Unit 5 Government Test, Unit 5 AP Gov

Voting Outside the Polling Place

The ability of voters to vote online or through absentee ballots affects voter turnout (usually positively)

Political Efficacy

The belief that one single person CAN make a difference in government. This increases with higher intellectual skills and higher education. Higher SES is what truly leads to this being higher in reality as people with higher wealth can overcome any political barriers placed in their way with money and education.

Reasons for Lower Voter Turnout

The burden of voter registration. Younger voters are less settled, which makes it more of a burden to register to vote. Too many elections going on/overwhelmed by candidates. The day of the week, and too many similarities in the parties (this last one isn't true in the current era of divided government)

Iron Triangle

The coordinated and mutually beneficial activities of the bureaucracy, congress and interest groups to achieve shared policy goals.

Realignment

The displacement of the majority party by the minority party. similar to a political revolution, typically happens after serious events or traumas (civil war, The Great Depression), people overwhelmingly leave one party to join another

Hyperpluralism

The idea that many interest groups have become empowered to be able to veto policy change

Social Movement

The joining of individuals seeking social or political change with the goal of. placing issues on the policy agenda. May participate in: protests, political meetings, contact elected reps, and reach out to other citizens to educate them about their issues. These are often diffuse groups that educate the public and put pressure on policymakers in an effort to bring about societal change.

Soft Money

$ given to parties not restricted-McCain-Feingold banned it, Mostly at grassroots or local levels, supposed to be spent on party only

Founder's Reasons for creating the Electoral College

1. Concerns about mob rule 2. Unfair representation for rural areas 3. Slavery, the south would always lose because it has a majority of slaves, this led to both the EC and the 3/5 Compromise. Southern fears that the North would dominate in elections is the primary reason the EC exists. 4. Large population centers would have disproportionate influence and big states would have all the say if we were to have a popular vote.

Process for Presidential Election

1. Primaries and Caucuses (Feb-Jun) 2. National Conventions (July and August) 2.5 Presidential debates (In 2020, 29 Sept, 15 Oct, 22 Oct) 3. General election (first Tuesday after the first Monday of November) 4. Electoral college (December) 5. A joint session of Congress verifies the votes (Jan 6th) 6. Inauguration (Jan 20th)

Buckley v. Valeo

A Supreme Court case in which SCOTUS upheld the constitutionality of restrictions on campaign contributions by individuals, although not on monies spent independently or money spent by candidates on their own campaigns.

Electoral College

A constitutionally required process for selecting the president through slates of electors chosen in each state, who are pledged to vote for a nominee in the presidential election. Electors are chosen from party leaders and loyal activists, they may change their minds between the general election and the elector's vote, which takes place in December after the presidential election. To win the electoral college, a candidate needs 270 votes (there are a total of 538). This structure means that candidates focus their campaigns on states with a large # of electoral votes and on the states whose votes seem to be in play.

Civil Disobedience

A form of political participation that reflects a conscious decision to break a law believed to be immoral to call attention to the injustice of it. Brings media attention to an issue.

Socio-Economic Status (SES)

A measure of an individual's wealth, income, occupation, and educational attainment. People with a higher level of this participate more in the election process as they have more money to donate, and educated professionals are more likely to associate with interest groups.

Narrowcasting

A paid subscription or other barrier to media that prevents people from watching something, meaning that the shows are only watched by people with matching ideals.

Incumbency Advantage

A person that is incumbent is more likely to be reelected than someone else, PACS and Superpacs donate to incumbents more, incumbents are given franking privilege.

Negative Advertisements

Ads that focus on attacking the opponent in an effort to raise doubts about them. These have been part of presidential politics since the election of 1800. Many voters dislike these ads and feel that campaigns would be improved without them. Political scientists see them as increasing the quality of information available to voters as they make choices in elections.

National Voter Registration Act of

Allows Americans to register to vote when applying for or renewing driver's licenses. "Motor Voter Law"

24th Amendment (1964)

Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (1964) eliminated the poll tax as a prerequisite to vote in elections for federal officials.

Lobbying

An attempt to influence politics in attempt to sway elected officials. Interacting with government officials in order to advance a group's public policy goals.

Single member plurality system

An election system for choosing members of the legislature where the winner is the candidate who receives the most votes even if the candidate does not receive a majority.

proportional representation

An electoral system used throughout most of Europe that awards legislative seats to political parties in proportion to the number of votes won in an election. This allows minority parties to have an effect even if they do not win elections, encourages coalition government (two or more parties join together to form a majority) and overall cooperation.

Super PAC

An organization that may spend an unlimited amount of money on a political campaign (HUGE amounts of money that can also be used for electioneering), as long as the spending is not coordinated with a campaign. They may raise political funds for corporations, unions, and individuals but cannot support candidates, only causes. This can still have a large impact on campaigns, if ads are run that are successful in getting its point across, candidates and voters will take notice. Information will still change hands and likely favor one candidate over another even if this transfer is uncoordinated and legal.

Rational Choice

Assumes that individuals act in their own best interests, carefully weighing the costs and benefits of possible alternatives. This applies to both individuals and politicians. Application to voting: Voting based on what is perceived to be in the citizen's individual interest. These voters tend to be swing voters, and this type of voter makes up a smaller % of the population than it has previously due to increased polarization.

1968 Democratic National Convention

August 28th 1968, During the Democratic national convention in Chicago, 10,000 anti-war protesters gather on downtown streets and are then confronted by 26,000 police and national guardsmen. The brutal crackdown is covered live on network TV. 800 of the demonstrators were injured

What changes if we eliminate the Electoral College

Based off of popular vote, much more difficult for GOP since bulk of following would be rural areas, may never have a Republican president again

Selective benefits

Benefits available to only those who join the group/contribute to it

Role of 3rd Parties

Bringing new groups of voters into the political process, bring new issues to the attention of the public (The green party), to draw votes away from the main candidates which gives them a hand in which candidate wins/loses a race. If a 3rd party candidate wins even a small % of votes, it can affect the outcome of the election, and generally is more beneficial to the weaker party

Role Labor Unions Serve

Call attention to political issues that affect workers in America, voter turnout is higher with unionized workers than with non-unionized workers.

Phase 1 of a Campaign : Nomination campaign

Candidates try to secure the nomination of their political party. Declared candidates from the same party compete for that party's nomination. Federal and state laws set many of the rules governing the nomination process, but the parties control most of the details of how a candidate gets nominated. Differences exist between states and between the parties themselves.

Linkage Institutions

Channels that connect individuals with government, including elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media. Serve as go-betweens with citizens and government.

Recruitment Process for Candidates

Check for alignment with party philosophy, ensure contrast with opponents, get votes, provide expertise for candidates, hire staff, ensure policy fits with the groups that they want to vote for them, maintain voter databases (Ada an algorithm used in 2016 by the Clinton campaign to determine swing states)

McGovern-Fraser Commission

Concession won by anti-war protestors to examine delegate selection process. Recommendation to open selection of delegates via primary elections and/or caucuses. Changes enforced by state laws, extended to the Republican party as well.

Lobbyists and Congress

Contacting congresspeople or their staff directly. Preparing briefs and research reports (saves congresspeople time as now they don't have to do that), these may also demonstrate constituent support for an issue. Draft bills -> lobby congresspeople to introduce it -> help plan strategy as bills go through committees. They may also testify at committee or subcommittee hearings.

Federal Communications Commission

Created to control/monitor radio and tv so that broadcasters didn't overstep their bounds (some still do)

Faithless Electors

Electors who do not vote for the candidate supported by the majority of voters in their states. These are rare and have never changed the outcome of a presidential election.

The first Tuesday after the first Monday of November.

Date when national presidential and congressional elections are held. The fact that this is a weekday may discourage some Americans from voting.

Gerrymandering

Draw unreasonably shaped districts to put one party or candidate at an advantage.

Get Out the Vote (GOTV)/ Political Mobilization

Efforts to mobilize voters. Direct, through recruiting, sponsoring meetings and asking for $. Indirect, social networks where voters can engage with friends and associates.

Era of Divided Government

Era when one party controls one or both houses of congress and the president is from the opposing party. 1969-present Nothing gets done or it's very hard to do so. Leads to dealignment.

Lobbyists and the Judiciary

File lawsuits (expensive and time consuming), Amicus curiae briefs, appointments at the state level (try to place a person friendly to the group), may try to weigh in on the confirmation of Supreme Court justices.

Amicus Curiae

Friend of the court, letters anyone can write to the court to weigh on a decision. This technique is frequently used by interest groups to get involved in cases as actually prosecuting a bunch of cases would be prohibitively expensive.

Direct Primaries

Functions as a preliminary election where voters decide their party's candidate

Interest Groups

Group of people with similar shared policy goals that attempt to influence politics to reach those goals. Try to mobilize voters, keep scorecards on the voting records of congresspeople and they publicize these scores.

Economic Interest Groups

Groups advocating on behalf of the financial interests of their members. This is the largest category of interest groups and they act as large donors to political campaigns. Business groups advocate for corporate interests. Labor groups advocate for the workers the y represent and policies that will help the working class in general. ex. AFL-CIO and Teamsters Union

Why are Government employees more likely to vote?

Have more at stake in elections, and a greater sense of how the government works

Periods of dominant political dominance (Party Eras)

Historical period where a party wins a majority of elections. Throughout American history, one party has been the dominant majority party for long periods of time, followed by the other party. Civil War and The Great Depression. Civil rights act 1964 ends domination of democrats. From '64 to now it's a mix.

5 out of 17

How many of the 17 Amendments after the Bill of Rights expanded the franchise?

What is the main concern for candidates in the general election phase?

If the core partisan voters think their nominee has moved too far to the center and abandoned core party goals, they will not make phone calls, knock on doors and mobilize undecided voters during the campaign. On the other hand if they move too far to the extremes of the party they may be seen as too far left or right to appeal to independents and undecided voters (however this is not seen as the main concern).

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)

In a 5-4 decision, the court struck down portions of the BCRA, ruling that corporations and labor unions are "persons" under the law and monetary donations made to campaigns are a form of speech protected by the First Amendment.

Effect of "democratizing" reforms

In both 1972 and 1980, Democrats lost the White House by blowout proportions. Incumbent President Jimmy Carter carried only six states and the District of Columbia in 1980, which put him five states ahead of George McGovern's 1972 finish. Party leadership felt that they had let the nominating process get away from them, so, in 1980, they asked North Carolina Gov. James B. Hunt to convene a committee on delegation guidelines. The Commission on Presidential Nominations eventually recommended a new category of convention participants: superdelegates. These superdelegates would consist of party leaders and elected Democrats who would come to the 1984 convention untethered to any candidate. Party leaders believed that these superdelegates, perceived as more moderate and more politically seasoned than pledged delegates, would provide a counterweight to more "insurgent" forces

Obama Effect

Increased African American voter turnout in the 2008 and 2012 elections. African American voter turnout went back down in 2016.

Effect of Marriage on Political Participation

Increases political participation as people develop a stronger sense of how political decisions affect their lives as they develop greater ties to their partner and their community.

PAC donations

Individual contributions to a PAC are limited to $5,000 per year, and a PAC may give up to $5,000 to a candidate for each election. Super PAC donations: collect and spend unheard of amounts of money Mostly to incumbents, mostly to majority party

Free riders

Individuals who enjoy collective goods and benefit from the actions of an interest group without joining. This is a prevalent issue in states with right to work laws, employees of unionized companies have the right not to join the union which weakens union membership.

Federalist 10

James Madison's lecture on Factions. Madison states that a large republic will help control factions, because when more representatives are elected, there will be a great number of opinions.

Trial Balloons

Leaked info to the press from a candidate or campaign just to see the public's reaction before officially released, uses them to test political climate

Party identification

Level of connection between voters and a particular party, how much a voter is influenced by a party.

digital divide

Older, low-income, rural, Spanish-speaking, and disabled Americans are less likely to make use of the Internet, as are those with lower levels of educational attainment.

Demographic Characteristics

Measurable characteristics of a populations such as: economic status, age, education, race/ethnicity, and gender. Ethnicity and gender are especially important in the US for predicting who will vote.

National Conventions

Meeting of party delegates every four years where they officially select their party's nominee for the presidency. They also write a party's platform, scripted "show you what you want to see"

Superdelegate

Member of the Democratic Party who can support any candidate they choose, 15% of the total # of delegates

Third Parties

Minor political parties that present a third alternative to the two dominant political parties in the American political system. They may influence elections, often they focus on a single issue that they think the major parties are not addressing. Don't often get electoral votes. Third party candidates aren't often in nationally televised debates because it requires @ least 15% of the respondents in 5 national public opinion polls, local officials have stringent requirements for the # of signatures to get on the ballot.

Critical Elections

New issues emerge, new coalitions replace old ones. Lead to realignments, referred to as political earthquake, The electorate is divided among the party

Phase 2 of a Campaign : General election campaign

Nominees compete for the presidency. Nominees now have to appeal to independent and undecided voters who are more moderate ideologically than the voters in primaries and caucuses.

Educational Attainment

One of the most important components of SES because it acts as a sign of whether people will vote as it indicates higher incomes and thus a higher ability to vote.

Caucuses

Open meetings to determine delegate selection or a meeting of many of the parties' upper level voters who get together to decide which candidate they support. Currently used in about 12 states, mostly rural, Iowa is the most prominent as it's the first state contest. Takes 1-4 hours which results in lower turnout.

Civil society

Organizations outside of the government that help people define and advance their own interests, likely through policy.

Interest groups

Organized collections of people or organizations that try to influence policy, or in other words: voluntary associations of people who come together with the goal of getting the policies they favor enacted. They have various names: special interests, pressure groups, organized interests, nongovernmental organizations, political groups, lobby groups, and public interest groups.

Factors that Influence voter choice

Party identification and ideology, candidate characteristics, contemporary political issues, religious beliefs/gender/race/ethnicity

Roles of political parties

Party in the electorate, the party as an organization and the party in gov. 1) Party as an organization - Parties recruit, nominate and support candidates. Each party has offices at the local, state and national levels. They also have a full time staff, rules, and budgets. Leaders of the party keep the party running between elections and make its rules. 2) Party in the Electorate - Provide labels so that voters can identify candidates with shared political values. You become a member of a political party by saying that you are one. 3) The Party in Government - Consists of elected officials who call themselves members of the party, these leaders end up being spokespeople for the party, but they may not always agree. Healthy parties check one another on issues and enact the policy positions of their members.

Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA)

Passed in the wake of Watergate in 1971, it created the Federal Election Commission (FEC) which is an independent agency that oversees campaign finance laws, set rules requiring disclosure of the source of campaign funds (candidates for federal office must disclose who contributed to their campaigns), placed limits on campaign contributions and expenditures, and instituted a system for public financing of presidential elections.

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act

Placed stricter limits on campaign contributions by individuals and PACs. Independent groups were not allowed to run ads thirty days before a primary or sixty days before the general election. Limits were challenged as a violation of the First Amendment right to free speech.

PACs (Political Action Committees)

Political arm of an interest group, becoming increasingly important in elections, especially presidential, typically they support the incumbent or the majority party

Pluralist theory

Political power is distributed among many competing groups which means that no single group can grow too powerful. Groups may use different resources depending on their access to them. Argues that interest groups bring representation to all and that no one group is more powerful than others.

investigative journalism

Presents the media in an adversarial rather than a complicit role

Privately owned vs. publicly owned mass media

Privately owned- Publicity tries to report the truth, sometimes they are wrong or "jump the gun", Publicly owned media- The government controls all things you have access to and see

Professional groups

Professional groups maintain standards of the profession, hold professional meetings, and publish journals. Some examples are the National Education Association (NEA), the American Medical Association (AMA, and the American Bar Association (ABA).

15th Amendment

Prohibits states from discriminating against prospective voters on the basis of race. Note that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was an effort to secure the voting rights of African Americans as even with this amendment, there were numerous attempts to try to restrict their rights. These efforts included literacy tests and poll taxes.

Pros, Cons, and Types of Voter ID Laws

Pros: laws are necessary to prevent people from voting multiple times under different names, makes it harder to commit fraud, protects democracy. Cons: such laws unfairly restrict the ability of young people and minorities from voting. Voter registration and travel time to the polls can both be prohibitively expensive. Types: required to show government-issued photo ID to vote, cut off date before election, some states allow you to register at the poll, some states don't even require registration

Arguments of Proponents of the Electoral College

Provides a check on the passions of the majority, protects the influence of the states under our system of federalism, would lead candidates to focus on population centers instead.

17th Amendment

Provides for the direct election of Senators by voters of the states (removed power from state legislatures).

George Wallace and Major Electoral College Challenge

Ran as an independent party candidate in 1968, concerns about his discussion of forcing the House to decide the election with one vote per state (he would have to gain enough electoral college votes to become a power broker) led the House to pass an amendment to end the electoral college, but the head of the Senate Judiciary Committee was a segregationist (same as the candidate) and defeated the bill with a filibuster.

Voter Registration: Laws and Procedures

Rules that govern who can vote and how, when and where they vote. Differences in voter ID requirements and regulations can lead to depression of some voter groups in states that have stricter laws. The United States overall has the strictest voter registration laws in the world. Because the US has felony disenfranchisement, some groups are disproportionately affected and thus prevented from voting.

Functions of political parties

Serve as linkage institutions (connect people to govt), picking candidates (nominating people to run), run campaigns, coordinate and advertise campaigns, give cues to voters, setting platforms, coordinate policymaking, win an election

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Signed by LBJ. Outlawed literacy tests and provided for the appointment of federal examiners in various jurisdictions. Requirements on certain jurisdictions to obtain a pre-clearance from either the district court for DC or the US Attorney General, for any new voting practices or procedures. Reiterated the 15th Amendment. It also directed the AG to challenge the use of poll taxes in state and local elections.

Frontloading

States try to hold contests early to capitalize on attention and money. About ⅔ of the delegates chosen within 6 weeks of the first caucus. This generates momentum for the election and states benefit from media attention, money, and issues on the agenda.

Party Line Voting

Supporting a party by voting for candidates from one political party for all public offices at the same level of government.

Lobbyists and the Executive Branch

Take advantage of federal laws requiring federal agencies to notify the public and solicit input when establishing rules and procedures. Due to the complexity of regulations, interest groups may generate data and higher experts with knowledge of regulations and politics. Encourage agencies to provide benefits to the members they represent and to issue favorable regulations. Lobby executive officials.

Purple States

Tend to be some of the states that candidates focus the most on because they generally decide election. They don't mess with the small EC # states much. Big states that make a difference, NY, FL.

Grassroots movements

The people use in a district, region, or community as a basis for political or economic movement (Red for Ed).

19th Amendment

The right of US citizens to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the US or by any State on account of sex.

26th Amendment (1971)

The right of US citizens to vote, who are 18 years of age or older, shall not be abridged by the US or any state on account of age.

Policy Agenda

The set of issues to which government officials, voters, and the public are paying attention to. People who support the elitist theory believe that America's elites control these issues, because they have greater access to policymakers. Politicians are more likely to talk to wealthy donors and lobbyists.

Issue Networks

The webs of influence between interest groups, policymakers and policy advocates. May temporarily unite people who are on different sides of most issues. Represents pluralism and is more complex than the iron triangle.

Retrospective voting

Voting to decide whether the party or candidate in power should be re-elected based on the recent past (recent past = last few weeks)

Political Participation

Voting, contacting local officials, working on political campaigns, donations to candidates, joining social movements.

12th Amendment (1804)

This amendment establishes that the electoral college votes for the president and vice president separately.

Harper v. VA State Board of Elections (1966)

This case was brought to the Supreme Court by a woman who could not pay the 1.50 poll tax, and who argued that a poll tax violated the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment as it prevented indigent Americans from voting. SCOTUS decided that eligibility to vote has no connection to the wealth of an individual in a 6-3 decision and stated that VA's poll tax was unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment.

Candidate Centered Campaigns

When the campaign is about the candidate and very little about the political party, talks about themselves and not their party

Drawbacks of Mass Media

Time pressure is placed on stories, placing a rush on verifying their veracity. This leads to media coverage that only covers issues on the surface level, or may only cover surface level issues (such as the best blender). Bias can often develop towards the parent company.

Arguments of Critics of the Electoral College

Undemocratic because it does not reflect the will of the majority and may lead to lower voter turnout as people in states that have strong holdings for a particular party (such as CA for Dems and TX for Reps) who are of the opposite party may be disincentivized because they know their party will lose anyways. It also makes small states that have large population centers more powerful than larger states and it disenfranchises voters whose candidates don't win

Political Consultants

Use political science to target the candidate's message to voters, figure out which districts (and even neighborhoods) where voter turnout will be crucial

Primary

Voters go to polls, New Hampshire is the most prominent 1st primary. Primaries must be financed by the state and parties must agree to state rules. States hold primaries for congressional elections.

Prospective Voting

Voting based on predictions of how a party or candidate will perform in the future.

Absentee Ballots

Voting completed and submitted by a voter the day of the election without going to the polls.

Straight Ticket Voting

Voting for all candidates on the ballot from one political party. (Party ID voting) pulling one lever, pushing one button and voting for all the candidates from party collectively, people choose what party they go to no matter their views ("I'm a Republican, I'm only gonna vote Republican")

Winner-Take-All system

Whoever wins majority popular vote, wins all the electoral college votes for that State (Not Maine and Nebraska)

Demographic Effects on voting

Women have voted at higher rates than men since the presidential election of 1980. Differences in voting patterns between genders tend to hold true across racial and ethnic identities. Having a woman on the ballot does not make women more likely to vote. Women 18-44 vote at higher rates than men in the same age range. Men 75+ vote at higher rates than women in the same range.

Open Primaries

You do not need to be registered with a particular party to vote in this type of primary. Some states require voters to affiliate with a party on the day of the primary to participate in an open primary.

501(c) groups

a nonprofit organization in which donations to these groups don't have to be disclosed unless its for a political ad

Delegates

a person who acts as the voters' representative at a convention to select the party's nominee. Dems- Tend to be proportional 30% vote 30% of delegates, this tends to delay the selection of the party nominee (tends to slow down selection) Superdelegates. Reps - Tend to award all delegates to the winning candidate (tends to speed up selection). 3 Delegates per state who can choose who they want to.

Collective good/Public good

a public benefit that individuals can enjoy or profit from even if they do not help achieve it. This can reduce the incentive to join interest groups.

Protest

a public demonstration designed to call attention to the need for change. Brings media attention to an issue. This can be dangerous as it can endanger the protesters in many ways. People participating in this way must feel that the system has lost some legitimacy and that they have the capacity to make a difference. The impact depends on the effect it has on the electoral system and then whether elected officials decide to listen.

Swing State

a state where levels of support for the parties are similar and elections swing back and forth between Democrats and Republicans.

Battleground State

a state where the polls show a close contest between the Republican and Democratic candidate in a presidential election

Party Dealignment

a trend or process whereby a large portion of the electorate abandons it's previous party affiliation without developing a new one to replace it.

527 groups

a type of U.S. tax-exempt organization, seeks to influence federal elections by running issue-related advertisements criticizing the record of a candidate or by mobilizing a citizens right to vote

Going Public

affects the beliefs of citizens and influences the policy agenda, which then affects public policy

Exploratory committee

allows a political candidate to test the waters by traveling around the country, conducting public opinion polls, and making outreach phone calls to attract potential voters.

Indirect Primary

an election in which a state chooses delegates who support a presidential candidate for nomination

Single issue interest groups

associations focusing on one specific area of public policy, often a moral issue about which they are unwilling to compromise ex. pro choice and pro life

Wedge Issues

controversial issues likely to allow one party to convert people to another party

Eye of Sauron:

coverage is "spotty"; focused but narrow •Stories focus on sensational, rather than 'important' Can significantly influence the public's perception of priorities and therefore the policy agenda of the gov OR the agenda of the gov may drive coverage of issues to influence public support.

Party Platform

defines the party's general stance on issues, policy objectives and positions voted on @ conventions.

Article 1 Section 4

gives states the power to regulate their own voting laws. Initially, many states made owning property a requirement (only around 6% of the population could vote when George Washington was elected)

Public Interest Groups

groups that act on behalf of the collective interests of a broad group of individuals. Advocates for Civil Liberties, civil rights, social welfare, education and the environment all fall into this category.

National Parties

headed by a national committee of members from its state parties. a national chairperson leads a large paid staff and manages the party's operations, the president chooses the chair of the national party. The national party advises the state and local parties but oftentimes the local and state parties are the ones that put pressure on the national party and not vice versa.

Dealignment

independent, move away from the two main parties and don't identify with either

Horse Race Journalism

news coverage that focuses on the drama of the campaign rather than policy issues.

Government interest groups

organizations acting on behalf of local, state, or foreign governments. Local government interest groups focus on laws affecting their region. State government interest groups work to obtain money from the federal government, which is allocated through the appropriations process in Congress.

Free Rider Issues

people get benefits from something they're not involved in/not paid for ex: teachers that are teacher union teachers pay $700 dues, if they decide to have a raise, non-teacher-union teachers still get the raise

Collective Action

political action that occurs when individuals contribute their energy, time, or money to a larger group goal

Agricultural groups

such as the National Grange and the National Farmers' Union, promote general agricultural interests.

Confirmation Bias

tendency to search for or interpret information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions/beliefs

Voter turnout

the # of eligible voters who participate in an election as a % of the total # of eligible voters

High Tech politics

the behavior of citizens and policymakers and the political agenda itself are increasingly shaped by technology

theory of participatory democracy

the belief that citizens impact policymaking through their involvement in civil society

Broadcasting

the transmission of radio waves or TV signals to a broad public audience

Campaign strategy

the way that candidates attempt to manipulate each of these elements in order to achieve nomination. In most developed nations, campaigns are 1-2 months, in the US they are 1-2 years.

Elitist Theory of Democracy

theory that few groups (mostly wealthy) have the most power to make government policy. Wealthy elites have a disproportionate amount of economic and political power.

Effect of the Internet on politics

unrivaled access to information/news, increased communication and political mobilization, blogs, vlogs, social media

Split Ticket voting

voting for candidates in different parties in the same election

Closed Primaries

you must be registered with a particular party to vote in the primary/Only party members registered with that party are allowed to vote