Political Participation Lisa Kucharczk

Methods of Political Participation Voting Discussing politics Interest groups PACs Protesting Volunteering for campaigns Donating to campaigns Running for office

Voting

Suffrage 15th Amendment – stopped race qualifications 19th Amendment – stopped gender qualifications 23rd Amendment – allowed D.C. residents to participate in presidential elections 24th Amendment – stopped poll taxes 26th Amendment – lowered voting age to 18 Suffrage is the right to vote Voting age was changed to 18 in federal elections

Issue Voting Direct primary –nominates candidates Recall – removes an official from office Referendum – votes directly on an issue Initiative – proposes issues for officials to discuss or vote on Recalls, referendums, and initiatives do not exist at a federal level

Voter Turnout Negative campaigning Many frequent elections Reasons for low voter turnout include… Negative campaigning Many frequent elections Little difference between candidates Mistrust in government Political apathy Satisfaction with current regime Low political efficacy Strenuous registration process Voter turnout has decreased both over time and in comparison to other countries. Low political efficacy means citizens think their vote won’t change anything. National Voter Registration Act of 1995 (Motor Voter Act)

The Electorate – Who Votes? High income/low income More education/less education Older/younger Whites/Minorities Men/Women Moderately religious/very religious Unmarried/married Union member/ nonmember Strong party affiliation/weak affiliation

The Electorate – Who Votes? High income/low income More education/less education Older/younger Whites/minorities Men/women Moderately religious/very religious Unmarried/married Union member/ nonmember Strong party affiliation/weak affiliation

Elections

Types of Elections Primary elections nominate candidates to run in general elections. Closed primaries – voters must be registered for particular party Open primaries – choose candidate for either one party Blanket primaries – choose candidate for both parties Runoff primaries – top two candidates face each other in a second primary Runoff primaries happen if there is no majority the first time around.

Types of Elections General Special Voters choose from a pool of candidates of all parties and independents Are held if an official needs to be elected before a general election

Types of Elections Held every two years National party conventions Congressional Presidential Held every two years Off-year or midterm elections Low voter turnout Coattails National party conventions Delegates from each state attend Choose candidates Write party platform Unite party Coattailing happens during presidential elections. People will check off the congressional candidate from the same party of the president they’re voting for. States choose how to decide who gets to be a delegate from their own state. Presidential and vice presidential candidates are chosen at the convention.

Partisanship in Elections Maintaining – preferences stay the same Deviating – temporary support for minority party Critical – sharp switch in party loyalty Realigning – minority builds a coalition and wins Dealigning – party loyalty declines

Campaign Finance Federal Election Campaign Act (1971) Restricted amount of money for ads, required disclosure on donations and expenses, and limited how much candidates can contribute to their campaign 1974 – Federal Election Commission established and amendments added to FECA Buckley v Valeo ruled many 1974 amendments and the restriction on personal donations unconstitutional

Campaign Finance Soft money was originally unrestricted Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act (2002) Banned soft money in federal elections and raised limits set by FECA 527 Organizations Unregulated interest groups that focus on a single policy Soft money was originally unrestricted because its uses (voter registration drives, party conventions, and issue ads) did not help individual candidates.