Interest Group Democracy Pluralism or Interest Group Democracy:   Definition: theoretical understanding of a political system. It puts forth the belief that democratic values can be preserved in a system where multiple, competing democratic representatives (elites) determine public policy through bargaining and compromise. Interest groups are instrumental linkage institutions that continuously connect the demands (interests) of the people to government. In this framework, interest groups are assumed to enhance democracy.

Central assumptions of pluralism or interest group democracy: assumes many centers of power voters exercise meaningful choices and new elites can gain access to power multiple access points to government as power is dispersed on many levels and branches of government method of government: bargaining and compromise electoral majorities rarely rule; all active and legitimate groups can make themselves heard at some stage in the policy process, manifested in the rise of interest group activity

Political Party Relations Conflictual party relations: volatile, weak coalitions; fundamental economic and political differences ex. Italy, Israel characteristic of multiparty outcomes Consensual party relations: usually institutionalized two-party systems in which both political parties adhere to similar ideological beliefs; ex. Great Britain; U.S. characteristic of majoritarian outcomes in Legislature Consociational party relations: parties differ fundamentally on issues but possess established routines of bargaining and compromise; characteristic of multiparty outcomes Consociational democracy: Institutionalized Power sharing democracy: Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium characteristic of multiparty outcomes

German Bundestag (Lower Legislative House) Members 612 Political groups Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union of Bavaria Bloc (223) Social Democratic Party of Germany (222) Free Democratic Party (61) The Left. (53) Alliance '90/The Greens (51)

Voting Behavior Conventional political participation Political participation that attempts to influence the political process through well-accepted, often moderate forms of persuasion Unconventional political participation Political participation that attempts to influence the political process through unusual or extreme measures, such as protests, boycotts, and picketing

Elections of Legislatures Single-member plurality (SMP): winner- take-all system governed by plurality not majority rule example: Congressional elections in U.S. Single-transferable vote (STV): voters rank candidates in order of preference. Any candidate needs to achieve a set number of votes (the quota) to be elected. Surplus votes (votes exceeding quota) are redistributed to runner-up until all seats are filled example: Republic of Ireland, Malta

Proportional Representation Seats obtained by quota in multimember constituency Proportional representation (PR), sometimes referred to as full representation, is a category of election aimed at a close match between the percentage of votes that groups of candidates (grouped by a certain measure) obtain in elections and the percentage of seats they receive—normally in legislature Examples: Israel, Scandinavia, most of continental Europe, including Eastern Europe, most of Latin America

Corporatism State corporatism: Interest groups are subsumed under state control by incorporating them into government; these groups are not partners but subordinate to government itself. Rationale: purpose of interest group activity is to promote gov’t agenda; interest groups constituents are asked to defer their interests to the interest group leaders (Egypt, Mexico)

Patterns in Voter Turnout Turnout: the proportion of the voting-age public that votes 40% of the eligible adult population votes 25% are occasional voters 35% rarely vote Education: Voters tend to be more educated Income: More voters have higher incomes Age: Younger people vote less Gender: Women vote at the same rate or slightly higher rate than men Race and Ethnicity: Whites vote more regularly than African Americans – related to income and educational differences in the two groups Hispanics vote less than African Americans Have potential to wield much influence given their increasing size Interest in politics: Those interested in politics vote more

Why Is Voter Turnout So Low? Too Busy Difficulty of Registration Difficulty of Absentee Voting Number of Elections Voter Attitudes Weakened Influence of Political Parties

Efforts to Improve Voter Turnout Easier Registration and Absentee Voting Make Election Day a Holiday Strengthen Parties Other suggestions Holding fewer elections Proportional representation system for congressional elections Saturday or Sunday election day Making voting mandatory Tax credits Election weeks rather than election days Internet voting

Patterns in Vote Choice Party Identification Most powerful predictor voter behavior Ticket-splitting: voting for candidates of different parties for various offices in the same election Race and Ethnicity Whites increased tendency to vote Republican African Americans vote overwhelmingly for Democrats Hispanics also tend to identify with and vote for Democrats Kerry 53 percent; Bush 44 percent Asian Americans less monolithic Women today more likely to support Democratic candidates Gender gap varies by election Poor vote more often for Democrats; wealthier for Republicans Ideology related closely to vote choice Conservatives for Republicans Liberals for Democrats Issues Retrospective judgment: focused on present or past Prospective judgment: focused on future possibilities Retrospective judgment A voter’s evaluation of the performance of the party in power Prospective judgment A voter’s evaluation of a candidate based on what he or she pledges to do about an issue if elected Three requirements for prospective voting: Voters must have an opinion on an issue Voters must have an idea of what action, if any, the government is taking on the issue Voters must see a difference between the two parties on the issue.

Purposes of Elections Regular free elections guarantee mass political action enable citizens to influence the actions of their government Popular election confers on a government the legitimacy that it can achieve no other way Regular elections also ensure that government is accountable to the people it serves

Purposes of Elections Electorate Mandate: Citizens eligible to vote A command, indicated by an electorate’s voters, for the elected officials to carry out their platforms Sometimes the claim of a mandate is suspect because voters are not so much endorsing one candidate as rejecting the other

General Elections General elections are those in which voters decide which candidates will actually fill elective public offices Held at many levels. Contests between the candidates of opposing parties

Initiative, Referendum, and Recall An election that allows citizens to propose legislation and submit it to the state electorate for popular vote Referendum An election whereby the state legislature submits proposed legislation to the state’s voters for approval Recall Voters can remove an incumbent from office by popular vote Are very rare

Presidential Elections Primary elections or caucuses are used to elect national convention delegates which choose the nominee Winner-take-all primary Proportional representation primary Caucus

Primaries v. Caucuses Over years, trend has been to use primaries rather than caucuses to choose delegates Caucus is the oldest, most party-oriented method of choosing delegates to the national conventions Arguments for primaries More democratic More representative A rigorous test for the candidate Arguments for caucuses Caucus participants more informed; more interactive and informative Unfair scheduling affects outcomes Frontloading (being first in the primary calendar) gives some primary states an advantage Frontloading is the tendency to choose an early date on the primary schedule

The Party Conventions Out-of-power party holds its convention first, in late July, followed in mid-August by party holding the presidency Conventions were decision-making body in the 19th century Today the convention is fundamentally different Nominations settled well in advance of the convention

The Electoral College Representatives of each state who cast the final ballots that actually elect a president Total number of electors for each state equal to the number of senators and representatives that a state has in the U.S. Congress District of Columbia is given 3 electoral votes

The Electoral College Result of compromise between: Selection by Congress versus direct popular election Three essentials to understanding the design of the Electoral College: Constructed to work without political parties Constructed to cover both the nominating and electing phases of presidential selection Constructed to produce a nonpartisan president

The Electoral College in the 19th Century 12th Amendment (1804) Attempt to remedy the confusion between the selection of vice presidents and presidents that emerged in the election 1800 Provided for separate elections for each office, with each elector having only one vote to cast for each In event of a tie, the election still went to the House Top three candidates go to House Each state House delegation casts one vote