Party Organization Chapter 16 Section 2

Membership and Organization Local, state, and national parties select their own officers and raise their own funds. The national party cannot give orders to the state or local parties. In many states, citizens must declare their party preference when they register to vote or when they vote in certain kinds of elections.

Section 2 Membership and Organization (cont.) A voter may declare that he or she is an independent, not supporting any particular party. independent The basic local unit is the precinct, a voting district ranging in size from just a few voters to more than 1,000 voters, all of whom cast their ballots at the same polling place.precinct

Section 2 Membership and Organization (cont.) In a precinct, each party has a volunteer precinct captain, who organizes party workers to distribute information about the party and its candidates to attract voters to the polls. precinct captain

Section 2 Membership and Organization (cont.) In each state, the most important part of a party is the state central committee, which usually is comprised largely of representatives from the party’s county organizations.state central committee

Section 2 Membership and Organization (cont.) The national party organization has two main parts: –The national convention is a gathering of party members and local and state party officials that meets every four years to nominate the party’s presidential candidates.national convention

Section 2 Membership and Organization (cont.) –The national committee is a large group, comprised mainly of representatives from the 50 state party organizations, that runs the party.national committee Both the Democrats and the Republicans also have independent campaign committees for Congress.

Section 2 Political Party Functions Political parties perform several important functions: –Political parties recruit candidates by seeking men and women who appear to have a good chance of being elected. –They educate the public by publishing its position on important issues facing voters.

Section 2 Political Party Functions (cont.) –Political parties play a key role in running and staffing the government because Congress and the state legislatures are organized and carry on their work on the basis of party affiliation. –Political parties also dispense patronage—favors given to reward party loyalty—to their members. patronage

Section 2 Political Party Functions (cont.) The party that is out of power in the legislative or executive branch assumes the role of “watchdog” over the government.