Electoral Process, Mass Media, Public Opinion, Interest Groups Chapters 7-9

Chapter 7 Election Campaigns

How to Nominate a Candidate Self-announcement Caucus Convention Direct Primaries Petition

When are Elections held? 1st Tuesday after the first Monday

Administration of Elections Election laws are mostly made by states. Absentee voting Coattail effect Precinct Polling place ballot

Money & Elections

Spending & Funding Running for office = lots of $$$$ 30 seconds of primetime = $150,000 Two ways to draw $ Private contributors Public treasury (small contributors, wealthy, candidates, temporary organizations, parties, subsidy PACs) Subsidy: grant of $ from federal or state PAC: political action committees, political arms of special-interest groups, register w/ FEC

Regulating Campaign Funding 1907: fed gov’t began regulations Today’s regulations FECA (Federal Election Campaign Act) FEC (Federal Election Commission) FECA Amendments 1974 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act 2002

FEC:1974 Administers all federal laws dealing with campaign finance Independent agency of Executive Branch Laws that they enforce Timely disclosure of campaign finance data Place limits on campaign contributions Place limits of campaign expenditures Provide for federal subsidies

Disclosure Requirements $5,000 Contributions must be notified within 48 hrs. No cash gifts of more than $100 No foreign source contribution Sum of $1,000 or more within last 20 days must be reported

Limits on Contributions No more than $2,000 by person (primary & general election) No more than $5,000 by person in a year to a PAC No more than $25,000 to a political party Person’s total contribution to committees and candidates cannot exceed $95,000

PAC Contributions Raise campaign money and give friends contributions 4,000 PACs SARAHPAC National Education Association’s PAC Members pay money, PAC distributes to candidates No more than $5,000 to one candidate ($10,000 in general election) Up to $15,000 to political party

Limits on Expenses More limits came after the Supreme Court Case Buckley vs. Valeo (1976) Limit campaign expenditures by Reps/Senators Limit how much of candidate own money

Hard Money, Soft Money hard money soft money political contributions which are made directly to a specific candidate may only come from an individual or a PAC, and must follow the strict limits set forth by the FEC soft money political contributions which are made indirectly to parties and committees funds can come from individuals and PACS or corporations The law says that this money can only be used for "party-building activities" 2000- $500 mil

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act 2002 AKA McCain-Feingold Act Aimed at soft money Banned soft money contributions to political parties

Mass Media & Public Opinion Chapter 8 Mass Media & Public Opinion

What is Public Opinion? Attitudes held by people in regards to issues What affects public opinion? Family and Education Mass Media (TV, radio, internet) Peer groups (friends, coworkers) Opinion Leaders (ppl who hold public office) Historic Events

Measuring Public Opinion What are people’s opinions on particular issues? How do we measure them? Elections Interest groups (groups who share same goal and shape public policy) Media Polls

Polls How good are they? Fairly reliable Always margin for error Face to face, online, phone

Mass Media Means of communication Linkage between gov’t and people Forms of Mass Media TV Newspapers Radio Magazines

Media and Politics Media influences public agenda (societal problems that political leaders and ppl agree need attention) Electoral politics: media lets candidates appeal to people Build an image

Chapter 9 Interest Groups

What are interest groups? Private organization that tries to persuade public officials to respond to their attitudes Fortune Magazine "Power 25 Survey for 2001“ The Top 25 Interest Groups 1.  National Rifle Association 2.  American Association of Retired People (AARP)

Role of Interest Groups 1st amendment gives the right to assemble AKA: special interests, organized groups Influence public policy Are they good or bad? Good: provides political participation, Bad: push their own interest (not All Americans)

Types of Interest Groups Agricultural Groups Labor Groups Labor Unions Professional Groups Religious Groups

How they influence Public Opinion and Campaigns The use of propaganda: posters, TV ads NRA: gun safety signs Lobbying: way groups pressure the government Persuade legislators about their point of view