to Nixon

delegates

Legislators who vote according to the preferences of their constituents

Trustees

Legislators who vote according to what they think is best for their consistents

President Trump and the Media

Levitsky and Ziblatt's How Democracies Die here: •"Exacerbating [the people's loss of faith in the leaders we elect] is President Trump's abandonment of basic norms of respect for the media. An independent press is the bulwark of democratic institutions; no democracy can live without it. Every American president since Washington has done battle with the media. Many of them privately despised it. But with few exceptions, U.S. presidents have recognized the media's centrality as a democratic institution and respected its place in the political system." (p. 199) •"President Trump's public insults of media outlets and even individual journalists were without precedent in modern U.S. history." (p. 199) Going back to any reading from this semester, what kinds of "norms" has President Trump violated with respect to how he interacts with the media?

Senator McCain

Majority Leader McConnell (R) watches as Senator McCain (R) votes against "Obamacare" repeal bill, July 2017

Senate Leadership

Mike Pence (IN)- Senate President Chuck Grassley (IA)- President Pro Tem Mitch McConnell (KY)- Majority Leader John Thune (SD)- Majority Whip

Title IX in 1972

No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance

Burlington City Council Supports

Non-Citizens' Voting Rights October 21, 2014

What Are Political Parties?

Parties are organized groups that attempt to influence government by electing its members to office. -Notably, remember that in How Democracies Die, Levitsky and Ziblatt say that "[p]ut simply, political parties are democracy's gatekeepers." (p. 20) the dysfunction at the feet of the 2 political parties. political parties are democracies gatekeepers - when Madison talked abt faction he meant parties and interest groups

Political Parties as Gatekeepers

Parties today try to walk a fine line between being overly "elitist" in selecting presidential nominees, and being overly "inclusive" in the nominee selection process. •But, at the end of the day, you cannot have it both ways with parties as gatekeepers.

Evan Mcmullen

Ran for president 4 years ago didn't win electoral votes - From Utah (very conservative but largely due to mormons it is not very fond of Donald Trump) EX: Mit Romney - Well known figure in Utah and had more success there than ever - good ex of how minor party candidates only have appeal in regional parts of the country

Third Party System (1860-1896)

Republican Party-supported antislavery, capitalism, black rights, strongly northeast and Midwestern Democratic Party - denounced reconstruction, limited slave travel, voting, employment opportunities, prominently southern

25th Amendment (Ratified in 1967)

Section 1: Formally notes that the VP becomes President in case of departure of President Section 2: If VP becomes vacant, President must nominate a new VP, with confirmation by a majority ofboth chambers of Congress Section 3: Allows the president to notify Congress than he temporarily cannot discharge the duties of office Section 4: Allows involuntary removal of president (initiated by VP and majority of Cabinet, with approval by 2/3 vote of each chamber of Congress)

Chief Justice Roberts

Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act is unconstitutional. Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. delivered the opinion of the 5-4 majority. The Court held that Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act imposes current burdens that are no longer responsive to the current conditions in the voting districts in question. Although the constraints this section places on specific states made sense in the 1960s and 1970s, they do not any longer and now represent an unconstitutional violation of the power to regulate elections that the Constitution reserves for the states. The Court also held that the formula for determining whether changes to a state's voting procedure should be federally reviewed is now outdated and does not reflect the changes that have occurred in the last 50 years in narrowing the voting turnout gap in the states in question.

It's up to Congress to set the number of seats in the House.

Set at 435 since 1911. In addition, there are 6 nonvoting members "representing" Washington D.C. and the five inhabited territories.

Presidential Elections are a Two-Staged Process

Stage 1: Nomination Stage (simplified view - we'll add to this later): Political Parties----.> Party nominee Stage 2: General Election Stage (we talked about this last week): Voters Electors-----> Electors President

Blanket Primary

Supreme Court said they violate the rights of constitutional party. political parties generally wan as little interference from outsiders as possible so they did not like it small amount of states that had them Voters get one ballot and can vote in the Democratic primary for president, Republican for governor, Libertarian for House representative, etc. and vote for all

Equal Protection

The Fourteenth Amendment: No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Dr. Christine Blasey

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hear the testimony of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford on Thursday, September 27. This will occur as a continuation of the hearing to consider the nomination of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh to serve as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Following Dr. Ford's testimony, Judge Kavanaugh will appear again before the committee. - "100 percent" certain that Kavanaugh was the boy who pinned her down and tried to force himself on her at a high school gathering in the 1980s.

impeachment

The charging of a government official (president or otherwise) with "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors" and bringing him or her before Congress to determine guilt.

constituency

The citizens who reside in the district from which an official is elected

minority leader

The elected leader of the party holding less than a majority of the seats in the House or Senate

framing

The influence of the media over how events and issues are interpreted

fireside chats

The informal radio conversations Roosevelt had with the people to keep spirits up. It was a means of communicating with the people on how he would take on the depression. informal talks given by FDR over the radio; sat by White House fireplace; gained the confidence of the people

battleground states

The key states that the presidential campaigns focus on because they are most likely to decide the outcome of the Electoral College vote.

The first party system

The original party structure in which political parties were loose caucuses of political notables in various locations. It was replaced around 1824. Federalists and Democratic republicans

Acting Secretary of Defense

The person holds that job but has never been confirmed by the senate. ATYPICAL - many of the cabinet lvl offices during periods when there is an orange bar a head of tht department is vacant or acting. When Spencer became acting secretary, he assumed the full authority and responsibility of the secretary of defense. To ensure continuity, the team supporting the Office of the Secretary of Defense remains in place. -Acting secretaries aren't functionally much different from normal ones. They may be humbler in ambition, due to the nature of how they assumed office, but their powers are broadly indistinguishable." - This is all very confusing, since cabinet appointments are supposed to be confirmed by the Senate." Article II, Section 2 says that any principle "officer" of the United States can only serve with the advice and consent of the Senate.

party polarization

The weakening of our democratic norms is rooted in extreme party polarization acc to L & Z - "Today, however, the guardrails of American democracy are weakening ....[beginning] in the 1980s and 1990s and accelerat[ing] in the 2000s....Donald Trump may have accelerated this process, but he didn't cause it....The weakening of our democratic norms is rooted in extreme partisan polarization - one that extends beyond policy differences and into an existential conflict over race and culture." (p. 9) - Less room for agreement between republicans and dems -•The trend demonstrating that Republicans and Democrats are becoming more ideologically distant from each other. •Trend is seen in both the electorate (Graham article on inter-party marriage) and in government (Desilverarticle on polarization in Congress).

How do Ahlquist, Mayer, and Jackman conduct their study

They conduct a "list experiment" in order to avoid the problem of "social desirability bias." •Do people admit to engaging in in-person voter fraud? •"[O]ur findings are broadly consistent with the claims made by opponents of stricter voter ID laws; voter impersonation was not a serious problem in the 2012 election." (p. 473) •"[W]e see no evidence of any clear relationship between [strict voter ID states] and voter impersonation." (p. 469) •A similar experiment determined that "about 24% of American adults sent or read at least one [text] while driving in the last 30 days." (p. 471) •"[W]e think that respondent error, rather than an admission of fraud, is the more likely explanation." (p. 469) •In a similar experimental design, they found that a similar [small, about 2.5%] percent of Americans indicated that they had been abducted by aliens in the past 12 months. •all the other ways these kinds of studies have been done in the past, all reaching the same substantive conclusion.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

This act made racial, religious, and sex discrimination by employers illegal and gave the government the power to enforce all laws governing civil rights, including desegregation of schools and public places.

A national popular vote interstate compact

VT- voluntary agreement among states to throw their electoral votes to whatever candidate wins the national popular vote (12) States vow that they will pledge their electoral votes to the winner of the popular vote, regardless of the state's winner. Will take effect when states with 270 electoral votes agree to support it. - only work if states can convince their electors to do it

Small State Advantage

Vermont (2016 Census Data) Vermont has 0.19% of the American population (624,594 people/323.1 million people) yet our 3 out of the 538, vt has .56% of electoral college vote = twice as much influence in electoral vote than the popular vote bc the fact that every state gets 2 electoral votes for their 2 senators Vermont has 0.56% of the electoral college vote (3 electoral votes/538 electoral votes) California: 12.15% of population/10.22% of electoral votes

Open Primary

Voters can choose on the day of the primary which party's primary to participate in - VT

The Atlantic Partisanship as "Tribalism"

We think our party identification as more of a substantial part of our identification almost like a religion - the framers were right to be apprehensive of party affiliation Negative partisanship- is associated w PP, a particular form of party polarization = Political scientists/analysists term to explain the D look to R as though R are the enemy and vice versa becoming more separate from each other - party polarization is the start of the problem but the real problem is Negative partisanship "[The Framers] were right to be apprehensive [of partisanship], as is all too clear when you look at the current state of America's political institutions, which are breaking down under the strain of partisan divisions." "In these conditions, democracy devolves into a zero-sum competition, one in which parties succeed by stoking voters' fears and appealing to their ugliest us-versus-them instincts." Although Chua and Rubenfeld don't use this term, what they are expressing here is concern over "negative partisanship." - When pp curdles and devolves into negative partisanship it is probalamtic bc there is no overlap in ideology we don't even live near D & R - R in congress have been pulled more to the ideological right than the D have been pulled to the left

Second Party System: Democrats and Whigs

Whigs (opposed Jackson= Webster, Calhoun, Clay) - fed. gov. aid economic development (American System), cautious of territorial expansion; Democrats (Jackson, Van Buren) - limit fed. gov. power and protect states rights, suspicious of gov. attempts to stimulate commercial/industrial growth, support territorial expansion

Article I calls for

a bicameral legislature, with a House of Representatives that has always been elected directly by the people and a Senate which was initially selected by state legislatures •Article I requires that the seats in the House of Representatives be reapportioned every 10 years after the census. -Senators have been directly elected since the ratification of the 17th Amendment in 1913

Money bill

a bill concerned solely with taxation or government spending

court of appeals

a court that hears appeals of trial court decisions, also called appellate court

referendum

a direct vote by the electorate on a proposed law that has been passed by the legislature or on a specific governmental action

gender gap

a distinctive pattern of voting behavior reflecting the differences in views between women and men

gender gap

a distinctive pattern of voting behavior reflecting the differences in views between women and men - Women are more likely to support democrats than men

writ of certiorari

a formal request by an appellant to have the Supreme Court review a decision of a lower court

Nuclear option

a maneuver exercised by the presiding officer in the Senate that eliminates the possibility of filibusters by subjecting votes on certain matters to a simple majority vote

Nuclear option

a maneuver exercised by the presiding officer in the Senate that eliminates the possibility of filibusters by subjecting votes on certain matters to a simple majority vote - a change in cloture procedure to end filibusters but inlay for certain conditions - only for judicial app confirmations of judges and confirmation votes for other executive branch appointees -2005 near miss- back in 2005 bipartisan group of senators reached an agreement on how to handle filibusters. there were enough mod dems and republicans to agree -2013, by Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) Barack Obama, sen controlled by dems and invoked the nuclear option and changed to cloture rules for lower court appointments and altered it to make it easier to vote for cloture but not for Supreme Court appts -2017, by Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) Pres T elected but dems had enough sense to mast a filibuster right away in 2017 and Mitch mcconel expanded the nuclear opt to the Supreme Court. A F will not be enough for a minority party on its own to stop any appt to Supreme Court or lower judiciary or any other executive appts. R have enough votes to vote for cloture -to pass a bill through the senate you worry act a filibuster. the filibuster still exsists under the old 50% cloture rule -2021 changes? (Reid/McConnell debate)

proportional representation

a multiple-member district system that awards seats to political parties in proportion to the percentage of the vote won

party activist

a person who contributes time, energy, and effort to support a party and its candidates

liberal

a person who generally believes the government should take an active role in supporting social and political change and generally supports a strong role for the goverment in the economy the provision of social services and the protection of civil rights

contingency plan

a plan that outlines alternative courses of action that may be taken if an organization's other plans are disrupted or become ineffective

Political Action Committee (PAC)

a private group that raises and distributes funds for use in election campaigns

Initiative

a process by which citizens may petition to place a policy proposal on the ballot for public vote

socialization

a process in which individuals take on their communities perspectives and preferences through social interactions

party vote

a roll-call vote in the House or Senate in which at least 50 percent of the members of one party take a particular position and are opposed by at least 50 percent of the members of the other party. Party votes are rare today, although they were fairly common in the nineteenth century

Voter Suppression

a strategy to influence the outcome of an election by discouraging or preventing people from exercising the right to vote

independents

a term used to describe people who have no party affiliation

Plurality rule

a type of electoral system in which victory goes to the individual who gets the most votes in an election, but not necessarily a majority of the votes cast

plurality rule

a type of electoral system in which victory goes to the individual who gets the most votes in an election, but not necessarily a majority of the votes cast

logrolling

agreements among members of congress to vote for one another bills

Australian ballot

an electoral format that presents the names of all the candidates for any given office on the same ballot

party identification

an individual's attachment to a particular political party, which might be based on issues, ideology, past experience, or upbringing

issue voting

an individual's tendency to select candidates or parties based on the extent to which the individual agrees with one candidate more than others on specific issues

issue voting

an individuals tendency to base the decision of which candidate or party to vote for on the candidates or parties position on specific issues

political party

an organized group that attempts to influence/control government by electing its members to office

Why is it significant that Kennedy is the justice who left the Court this summer?

and Kennedy joined the conservative wing of the court 11 times; the liberals, five - Judge Brett Kavanaugh testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee (Sept. 4, 2018) - Brett Kavanaugh sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts (Oct. 6, 2018)

The "contingency plan" in the Constitution (not since 1824)

basically what happens if no-one gets a magority of the electoral votes. (if no one wins the electoral college) If that happens House of Reps chooses the Pres(every state gets 1 vote). and Senate chooses the VP. Hasn't happened since 1824.

criminal law

cases arising out of actions that allegedly violate laws protecting herlth, safety and morals of the community

civil law

cases involving disputes among individuals or between the goverment and individuals that do not involve criminal penalties

public law

cases involving the powers of government or rights of citizens. The goverment is the defendant. Constitutional law involves judicial review of the basis of govt action in relation to specific clauses of the constitution as interp by Supreme Court cases.

public opinion

citizens' attitudes about political issues, personalities, institutions, and events

patronage

direct services and benefits that members of congress provide to their constituents especially making partisan appointments to offices and conferring grants, licenses, or special favors to supporters

casework

effort by members of congress to gain the trust and support of constituents by providing personal services. one important type of casework is helping constituents to obtain favorable treatment from the federal bureaucracy

Article I, Section 8 details Congress

enumerated or expressed powers (including the power to declare war, tax and spend, regulate commerce among the several states) -Congress also has implied powers via the necessary and proper clause (aka the elastic clause)

prior restraint

government censorship of information before it is published or broadcast an effort by a governmental agency to block the publication of material it deems libelous or harmful in some other way; censorship; in the United States, the courts forbid prior restraint except under the most extraordinary circumstances

In addition to high turnover rate, the Trump administration is also atypical in

how many people are in "acting" positions. "I like acting. It gives me more flexibility. Do you understand that?" - January, 2019

Ahlquist, Mayer, and Jackman (2014)

is voter fraud really a big problem? Common CATEGORIES methods for determining the 1- prevalence of election irregularities rely on reported incidents, prosecutions, and convictions ...; 2- survey data ...; 3- and election forensics using statistical tools to look for anomalous patterns." (p. 463) "Virtually all of the major scholarship on voter impersonation fraud ... has concluded that it is vanishingly rare, and certainly nowhere near the numbers necessary to have an effect on any election." (p. 463) •Yeah, but, maybe this is because states with more restrictive voting laws are solving the problem of in-person voter fraud? "[W]e see no evidence of any clear relationship between [strict voter ID states] and voter impersonation." •Yeah, but, maybe even with the fancy "list experiment" people still don't want to admit that they committed voter fraud? A similar experiment determined that "about 24% of American adults sent or read at least one [text] while driving in the last 30 days." (p. 471) •"[O]ur findings are broadly consistent with the claims made by opponents of stricter voter ID laws; voter impersonation was not a serious problem in the 2012 election." (p. 473) So, how do Ahlquist, Mayer, and Jackman conduct their study? They conduct a "list experiment" in order to avoid the problem of "social desirability bias." - these studies regardless of the approach taken voter fraud is very rare

judicial activism

judicial philosophy that posits that the Court should go beyond the words of the Constitution or a statute to consider the broader societal implications of its decisions

judicial restraint

judicial philosophy whose adherents refuse to go beyond the clear words of the Constitution in interpreting the document's meaning

Caucuses

meetings of party leaders to determine party policy or to choose the party's candidates for public office -biden had more delegates at the Democratic Party convention

Party Polarization in congress

more than ever - in primaries more polarized people will vote to get more polarized candidates - in general election get more polarized candidates - moderate candidate are rarely elected

Obstacles for Minor/Third Parties (and Independent Candidates)

most US elections operate by the winner-take-all system, which awards seats only to the candidate or party who wins the most votes in an election; independent or third-party candidates, who have neither the name recognition nor the organizational support provided by the major parties, rarely win the majority of votes. Second, the two major parties frequently incorporate the platforms of third parties into their own platforms; voters who identified with a third-party issue will often vote for a major party candidate who has adopted that issue because major parties are more likely to succeed.

Burlington VT city council voted to support

non citizens to vote. not approved yet - VT and Maine have lowest restriction on felons rights to vote

Single member district

one and only one person wins the only seat up for grabs

gerrymandering

the drawing of electoral district lines to the advantage of a party or group

precedents

past cases whose principles are used by judges as the basis for their decisions in present cases

critical weakening of political parties as gatekeepers, starting after 1968, to round out some of the points raised in How Democracies Die.

political parties role as gate keepers like keeping authoritarian leaders out of goverment

Super delegates

political parties used to choose canidates in backroom delagates who get to vote for the nom and are chosen by party leaders. article on Jeff Greenfield argued if Republican Party had super delegates in reserve that the party leaders themselves can choose he would not have won party leaders and elected officials who become delegates to the national convention without having to run in primaries or caucuses

the Supreme Court said political parties are essentially

private organizations have some constitutional rights inclusding 1st amendment right to association. political parties however are not purely private entities

reapportionment

redistributing the 435 seats in the House among the 50 states every 10 years after the national census.

Partisan Gerrymandering

redistricting controlled by the majority party in a state's legislature, to increase the number of districts that party can expect to carry

Civil Rights

relate to the idea that the government must treat us equally and provide equal access to government. Based on the 14th Amendment, other Amendments, and statutes (such as the Voting Rights Act) ie- voting rights and equal protection underr the law

independent

running without any party label

Republicans are less likely to

see a major role for government in most areas

Elections clause

state legislatures regulate the time place and manner of elections

Brett Kavanaugh

testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee (Sept. 4, 2018) accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault in 1983. Kavanaugh categorically denied the allegations made by Ford and Ramirez.

Speaker of the House

the chief presiding officer of the House of Representatives. The speaker is elected at the beginning of every congress on a straight party vote and is the most important House leader. The Speaker is the most important party and House leader, and can influence the legislative agenda, the fate of individual pieces of legislation, and members' positions within the House

incumbent

the current officeholder

Gerrymandering

the drawing of electoral districts in such a way as to give advantage to one political party redrawing legislative boundaries for some sort of political advantage Process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power.

oversight

the effort by Congress, through hearings, investigations, and other techniques, to exercise control over the activities of executive agencies

majority leader

the elected leader of the party holding the seats in the House of Representatives or in the Senate. In the house- the majority leader is the subordinate in the party hierarchy to the speaker.

Hamilton said

the federal judiciary is the weakest branch of the 3 bc federal courts do not have the big formal powers that the other branches - all the judiciary has is Merlyns its judgement.... begins to change in the development of judicial review: judiciary power to rule on the constitutionallty of the other branches actions. NOT mentioned in the constitution but referenced in federalist 72

trial court

the first court to hear a criminal or civil case

Supreme Court

the highest judicial court in a country or state.

Chief justice

the justice on the Supreme Court who presides over the courts public sessions

The neuclar option

the no changed the cloture rule to req only a simple man to end a filibuster over judicial appointments and executive branch confirmations

turnout rate

the number of people who vote in a given election divided by the number of people who are allowed to vote

turnout rate

the number of people who vote in a given election divided by the number of people who are allowed to vote in it

majority party

the party that holds the majority of seats in a legislative chamber (House or Senate)

senatorial courtesy

the practice whereby the president, before formally nominating a person for a federal judgeship, seeks the indication that senators from the candidate's own state support the nomination

veto

the president's constitutional power to turn down acts of Congress. A presidential veto may be overridden by a two-thirds vote of each house of Congress

Prospective voting

voting based on the imagined future performance of a candidate

Retrospective voting

voting based on the past performance of a candidate

roll call vote

voting in which each legislators yes or no vote is recorded

at the beginning of the republic voting rights were restricted to

white men over 21

Political Socialization

• every person has Preferences are developed through social lives - upbringing, schooling, religion, and experiences with coworkers and friends •This is called political socialization - The process of learning the underlying beliefs and values on which the political system is based.

Ahlquist, Mayer, and Jackman (2014)

•"Common methods for determining the prevalence of election irregularities rely on reported incidents, prosecutions, and convictions ...; survey data ...; and election forensics using statistical tools to look for anomalous patterns." (p. 463) •"Virtually all of the major scholarship on voter impersonation fraud ... has concluded that it is vanishingly rare, and certainly nowhere near the numbers necessary to have an effect on any election." (p. 463)

Civil Liberties: The First Amendment

•"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." •Note the absolutist language ("Congress shall make NO law") •That absolutist language has never been interpreted literally

presidents that said democracy is best

•"Even if progress follows a winding path - sometimes forward, sometimes back - democracy is still the most effective form of government ever devised by man." (President Obama, Nov. 2016) •"Democracy is not perfect, it is not the path to utopia, but it's the only path to national success and dignity." (President W. Bush, Nov. 2003) •"Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time...." (Winston Churchill, Nov. 1947)

Zeynep Tufekci, "America's Next Authoritarian Will Be Much More Competent:"

•"Make no mistake: The attempt to harness Trumpism - without Trump, but with calculated, refined, and smarter political talent - is coming. And it won't be easy to make the next Trumpist a one-term president. He [or she or they - Professor Holmes' addition] will not be so clumsy or vulnerable. He [same addition - Professor Holmes] will get into office less by luck than by skill." (p. 5) We should expect problems to continue The attempt to harness trumpism- without trump but with calculated, refined, and smarter political talent- is coming."

recess appointments

•"The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session."

HDD say about future of democracy

•"Writing this book has reminded us that American democracy is not as exceptional as we sometimes believe." (p. 204) •And we must remember that the long-standing 20th century stability of American democracy came at the expense of racial equality. •How should the Democratic Party respond? -They should not "follow suit" •Levitsky and Ziblatt remind us again that sacrificing racial equality to achieve less polarization and increased the sharing of norms is a "terrible idea" •This is "America's great challenge," and if we can pull it off, "America will truly be exceptional" (p. 231)

but, some people in the experiment DO admit to voter fraud, don't they?

•"[W]e think that respondent error, rather than an admission of fraud, is the more likely explanation." (p. 469) - •Remember all the other ways these kinds of studies have been done in the past, all reaching the same substantive conclusion. •In a similar experimental design, they found that a similar [small, about 2.5%] percent of Americans indicated that they had been abducted by aliens in the past 12 months. - people in the control group was v similar to the number of prompts to ppl in the treatment group said they engaged in. Even in trying to trick ppl it did not engage in voter impersonation in 2012

Veto Points

•(a place where one or a few people can halt progress on a bill) include: -Speaker of the House/Senate Majority Leader -Committee or Subcommittee -House Rules Committee -Senate Filibuster -President

The electorate has expanded throughout American history

•15th Amendment (1870): "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged ... on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." •19th Amendment (1920): "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged ... on account of sex." •26th Amendment (1971): "The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged ...on account of age."

Where We Get Our News Meyers, 2016 article in The Atlantic:

•81% of Americans get some of their news through websites, apps, or social platforms. •57% of U.S. adults "often" get their news from television (but, this is mostly older people) •"[O]nly about a quarter of 20-somethings and college students are regular TV news watchers - but 50 percent of them are regular online news consumers." -gap btwn television and online news consumption narrows from 2016 - more Americans get news from social media than print newspapers

Congress is the first branch

•According to James Madison (Federalist 51):"In republican government, the legislative authority necessarily predominates." Therefore, the legislative branch is dealt with first and in the most detail in Article I of the Constitution

Concerns over difficultly filling positions/high turnover rate in the Trump administration...

•According to the Brookings Institute's definition, the president's "A Team" includes positions such as National Security Adviser (and Deputy), Chief of Staff (and Deputy), Press Secretary (and Deputy), Senior Intelligence Director of the National Security Council, and CIA Director (and Deputy) •It does NOT include Cabinet offices •"One of the limitations of this approach is that it does not consider multiple departures within a single position, a common phenomenon within the Trump team." •President Trump is on his fourth Chief of Staff, his sixth (or seventh, depending on how you count Sean Spicer) Communications Director, his fourth National Security Adviser (not including two acting advisers who served about a week each), and his fifth Deputy National Security Adviser •In addition to high turnover rate, the Trump administration is also atypical in how many people are in "acting" positions. •Acting secretaries aren't functionally much different from normal ones. They may be humbler in ambition, due to the nature of how they assumed office, but their powers are broadly indistinguishable." •"This is all very confusing, since cabinet appointments are supposed to be confirmed by the Senate." Article II, Section 2 says that any principle "officer" of the United States can only serve with the advice and consent of the Senate.

The Executive Branch

•Although we've given a LOT of attention to the president, remember that the executive branch also includes the administrative agencies/bureaucracy: Concerns over: -"Big Government" (Sargent article) -Administrative efficiency/competence (Lewis article) -Administrative consistency (Graham article)

Independence and Legitimacy

•Article III grants federal judges lifetime tenure. •"The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good behavior." •Judges CAN be impeached, through the same mechanism through which presidents can be impeached •Legitimacy is the idea that the public has faith in institutions, which gives those institutions the ability to exert their influence. •Legitimacy is particularly important for the judiciary and the judiciary has been viewed as being particularly legitimate among the American people.

The Structure of the Federal Judiciary

•Article III of the Constitution states that... "The judicial Power of the United States shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish." •However, the number of justices on the Court is left to Congress. (Has been set at 1 Chief Justice and 8 Associate Justices since 1869.)= in the constitution the only court that is req is one Supreme Court however the const is silent abt what is should look like or how many ppl are on it- left up to congress they altered number of justices on the Supreme Court to favor the president up to congress. - since 1869 the # of chief justices has been left alone for abt 150 yrs, there was some progressive dems in the appt of Amy coney barrel to alter the number bc republicans will still control the senate •And, the rest of the federal judiciary is up to Congress. - In the Judiciary Act of 1789, Congress created trial courts (called "district courts") and intermediate courts (now called "courts of appeals" or "circuit courts") and at the bottom district trial courts . - not only to dictate what the Supreme Court looks like but what the rest of the federal judiciary looks like; 3 tier system

The Judiciary and the U.S. Constitution

•Article III; deals with the judicial branch is the shortest and least detailed of the three main articles. the framers were the least concerned abt the judicial branch they were most concerened act establishing a nat goverment that was too strong like Britain... judiciary was a little bit of an afterthought - framing of constitution was contextualized by the failure of the AOC without a strong judiciary •article 1= congress, article= executive and president •constitution does lay out the basic structure, power, and qualifications for office. - Let's dispense with qualifications: There aren't any, at least according to the U.S. Constitution. there are informal ones not in the constitution

Presidential Debate Access

•Commission on Presidential Debates •Non-partisan, non-profit. trump refuse to do virtual debate •the commission is responsible to sets terms for number, format, access, and moderation of presidential general election debates. - over a yr ago Pete butegege, Bernie, booker WAS on the parties NOT the commission - How does the commission on president debates set the terms to access to pres debates •Access determined by three criteria: •Constitutional eligibility for presidency, if you are not old enough or not a native born American you are out •Evidence of ballot access (mathematical possibility of winning electoral college) HARD for minor parties, evidence minors or independents are on the ballot in enough states that there is a possibility they could win, Kayne could not participate in the presidential debates •Electoral support (at least 15% of national electorate by at least five national polling organizations selected by CPD) to show they have some support nationally

The Judiciary

•Courts serve the essential functions of settling disputes and interpreting the law ( legislative passes, executive enforces and judicial interprets) when congress for ex passed the civil rights act, the judiciary interprets involving siputes around that law •The most distinctive feature of the federal judiciary is its independence - it is separate from the other branches and federal judges have life terms - Federalist 51 JM, Judicial needs to be separate - LOWER LVL COURTS HANDLE PERSONAL DISPUTES like child custody •Because judges have preferences about what government should do, courts are fundamentally political institutions - PROF and political scientists " the courts are fundamentally political institutions and to pretend that judges to not have political preferences is a naive way to look at

-Elections Clause of Article I, Section 4:

•In 2015 (Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission), SCOTUS (in a 5-4 decision, written by Ginsburg) ruled that "legislature" in the Elections Clause includes citizen-led referenda and initiatives, allowing citizens the power to delegate authority over congressional redistricting to some other entity, like a commission.

Civil Liberties:The Second Amendment

•Denniston article; "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." •District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) •McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

How does the electoral college work?

•Each state is allotted a number of electors based on their representation in Congress. •So, Vermont has 1 House member and 2 senators = 3 electors •Massachusetts has 9 House members and 2 senators = 11 electors •California has 53 House members and 2 senators = 55 electors •538 electors total divided among the 50 states and DC. A candidate needs a majority (270 or more) of electors to win. •Almost all states award electors on a winner take all basis. 1) Each state is awarded a certain number of Electoral College votes (ECVs). 2) This number is equal to that state's representation in Congress - the number of Senators (2) plus the number of Representatives. Thus, in 2008, California had 55 ECVs while Wyoming had only 3. 3) There are a total of 538 ECVs. 4) To win the presidency, a candidate must win an absolute majority of ECVs - that is, 270. 5) Whichever candidate wins the most popular votes in a state receives all the ECVs of that state. This is not in the Constitution, but 48 of the 50 states have a state law requiring it. 6) The other two states - Maine and Nebraska - award ECVs on a different basis, depending on who wins the presidential vote in each congressional district. 7) The Electoral College never meets together. The Electors meet in their respective state capitals on the Monday after the second Wednesday in December and send their results to the vice-president in Washington DC. 8) If no candidate wins 270 ECVs, the president would be elected by the House of Representatives, each state having 1 vote - that is, a total of 50 votes. 9) The vice-president would be elected by the Senate, each Senator having 1 vote - that is, a total of 100 votes. 10) The winners would need to receive an absolute majority of the votes in the respective chambers. 11) Only twice has the Electoral College failed to come up with a winner and the election been thrown to Congress - 1800 and 1824

Civil Liberties:First Amendment and the Religious Right

•Epstein and Posner Article: the Roberts church has used the first amendment to advance conservative christian values •Recall that the First Amendment also includes the two religion clauses •But, conservative litigants have also been looking to the free speech provision, and the "right to association" based in the First Amendment

Political Knowledge

•From your textbook (p. 268): • "Since the advent of polling in the 1930s, studies have repeatedly found that the average American appears to know little about current events or even basic facts of American government." Americans do not know very much act American govt •Why is this the case? - Education/Information is costly to acquire? Time too -Lack of interest/sense of relevance? a lot are apathetic and aren't interested -Education? Lack of good civic edu over time in the US dropping the ball educating informed citizens -Media? not effective informing the public acting more to entertain than to inform -Politicians themselves? All the way back to athenian idea of direct democracy, the leaders themselves have an obligation to help inform us and over time that ideal has been lost

•Doctrine against "prior restraint" (Near v. Minnesota, 1931)

•Government cannot prevent publication of material, except in extraordinary circumstances (national security, obscenity, incitement of violence)

In addition to the three Supreme Court justices that Trump has appointed ...

•He has also so far appointed 53 court of appeals judges and 168 district court judges (for a total of 221 lower court judges so far) •By way of comparison, by the end of their first term in office, Obama had appointed 169 judges, W. Bush appointed 204, and Clinton appointed 203 •Now would be a good time to remind you about how Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell inherited and extended the "nuclear option" •Now would also be a good time to remind you what Levitsky and Ziblatt have said about judges... •In their chapter on "Subverting Democracy," Levitskyand Ziblatt write about how "it always helps to have the referees on your side." (p. 78) •"Capturing the referees provides the government with more than a shield. It also offers a powerful weapon, allowing the government to selectively enforce the law, punishing opponents while protecting allies." (p. 78)

Is Gerrymandering Legal?

•In 2019, SCOTUS ruled (5-4) that: • "[E]xcessive partisanship in districting leads to results that reasonably seem unjust" but that concerned voters should look to state laws/constitutions to challenge, or by establishing independent redistrict commissions to draw legislative maps. •In dissent, Justice Kagan noted: -"[T]he practices challenged in these cases imperil our system of government. Part of the Court's role in that system is to defend its foundations. None is more important than free and fair elections." -"With respect but deep sadness, I dissent." Political gerrymandering is legal, racial gerrymandering is not.

•Voting Rights Act of 1965:

•Included "general provisions" that applied nation-wide: bans on establishment of "prerequisites to voting" such as literacy tests; bans on dilution of vote • •Included "special provisions" that apply only to certain jurisdictions: Section 5 "preclearance requirement," which prohibits certain jurisdictions from implementing any change affecting voting without getting preapproval from the U.S. Attorney General or a U.S. District Court judge. 1965; invalidated the use of any test or device to deny the vote and authorized federal examiners to register voters in states that had disenfranchised blacks; as more blacks became politically active and elected black representatives, it rboguth jobs, contracts, and facilities and services for the black community, encouraging greater social equality and decreasing the wealth and education gap

Freedom of the Press

•Included in the First Amendment: •"Congress shall make no law ... prohibiting ... the freedom of the press." •Never interpreted literally. •The government CAN limit or regulate the press at times. However, a key constitutional rule here is that the government can rarely engage in "prior restraint."

What do the following presidents have in common?

•John Quincy Adams, elected in 1824 •Rutherford B. Hayes, elected in 1876 •Benjamin Harrison, elected in 1888 •George W. Bush, elected in 2000 •Donald J. Trump, elected in 2016 United States presidential elections in which the winner lost the popular vote

Critics of Judicial Review

•Judge Gibson, Eakin v. Raub (1825, PA Supreme Court): •"[I]t is by no means clear, that to declare a law void which has been enacted according to the forms prescribed in the constitution, is not a usurpation of legislative power." •"But suppose all [branches] be of equal capacity, in every respect, why should one exercise a controlling power over the rest?" •"I am of the opinion, that it rests with the people, in whom full and absolute sovereign power resides, to correct abuses in legislation, by instructing their representatives to repeal the obnoxious act." •Today, virtually no one would seriously question the power of judicial review, but the regularity with which SCOTUS has used this power has been criticized.

Judicial Review

•Judicial Review is the power to rule on the Constitutionality of what the other branches are doing. •Not formally mentioned in the Constitution, but Hamilton referenced it in Federalist 78: •"Limitations [to legislative authority]...can be preserved in practice no other way than through the medium of courts of justice, whose duty it must be to declare all acts contrary to the manifest tenor of the Constitution void. Without this, all the reservations of particular rights or privileges would amount to nothing." - in the separation of powers, the judiciary needs the pwr of judicial review to make sure the other branches do not overstep their power w/o our rights would mean nothing

Judicial Review adopted

•Judicial review was first adopted by the Supreme Court in Marbury v. Madison in 1803. •In Marbury, SCOTUS (the Supreme Court of the United States) first struck down an act of Congress. •Judicial review would extend to actions of all parts of the federal, state, and local governments. - federal courts cannot rule on everything that state and local governments do but if they violate your - Most significant power courts have is judicial review

Appointment of Federal Judges EX

•Justice Scalia died on February 13, 2016. •President Obama nominated D.C. Court of Appeals Judge Merrick Garland to replace Scalia on March 16, 2016. •Then what happened? Trump's 2016 campaign represented the death of expertise because Trump unleashed an attack on expertsOriginal 'birther'Sided with anit-vax activism Supreme court justice Scalia was 'murdered' Accusations of Ted Cruz's father, involved in the JFK assassination. - Due to the increased polarization within Congress and especially during the Obama presidency, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has worked to further stoke the flames within the nomination and confirmation of Supreme Court nominees. This can be seen following the sudden death of Justice Scalia in February 2016, and the nomination of Judge Merrick Garland by President Obama. With 9 months remaining until the presidential election, McConnell stated that the American electorate should have a say in who the next judicial nominee be by voting for president and seeing the results. - As a result, President Trump nominated Judge Gorsuch to fill Justice Scalia's vacant seat, followed by Judge Kavanaugh in June 2018 when Justice Kennedy announced his departure .... The Democrats have not forgotten this and have stated that come the time that this happens, they will not hesitate to do the same if the opportunity presents itself. -President Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch on Jan. 31, 2017, and Gorsuch was confirmed on April 7, 2017. •Was there anything President Obama could do here (aside from write op-eds about it)? •Article II give the president power to make recess appointments: •"The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session."

Limitations on Judicial Power

•Little formal power (e.g. budget) •Cannot enforce their decisions alone: The Supreme Court has no power to enforce its decisions. It cannot call out the troops or compel Congress or the president to obey. The Court relies on the executive and legislative branches to carry out its rulings. In some cases, the Supreme Court has been unable to enforce its rulings. •Normal check and balance stuff ... especially the appointment power ...

Lowi are not the only who worry about Political Misinformation

•Lowi et al. are not the only authors we have read this semester who have worried about political misinformation: ALL from HDD -"Perhaps President Trump's most notorious norm-breaking behavior has been lying." (How Democracies Die, p. 197) systematic lying -"[P]oliticians typically avoid lying by changing the topic of debate, reframing difficult questions, or only partly answering them. President Trump's routine, brazen fabrications are unprecedented." (p.198) politicians tend to not lie bc they are concerned they will get caught instead they do things we find annoying like refusing to answer questions but trump is NOT a typical politician he lies all the time. our access to credible info is jeopardized and credible evidence can be eroded -"When the president of the United States lies to the public, our access to credible information is jeopardized, and trust in government is eroded." (p. 199)

Appointment of Federal Judges

•Nominated by the president "by and with the advice and consent of the Senate." • •Let's talk about the last three appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court (Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett)

Data shows extremely high turnover in trump administration

•Note that these turnover data "include only the president's initial team of advisers and when one departs, the position falls out of the sample." •"One of the limitations of this approach is that it does not consider multiple departures within a single position, a common phenomenon within the Trump team." •For example, President Trump is on his fourth Chief of Staff, his sixth (or seventh, depending on how you count Sean Spicer) Communications Director, his fourth National Security Adviser (not including two acting advisers who served about a week each), and his fifth Deputy National Security Adviser •Note that the list of Cabinet-level turnover "adheres to a strict definition of Cabinet by only including the heads of the executive departments," and not offices like the EPA administrator, whom many presidents often promote to Cabinet-level status.

Congress is organized through

•Political parties •Committees

•Some parts of the Bill of Rights are still not incorporated into the Fourteenth Amendment

•Protections that do not apply to state/local governments include quartering of troops (3rd), Grand Jury indictment (5th), speedy trial (6th), jury trial for civil cases (7th), protection against excessive bail (8th)

Civil liberties Kinds of speech

•Pure, Political Speech: •Time, place manner restrictions, in ways that are content neutral •SCOTUS in 1919: Freedom of speech would not "protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic" •Symbolic Speech: •AKA, "expressive speech," is when people are making a point through symbols rather than the spoken or written word •Symbolic speech is also strongly protected when it is used to express political or social viewpoints: •EX: in Texas v. Johnson in 1989, SCOTUS ruled on the constitutionality of a statute that made it a criminal offense to desecrate the American flag. •Commercial Speech

Voter ID Laws

•Purportedly enacted in order to prevent "in person" voter fraud. •About 135 million people voted for president in 2016. If even 2 million people voted illegally, this means that about 1.5% of voters in 2016 cast an illegal vote. - he said he won lol - in person voter fraud (every day ppl who steal peoples info or vote multiple times) laws requiring that voters show government made ID at polls, done by Republicans to decrease voter fraud but also deters lots of Democrats from voting because elderly and poor are less likely to get a good enough ID

Racial Gerrymandering

•Race cannot be the predominant factor in drawing legislative boundaries The drawing of election districts so as to ensure that members of a certain race are a minority in the district; ruled unconstitutional in Gomillion v. Lightfoot (1960).

Functions of Parties

•Recruiting candidates •Nominating candidates •Getting out the vote •Facilitating electoral choice

Rights of the Criminally Accused

•Relevance of treatment by Great Britain to development of Bill of Rights •Keep in mind the importance of selective incorporation here •Includes protection against unreasonable search and seizure (4th), self-incrimination (5th), cruel and unusual punishment (8th), and the right to counsel (6th) •4th Amendment: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable search and seizure, shall not be violated." •But not all searches are treated equally by SCOTUS: •House versus car versus schoolkids: illegal strip search

Basis of Civil Liberties:The Bill of Rights

•Remember that to get the Constitution ratified, Federalists had pledged to amend the Constitution by adding a Bill of Rights •Adopted by late 1791, the ten amendments that now make up the Bill of Rights include both substantive and procedural restraints on governmental power •While the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Bill of Rights is key to understanding civil liberties, other government actors are relevant in defining (and especially in implementing) these protections 1st ammendment •"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion ..." •Note the specificity of saying that Congress shall make no law

Agents of Socialization

•The social institutions, including families and schools, that help shape individuals' basic political beliefs and values Important agents of socialization: -Family -Education -Social Groups; church, racial ethicnicly religiously -Political Conditions; is covid a gomechanger on how ppl view govt. ex sept 11, the great depression -Popular Culture?

"Big Government" (Sargent article)

•Ronald Reagan's inaugural address in 1981: -"In this present [economic] crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem." -"It is my intention to curb the size and influence of the Federal establishment." •However, reducing the size of the government is difficult: -According to the Cato Institute: "Reagan failed to radically reduce the size of government." •Why is this so difficult? -The federal government has a lot of essential programs. (Remember the Department of Energy article) -For example, "Spending by the Department of Education, for example, which Reagan had promised to eliminate in 1980, rose by 14% during his two terms after being reduced in 1981. Between 1980 and 1987, the three largest entitlements (Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid) increased their spending by 84 percent." -The federal government has a lot of essential programs. (Remember the Department of Energy article) -"American Hate Big Government, but They Like What It Does" (Sargent opinion piece) --Cutting programs means creating winners and losers -An entrenched bureaucracy is hard to remove

"Big Government" (Sargent article)

•Ronald Reagan's inaugural address in 1981: -"In this present [economic] crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem." -"It is my intention to curb the size and influence of the Federal establishment." •However, reducing the size of the government is difficult: -According to the Cato Institute: "Reagan failed to radically reduce the size of government." -For example, "Spending by the Department of Education, for example, which Reagan had promised to eliminate in 1980, rose by 14% during his two terms after being reduced in 1981. Between 1980 and 1987, the three largest entitlements (Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid) increased their spending by 84 percent." •Sargent notes: -Most Americans support "a major government role in carrying out functions such as ensuring food, medicine and workplace safety, infrastructure maintenance, and protecting the environment."

•Shelby County v. Holder (2013):

•SCOTUS ruled that the formula in the Voting Rights Act through which jurisdictions are identified as needing to adhere to the preclearance provision is unconstitutional. •This does not render the Voting Rights Act unimportant, but it cuts off an important legal avenue which was intended to prevent targeted jurisdictions from enacting voting changes before being reviewed or legally challenged. •But, from Justice Ginsburg's dissenting opinion: •"Throwing out preclearance when it has worked and is continuing to work to stop discriminatory changes is like throwing your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet." •Why does any of this matter? •"I'm interested in the clear and present danger of a profound, profound setback for actual real-world democracy in this country. I am well known as a relatively optimistic person, generally speaking, but this is the most serious set of events in the last 50 years." -Bruce Ackerman, Professor of Constitutional Law at Yale University, in an interview on Trumpcast on November 28, 2016 in a response to a question about rhetoric on voter fraud and recent efforts that have weakened the Voting Rights Act. -In states I previously covered by preclearance, Shelby v holder left massive dents in the infrastructure we have to ensure that all

What Can You Do?

•Seek out and financially support legitimate news sources, including at the local level. •Support (financially and otherwise) groups and people whose mission you care about. •Communicate with your elected leaders about the issues you care about. Ask them questions. •Register to vote and participate (Go to vote.gov) •Continue to learn more (History, more American politics, comparative politics, etc.). •Remember that state and local politics and policy matter. •Make your little corner of the world a better place today, and if nothing else, at least don't be horrible. •Don't tolerate ignorance, especially in yourself.

Congressional Elections

•Senate: Direct election (since 17th Amendment), 6 year staggered terms, state-wide elections with 2 senators per state •House of Representatives: Always directly elected, every member up for election every two years, apportioned according to population with the 435 seats reapportioned among the 50 states every 10 years.

Obstacles for Minor Parties

•Single-member districts with winner-take-all selection systems •Media attention (including debates) •Ballot access, getting names on the ballot bc states set the rules about the time place and manner of elections, Kanye west •Cooptation of ideas •Sometimes only regional appeal •Money •Perception of "wasting" a vote/spoiling an election

The Organization of the Court System: Types of Courts

•So, there are three types of courts: •Supreme Court - The highest court in a state or the nation primarily hears cases on appeal. every state has its own judicial system too, at the nat lvl the Supreme Court hears cases mainly on appeal (the case starts someplace else) -primarily on appeal •Intermediate Appellate Courts - A court that hears cases on appeal from trial courts (circuit courts. tht hear cases on appeal and are intermediate bc they reside in btwn the other 2 layers of judicial hierarchy) -only hear cases on appeal •Trial Courts - The first court to hear a criminal or civil case ex: law and order. functionally v different from appellate courts •They are functionally different and hierarchically organized- 8.2 graphic. Cases start on the federal side --in the district courts moving up to the Supreme Court. in the middle "req for review" the US Supreme Court is not req to accept an appeal - the supreme court chooses not to hear most cases a yr 4/9 have to agree to hear a case - in a state court system 1- we are a federal system of government; power is divided btwn the us federal government and the state governments

Who still cannot vote

•States regulate the "time, place, and manner" of elections under the Constitution (Elections Clause of Article I, Section 4) •Those under 18? •Non-citizens? •Those deemed "mentally incapacitated" or "incompetent?" (in about 30 states and DC) •Those incarcerated or previously convicted of felonies?

Liberals

•Support political and social reform •Extensive government intervention in the economy •Expansion of federal social services •More vigorous efforts on behalf of the poor, minorities, and women •Greater concern for consumers and the environment

Conservatives Political Ideology

•Support the social and economic status quo •Suspicious of efforts to introduce new political formulas and economic arrangements •Believe that a large and powerful government poses a threat to citizens' freedoms

Consequences of the electoral college

•The "contingency plan" in the Constitution. •The "popular loser" •Can amplify a victory or a defeat (ex president Regans resounding victory and even more in electoral college) •Impact on independent or 3rd party candidates (winner take all system amplifies a victory or defeat and makes it hard for 3rd parties to compete) •Small state advantage. Trump says if he campaigned in small states he would win the popular vote •The "faithless elector" problem ( in many states electors are free to cast their ballots for whoever they see fit many did in 2016 presidential election) faithless electors have never had an impact on who wins - there ARE things that can be done to mitigate some of these problems (such as the winner-take-all system)

•The compromise reached at the Constitutional Convention has had massive implications for the protection of civil liberties in America

•The Supreme Court is the key actor here Membership on the Supreme Court matters tremendously in terms of resolving these often controversial issues, at times in ways that the public may not support

•We've paid ALL our attention to the federal courts and especially SCOTUS ...

•The U.S. Supreme Court hears fewer than 100 cases a year, which leaves most federal cases to be resolved by lower federal courts

Participation in American Elections

•The electorate has expanded throughout American history •15th Amendment (1870): "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged ... on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." •19th Amendment (1920): "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged ... on account of sex." •26th Amendment (1971): "The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged ...on account of age."

Central role of political parties

•The presidential nomination process

Political Ideology

•The set of underlying orientations, ideas, and beliefs through which people understand and interpret politics •Most people describe their ideology as liberal or conservative •On a left/right continuum: bernie to ted cruze -in between are moderates

Party Polarization

•The trend demonstrating that Republicans and Democrats are becoming more ideologically distant from each other. •Trend is seen in both the electorate (Graham article on inter-party marriage) and in government (Desilver article on polarization in Congress). a vote in which a majority of Democratic legislators oppose a majority of Republican legislators

Functions of Parties: Nominating Presidential Candidates

•There are generally two ways to do this: •Conventions - a meeting of party leaders to choose nominees. • •Primaries/Caucuses - "rank and file" party members choose the nominee in an election •Through a series of primaries and caucuses, each party selects delegates, who then attend a party convention •The delegates then vote for the party nominee. •(Then what the heck are "superdelegates" and what role do they play in all this?)

States regulate the "time, place, and manner" of elections under the Constitution (Elections Clause of Article I, Section 4)

•Those under 18? •Non-citizens? •Those deemed "mentally incapacitated" or "incompetent?" (in about 30 states and DC) •Those incarcerated or previously convicted of felonies?

the electoral college seems kind of messed up? Why do we still have it?

•Very hard to fundamentally change it. would req a constitutional amendment •Politically advantageous to some states like Florida and smaller states. a pure pop vote could hurt states •Historic reasons (why we have it in the first place) in terms of small state benefit and tends to benefit more rural areas • there ARE things that can be done to mitigate some of these problems (such as the winner-take-all system, most but not all states choose to use)

The Bill of Rights initially only applied to

•federal government (not states). •This began to change in 1897 when the Supreme Court began to engage in selective incorporation

Incumbency

•holding a political office for which one is running - is a huge advantage in congressional elections •Some of the advantages include: -casework -patronage -pork-barrel legislation -name recognition

Selective incorporation

•is the process by which the Supreme Court used the 14th Amendment's due process clause on a case-by-case/clause-by-clause basis to make most of the provisions in the Bill of Rights apply to state/local governments too. •14th Amendment: "... nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." still selective; •Some parts of the Bill of Rights are still not incorporated into the Fourteenth Amendment Protections that do not apply to state/local governments include quartering of troops (3rd), Grand Jury indictment (5th), speedy trial (6th), jury trial for civil cases (7th), protection against excessive bail (8th

Senate Filibuster

•using the Senate rule of unlimited debate to prevent a bill from passing. - places where 1 or few people can hold progress on a bill - not listed anywhere in the constitution, the senate controls this procedure and can change it - the senate is seen as the more elite body compared to the HOR because they have this access to unlimited debate on the floor and start talking Senate as more deliberative body •Constitution? NOPE not till 1806 •Current rule (2/3 vote for "cloture") adopted in 1917, changed to 3/5 vote in 1975 •Nuclear option" - -2005 near miss -2013, by Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) -2017, by Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) -2021 changes? (Reid/McConnell debate)