Government Chapter 9

Roles of Political Parties Today Section 3

Key Terms Nomination: A process by which political parties select and offer candidates for public office. Direct Primary: An election in which voters choose candidates to represent each party in a general election. Closed Primary: An election in only the declared members of a party are allowed to vote for that party’s nominees. Open Primary: An election in which voters need not declare their party preference.

Key Terms cont. Plurality: The most votes among all those running for a political office. Runoff Primary: Second primary election between the two candidates who received the most votes in the first primary election. Petition: A formal request for a govt. action; or a process by which candidates who are not affiliated with one of the two major parties can get on the ballot for the general election in most states.

Nominating Candidates People who make up political parties play an important role in govt. Keep people informed Keep people interested Keep an eye on opposition party Link between branches of govt. Political parties only organizations that select candidates for office Nomination process

Primary Elections Parties nominate candidates through direct primaries Two forms Closed primary Open primary

Closed Primaries Held in most states Only party members can vote at Party’s primary

Open Primary Held in few states Choose a party when you vote

Plurality Some political offices have more than 1 vacancy Each party can nominate more than 1 candidate Most offices only have 1 winner Candidate who receive plurality

Run-off Some states winner must have majority vote More than half If no candidate receives the majority: Runoff primary Winner becomes candidate

Unaffiliated Candidates Candidates that do not belong to the major parties In most states they can get on ballot by petition

Party Roles Campaigning for candidates Informing citizens Helping manage govt. Linking the different levels of govt. Acting as a watchdog

Campaigning for Candidates Party nominates its candidate Party begins to campaign for them in the general election Help candidates get ideas and views of public issues to voters Make sure supporters are registered Voters get to the polls

Informing Citizens Campaign informs citizens about public issues Informational pamphlets Speeches TV Radio Newspaper

Helping Manage Govt. First task after election Parties hand out govt. jobs Open, competitive examinations and merit Most are civil service jobs High ranking politicians use their power to appoint supporters to high-level jobs

Linking the Different Levels of Govt. Party ties are important in helping levels of govt. and branches of govt. cooperate Connections may make it easier to join forces on mutual problems

Acting as a Watchdog Losing party watches the actions of the party in power Mistakes Misuse of power Hope to attract voters for future elections Competition between parties force parties to pay attention to the will of the people