Elections, Campaigns, & Voting The who, what, when, where, why, and how of political participation.
Participation, Voting, Campaigns, Elections (oh my) Chapters 8 and 9.
-
Upload
phyllis-walton -
Category
Documents
-
view
220 -
download
1
Transcript of Participation, Voting, Campaigns, Elections (oh my) Chapters 8 and 9.
![Page 1: Participation, Voting, Campaigns, Elections (oh my) Chapters 8 and 9.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062308/56649dbb5503460f94aad664/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Participation, Voting, Participation, Voting, Campaigns, Elections (oh Campaigns, Elections (oh
my)my)Chapters 8 and 9
![Page 2: Participation, Voting, Campaigns, Elections (oh my) Chapters 8 and 9.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062308/56649dbb5503460f94aad664/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
Political ParticipationPolitical Participation
• Political Participation- Involvement in activities intended to
influence public policy and leadership, such as voting, joining political groups, writing to elected officials, demonstrating for political causes and giving money to political candidates
![Page 3: Participation, Voting, Campaigns, Elections (oh my) Chapters 8 and 9.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062308/56649dbb5503460f94aad664/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
Political ParticipationPolitical Participation
• Voter Turnout- “The proportion of persons of voting age
who actually vote in a given election”- Average voter turnout for a Presidential
election since 1960 = 55%- Midterm election voter turnout has
seldom topped 40% since the 1970s- In many places local election turnout is
barely 20%.
![Page 4: Participation, Voting, Campaigns, Elections (oh my) Chapters 8 and 9.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062308/56649dbb5503460f94aad664/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
Why people don’t voteWhy people don’t vote
• Registration- “The practice of placing citizens’ names on an
official list of voters before they are eligible to exercise their right to vote. “
- Originated as a practice to stop people from voting multiple times, but now puts a hardship on honest people.
- In the United States, it is the responsibility of the person to register. In many European countries, registration is automatic. Political Scientists estimate voter turnout would increase by 10% with automatic registration.
![Page 5: Participation, Voting, Campaigns, Elections (oh my) Chapters 8 and 9.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062308/56649dbb5503460f94aad664/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
Why people don’t voteWhy people don’t vote
• Election frequency– America has more elections and has
them more often than any other country. This multitude of elections makes it less likely voters will participate in all of them.
– Further, many European countries hold elections on Sundays or national holidays. Since the USA mostly holds elections on Tuesdays, it is more difficult for people who work to participate.
![Page 6: Participation, Voting, Campaigns, Elections (oh my) Chapters 8 and 9.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062308/56649dbb5503460f94aad664/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
Why people don’t voteWhy people don’t vote
• Party Differences– With only two major political parties, it is less
likely a voter will find one to truly identify with.– Since the party has to get 50% of the vote, both
parties will often take moderate stances on issues, meaning it sounds like they both stand for the same times.
– In elections where there are clear divides between the parties (such as the 2008 Presidential election) voter turnout tends to be higher.
![Page 7: Participation, Voting, Campaigns, Elections (oh my) Chapters 8 and 9.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062308/56649dbb5503460f94aad664/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
Political ParticipationPolitical Participation
• Some people almost always vote due to a sense of civic duty
• Civic Duty- The belief of an individual that civic
and political participation is a responsibility of citizenship.
![Page 8: Participation, Voting, Campaigns, Elections (oh my) Chapters 8 and 9.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062308/56649dbb5503460f94aad664/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
Political ParticipationPolitical Participation
• Some voters, however, rarely vote due to apathy or alienation
• Apathy- A feeling of personal disinterest in politics or
unconcern with politics- “I don’t care either way”
• Alienation- A feeling of personal powerlessness that
includes the notion that government does not care about the opinions of people like oneself -- “My vote doesn’t matter anyways”
![Page 9: Participation, Voting, Campaigns, Elections (oh my) Chapters 8 and 9.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062308/56649dbb5503460f94aad664/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
VotingVoting
• Age– Older voters are more likely to vote– Older voters often live in the same place
one election to the next and thus don’t need to re-register
– Older voters often have children or own homes, and feel they have more to lose by not voting
– However, participation by young Americans is rising (especially in 2004 and 2008)
![Page 10: Participation, Voting, Campaigns, Elections (oh my) Chapters 8 and 9.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062308/56649dbb5503460f94aad664/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
VotingVoting
• Education and Income– People with a college degree or those in a
high income bracket are twice as likely to vote as someone who did not finish high school or that is in a lower income bracket.
– Americans in lower income brackets are more harshly affected by the registration system.
– There is no political party that exclusively targets lower income voters.
![Page 11: Participation, Voting, Campaigns, Elections (oh my) Chapters 8 and 9.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062308/56649dbb5503460f94aad664/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
Other means to Other means to participateparticipate
• Campaign and lobby activities– Americans are more likely than
European countries to take part in campaigning due to the large numbers of local offices
– Americans are also more likely to write their representatives and ask for change
– Americans are also more likely to donate to influential lobby groups.
![Page 12: Participation, Voting, Campaigns, Elections (oh my) Chapters 8 and 9.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062308/56649dbb5503460f94aad664/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
Other means to Other means to participateparticipate
• Virtual Participation– Virtual participation far outweighs
conventional participation– Large numbers of Americans use the
internet to promote their favorite candidate
– President Obama was the most successful in raising funds in 2008, largely due to the sum of all the small donations he received online.
![Page 13: Participation, Voting, Campaigns, Elections (oh my) Chapters 8 and 9.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062308/56649dbb5503460f94aad664/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
Other means to Other means to participateparticipate
• Community Activities– Millions of Americans are members of
community organizations (parent teacher groups, neighborhood groups, business clubs, church groups etc) which often influence local politics
– The number is declining though, along with the social capital of America
![Page 14: Participation, Voting, Campaigns, Elections (oh my) Chapters 8 and 9.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062308/56649dbb5503460f94aad664/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
Other means to Other means to participateparticipate
• Social Capital- The sum of the face-to-face
interactions among citizens in a society.
![Page 15: Participation, Voting, Campaigns, Elections (oh my) Chapters 8 and 9.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062308/56649dbb5503460f94aad664/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
ELECTIONS!ELECTIONS!
• Primary Election– Election in which voters choose the
candidate that will represent their political party in the general election.
![Page 16: Participation, Voting, Campaigns, Elections (oh my) Chapters 8 and 9.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062308/56649dbb5503460f94aad664/html5/thumbnails/16.jpg)
ElectionsElections
• Open Primary– Election in which a voter can participate
in either party’s primary regardless of party registration.
– Missouri usually uses an Open Primary
• Closed Primary– Election in which only registered
members of a party can participate in the primary.
![Page 17: Participation, Voting, Campaigns, Elections (oh my) Chapters 8 and 9.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062308/56649dbb5503460f94aad664/html5/thumbnails/17.jpg)
• Caucus– A small meeting at which registered
political party members select delegates to attend the national party convention and nominate a Presidential candidate.
– Since Missouri is an “open” state, you do not have to be registered.
![Page 18: Participation, Voting, Campaigns, Elections (oh my) Chapters 8 and 9.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062308/56649dbb5503460f94aad664/html5/thumbnails/18.jpg)
• Front Loading– The practice of moving presidential
primary elections to the early part of the campaign, to maximize the impact of these primaries on the nomination.
![Page 19: Participation, Voting, Campaigns, Elections (oh my) Chapters 8 and 9.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062308/56649dbb5503460f94aad664/html5/thumbnails/19.jpg)
• To combat front-loading both parties are taking a stand against states that hold their primaries early.
• For 2012 the Republicans threatened to cut the amount of delegates a state get to have attend the national convention in half if a primary is held before March 6th
![Page 20: Participation, Voting, Campaigns, Elections (oh my) Chapters 8 and 9.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062308/56649dbb5503460f94aad664/html5/thumbnails/20.jpg)
• Because of this backlash, Missouri will be using the caucus system to select delegates to the National Convention.
![Page 21: Participation, Voting, Campaigns, Elections (oh my) Chapters 8 and 9.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062308/56649dbb5503460f94aad664/html5/thumbnails/21.jpg)
The Missouri CaucusThe Missouri Caucus
• Mar 17th 10am– Each county will have a caucus and select
delegates to attend the district caucus• April 21st
– Each district will hold a caucus to determine who gets to attend the State Convention
• June 1-3– The State Convention will caucus to
determine who gets to attend the National Convention.
![Page 22: Participation, Voting, Campaigns, Elections (oh my) Chapters 8 and 9.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062308/56649dbb5503460f94aad664/html5/thumbnails/22.jpg)
How people voteHow people vote
• Issue Voting– Voting style in which the voter judges
candidates based on the voter’s and the candidates’ opinions on specific issues and preferences for certain policies.
![Page 23: Participation, Voting, Campaigns, Elections (oh my) Chapters 8 and 9.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062308/56649dbb5503460f94aad664/html5/thumbnails/23.jpg)
How people voteHow people vote
• Prospective Voting– Voting style in which voters judge a
candidate based on their assessment of what the candidate WILL DO if elected.
• Retrospective Voting– Voting style in which voters judge
candidates based on PAST performance.
![Page 24: Participation, Voting, Campaigns, Elections (oh my) Chapters 8 and 9.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062308/56649dbb5503460f94aad664/html5/thumbnails/24.jpg)
VotingVoting
• Australian Ballot– An official government-produced
ballot for elections that lists all offices and all the candidates and parties that have qualified to be on the ballot.
![Page 25: Participation, Voting, Campaigns, Elections (oh my) Chapters 8 and 9.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062308/56649dbb5503460f94aad664/html5/thumbnails/25.jpg)
VotingVoting
• Office-Block Ballot- A form of general election ballot in which
candidates for elective office are grouped together under the title of each office. (used in Missouri)
• Party-Column Ballot- A form of general election ballot in which
all of a party’s candidates for elective office are arranged in one column under the party’s label and symbol
![Page 26: Participation, Voting, Campaigns, Elections (oh my) Chapters 8 and 9.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062308/56649dbb5503460f94aad664/html5/thumbnails/26.jpg)
CAMPAIGNS!!!CAMPAIGNS!!!
• Focus Groups– In-depth interview with a small
number of people representing important voter consistencies.
![Page 27: Participation, Voting, Campaigns, Elections (oh my) Chapters 8 and 9.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062308/56649dbb5503460f94aad664/html5/thumbnails/27.jpg)
CampaignsCampaigns
• Battleground States– Competitive states in which no canddate
has an overwhelming advantage
• Red States– State in which a Republican is likely to win
• Blue States– State in which a Democrat is likely to win.
![Page 28: Participation, Voting, Campaigns, Elections (oh my) Chapters 8 and 9.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062308/56649dbb5503460f94aad664/html5/thumbnails/28.jpg)
Here comes the money!Here comes the money!
• Hard Money– Funds to be used by candidates or
parties for the express purpose of running an election campaign.
• Soft Money– Funds to be used for political
purposes other than running a campaign
![Page 29: Participation, Voting, Campaigns, Elections (oh my) Chapters 8 and 9.](https://reader036.fdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022062308/56649dbb5503460f94aad664/html5/thumbnails/29.jpg)
More MoneyMore Money
• Political Action Committee (PAC)– Group that collects money from
individuals and makes donations to political parties and candidates.
– Typically the election donation arm of an interest group.