1. Political Participation
Lisa Kucharczk

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

3. Voting

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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)

7. 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

8. 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

9. Elections

10. 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.

11. 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

12. 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.

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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.