Paying for Election Campaigns and Public Opinion Political Process Unit 3 Lesson 4

Money=Support Americans spend more than $3 billion on national, state, and local elections every four year period It takes a lot of money to run for office so candidates must spend a lot of time trying to get contributions Politicians need money to pay for advertising, staff, and campaign expenses Campaign workers use several different techniques to raise money and support

Financing a Campaign Federal Election Campaign Act: Law requires public disclosure of each candidate’s spending Limits how much money an individual can give to a campaign; today $2,300 an election, no limit on how much candidates can spend of their own money Public funding: taxpayers can designate $3 of their annual taxes to go to the fund for candidates; after the national conventions major party candidates can receive money from the fund if they agree not to accept any more contributions

Qualifying to Vote Voting is an important right of American citizenship, responsibility During our nation’s early years most voters were white, adult males who owned property; left out? Today there is no property requirement and the Constitution states that no state can deny someone the right to vote based on race, gender, or age if the person is at least 18; criminals? To be eligible to vote you must be at least 18, be a resident of the state for a specified period of time, a US citizen, and in most states you must register

Public Opinion Public Opinion: includes the ideas and attitudes that most people hold about elected officials, candidates, government, and political issues Politicians know that they need public opinion on their side to pass their agenda Public Opinion in America can change rapidly and is not always easy to figure out

Influences on Public Opinion Personal Background: a person’s age, gender, income, race, religion, job, and where they live can all influence a person’s opinion Mass media: media that reaches a lot of people such as TV provide powerful images and political information that can help shape people’s opinions Public officials: politicians can influence public opinion by giving speeches and news conferences, appearing on TV, and writing in papers and magazines Interest groups promote the cause they support and distribute information Michelle Obama on Sesame Street

Measuring Public Opinion One way to measure public opinion is to look at election results Most common way to judge public opinion is to conduct a poll, politicians use polls to gage their support and to adjust their positions Pollsters use a sample of Americans to make their polls, include people from many different groups Advantages/Disadvantages of polling?