comparison of turnout statistics between countries who has control of elections and its effect what factors hold down voter turnoutparticipation Nie and Verbas six categories of political participation ID: 638305
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Slide1
Political Participation
-is low voter turnout a reality
-comparison of turnout statistics between countries
-who has control of elections and it’s effect
-what factors hold down voter turnout/participation
-
Nie
and
Verba’s
six
categories of political participation
-compare participation rates in various forms of political activitySlide2
A closer look at non-voting:
A. Alleged Problem: low turnout compared to Europeans
-but this compares registered voters to eligible adult population
*look at table on Pg. 130 in text
B. Most common explanation: voter apathy on election day
-but the real problem is low voter registration rates
-maybe Americans are satisfied with the way things are? No sense of urgency?
C. Proposed solution: get out the vote drives
-Civil rights in 1960’s
-but will this help with those who are not registered?
D. Apathy is not the only cause of non-registration
-costs here versus no costs in Europe- registration is automatic
-Motor-voter law of 1993, took affect in 1995 *ex. pg. 131
E. Voting is not the only way of participating- Americans #1
-civic groups, writing letters, social movements, working for candidates, $ donations (least)Slide3
Changes-cont’dB. Voting Turnout
Debate over declining percentages: two theories
-real decline as popular interest and party competition decrease
-apparent decline induced in part by honest ballot counts of today
*parties once printed ballots
*ballots were cast in public
*parties controlled the counting
*today we use the Australian ballot system
Most scholars see some real decline
-registration is more difficult- Why?
-continuing drop after 1960 cannot be explained apathy?
-2008 election? Turn around? Why?Slide4
Who Participates in Politics?Forms of Participation
-voting is the commonest, but 8-10% misreport it!
-
Verba
and
Nie’s
six forms of participation
*
inactives
20%
*voting specialists
*campaigners
*communalists
*parochial participants
*complete activists 11%Slide5
Causes of Participation, or lack thereof-
those with schooling, or political information are more likely to vote
-
Church goers are more likely to vote (contact with like minded voters)
-
men and women vote at the same rate
-
Race
* Black participation lower than that of Whites overall
*But, controlling for SES (socioeconomic status), higher than Whites
-level of trust in the government?- no correlation?
-
difficulty of registering, as turnout declines, registration gets easier. States with same day registration- slightly higher- 40% of non-registered say “too busy”Slide6
What do Participation Rates Mean?
Americans vote less, but participate more
-other forms of activity are becoming more common
-some forms more common here than in other countries
Americans elect more officials than Europeans do and have more elections
-voter burn out
U.S. turnout rates heavily skewed to higher status
-
are we an
elitist society? Slide7
Elections and
C
ampaigns
Two
Phases of Getting Elected
-Getting Nominated
-Getting Elected
Getting Nominated
-getting your name on the ballot
-individual effort
-Parties used to play a much larger roleSlide8
Major differences between congressional and presidential elections
-presidential elections are more competitive
-fewer people vote in midterm elections
-congressional incumbents can cater to their
constituents
-congressional candidates can campaign against Washington
-power of presidential coattails has declinedSlide9
Primary vs. General Campaigns
What works in a primary may not work in the general election
Iowa caucuses
The balancing act
Two kinds of issues-position and valence issuesSlide10
Money, Money, Money, Money
Sources of campaign money
-presidential primaries part private, part public
-presidential general elections-all public ($84 million to major party candidates) Obama first to refuse money (spends $745 million)
-campaign finance rules: Watergate and 1974 federal campaign reform law – Federal Election CommissionSlide11
Effects of Reform
Increased power of PAC’s
Shifted control of money away from parties to candidates
Given advantage to wealthy challengers
-given advantage to ideological candidates
-penalizes latecomers
-helped incumbents, hurt challengersSlide12
Other Factors that are often Overstated
VP nominee
Political reporting
Religion of the candidate
Abortion as a single issue
New voting groups
*Party affiliation, state of the economy, and candidate character are most influential in presidential electionsSlide13
What Decides Elections
Party identification
Issues, especially the economy
Prospective voting used by few voters
Retrospective voting practiced by most voters
Campaigns make a difference
Campaigns tend to emphasize themes over detailsSlide14
Finding a Winning Coalition
How loyal, or percentage voting for the party
How important, or number voting for party
Democratic coalition-Blacks, Jews, Hispanics, Catholics, Southerners, Unionists
Republican- business and professionals, farmersSlide15
Party Realignments due to issue changes within the parties
1800-
Jeffersonians
defeat Federalists- Federalism v. States’ rights
1828-Jacksonian Democrats win- Elitism
1860- Whigs collapse, Republicans win- Slavery
1896- Republicans defeat Bryan- Economics
1932-FDR Democrats came to power-Economics
2012?Slide16
Party De-alignment
General de-alignment due to party labels losing meaning for many voters
Party decline
-fewer people identify with either party
-increase in ticket splitting
-seeing effect of change from party-column voting to office-bloc ballotSlide17
Why Political Parties?-Provide a label (party identification)
-Organization, recruiting, campaigning of politicians
-Set of leaders to organize and try to control the legislative process and executive branchSlide18
US compared to European Parties-Europeans are disciplined gatekeepers, voters loyal
-Our Federal system decentralizes power
*Early on most power and important decisions were in state and local
govts
., as well as most political jobs.
*national parties were coalitions of local and state parties
*as political power became more centralized, parties became more decentralized and weaker (regulation):
1. Parties closely regulated by state and federal laws
2. Candidates are now chosen through primaries, not by party leaders
3. President elected separately from Congress and presidential appointees are drawn from many sourcesSlide19
The rise and decline of the political party.
The founding
the founders disliked parties and factions
Jefferson's organization of his followers was not seen as only an attack on Hamilton, but on the national govt.
Hamilton and his guys organize into the federalists (Why called Federalists?)Slide20
There were two emergent groups
The first party, the Republicans (Democratic Republicans)
The Federalists (Hamilton's group)Slide21
Conclusions to be drawn
First parties' weakness were that they were the first
no strong ancestral ties to the party
nobody considered themselves to be professional politicians.
Federalist party did not have wide appeal.
Early parties were heterogeneous coalitions- no homogeneous economic interestsSlide22
The Jacksonians:
Second Party System
largest voter eligibility in history
presidential politics brought to the people, not just the elites
Party system under the
Jacksonians
was bottom up, rather than top down
By 1832, presidential electors selected by popular vote in most states
End of presidential caucuses, begin national conventions- allows for local controlSlide23
Sectionalism
:
splits in the party 1860-1930
Slavery was the major issue
caused split in Whigs (anti Jackson) and DemocratsSlide24
Democratic Republicans divide into Democrats and Republicans
Republicans only third party to achieve majors- Whigs fade away
Dominate politics for the next 75 yearsSlide25
Splits within parties:
Republicans and reform
Stalwarts: Old Guard Conservatives
Mugwumps
(progressives)
giant reforms like direct primary, voter registration, referendumSlide26
The Era of Reform-Progressives pushed measures to curtail parties’ power and influence
-non-partisan elections at city and some state elections
-no party-business alliances, limit corruption
-strict voter registration requirements to reduce fraud
-civil service reform to eliminate patronage
-initiative and referendum so that citizens could vote directly on proposed legislationSlide27
Party Politics
Today
Parties similar on paper
-National convention has ultimate power; meets every four years to nominate presidential candidate
-National committee is composed of delegates from the states; manage affairs between conventions
-Congressional campaign committees support the party’s congressional candidates
-National chair manages the daily workSlide28
Democrats Set New Rules
In 1970’s, rules changed to weaken local party leaders and increase the proportions of women, youth, blacks, and Native Americans attending the convention
-Hunt Commission in 1981-”superdelegates” increased the influence of elected officials and made the convention more deliberative
Consequence of Reforms
-parties represent different sets of upper middle class voters
*Republicans represent the traditional middle class, conservatives
*Democrats represent new class, more liberalSlide29
Democrats make more rule changes to become more competitive:
-In 1988, the number of
superdelegates
was increased while the status of some special interest caucuses was decreased
-In 1992, three rules were set:
*Winner-reward system of delegate distribution banned, this had previously given winners of primaries and caucuses extra delegates
*Proportional representation implemented
*States that violated the rules were penalized with the loss of convention delegates. (Michigan-2008)
*Conventions today only ratify choices made in primary season- unless a tight raceSlide30
State and Local Parties
State level structure:
State central committee
County committees
Various local committees
Distribution of power varies withing the state, as different incentives are at work
Party types:
-The machine
-Ideological parties
-Solidarity Groups
-Sponsored Parties
-Personal followingSlide31
The Machine:-a party organization that recruits members via tangible incentives (money, jobs, political favors)
-high degree of leadership control
-abuses were extensive
-gradually controlled by reforms- voter registration, civil service, Hatch Act (1939)(prohibits federal employees from participating in partisan politics)
-machines continued until voter demographics and federal programs changed, decreasing the need for parties’ resources
-machines were self-serving and public rewarding
-New machines are a blend of the old machine (campaign finance) and today’s ideological party traits (issues)Slide32
Ideological Parties- extreme opposite to machine
-Principle is more important than winning election
-Contentious and factionalized
-Usually an outside “third party”
-local reform clubs in the 1950’s and 1960’s
-reform clubs replaced by more focused social movements which advance specific demands
-Political machine replaced by today’s social movements as the “farm club” of the national party
*factionalism is more intense
*party leaders have less freedomSlide33
Solidarity Groups
-Members are motivated by solidarity incentives (companionship)
-Advantage: neither corrupt nor inflexible
-Disadvantage: not very hard working- “Is it raining?”
Sponsored Parties
-created or sustained by another organization
Example: Detroit Democrats were developed and led by the UAW union
-not very common in the U.S.
Personal Following
-appealing personality, name recognition, and money
Example: Kennedys,
Romneys
, LongsSlide34
The Two Party System-A rarity among nations today
-Parties are balanced nationally, but not locally
Why has the two party system endured so long?
-Electoral system- winner-take-all and plurality system limit the number of parties
-Opinions of voters-two broad coalitons work (most of the time- sometimes bitter dissent)
-State laws have made it difficult for third parties to get on the ballot- petition drives, voter signatures etc.Slide35
Minor Parties- “third parties”-Ideological Parties-radical view, most enduring, ex. Socialist, Communist, Libertarian, Green
-One issue parties- address one concern, ex. Free Soilers, Prohibition
-Economic Protest Parties- regional protest of economic policies, ex. Populists
-Factional Parties, split from a major party, usually over presidential candidate, ex. Bull Moose, Henry Wallace, Ross Perot
Why not more minor parties?
-slim chance of success
-major parties accommodate movements with platform