1. Goal 4 Role of Citizens in different levels of government

2. Political Party Systems Political Parties have candidates and beliefs Multi-party Systems are countries that have many parties within it (usually need coalitions to be successful) Two-party Systems (US) has two main parties One party System (China) has one main party

3. Spectrums and Voting From wanting most change to wanting less change: Radical-Liberal-Moderate-Conservative- Reactionary Democrats are more liberal, Republicans more conservative In the US, one can win with just a plurality vote (more than the other person) as opposed to a majority vote (more than half of all votes) In the US, third parties pop up as independent parties (Populists), but don’t often have a lasting effect as a party

4. Party Structure and Functions Structure 1) National – deals with national convention and President election 2) State – deals with elections to national Congress and state elections 3) Local – deals with state elections and county/city elections (cities can sometimes have political machines) Functions 1) Nominate Candidates 2) Coordinate government actions 3) Establish party platforms and planks 4) Help “grassroots” movements (ones that you can’t see but are efforts by citizens to encourage others to take action)

5. Election Types and Voting General (held in Nov b/w the parties) Primary (held before general within the party) Presidential (whenever presidential candidates run) Run-off (when nobody wins clear majority) Caucus (primary where delegates vote) Recall (kicks person out of office and replaces them Initiative (citizens sign a petition) Proposition (citizens vote on Congress laws) Referendum (citizens vote on amendment)

6. The Electoral College Electors elect the President, not people Winner takes all means that if a candidate wins more votes in a state they get all the electoral votes in that state People have suggested going to popular vote, but we still have the Electoral College as the way to elect the President

7. Campaigns and Funding Public Resources include public funding, given to those who have raised money privately and have previously had appropriate representation Private Funding comes from donors and PACs (political action committees), which contribute money to the campaigns that they support

8. Techniques for Campaigning Canvassing (going door to door) Endorsement (famous person support) Stacking Cards (molds a public perception) Just Plain Folks (candidate is like everyone) Name Calling (bad mouthing candidates) Glittering Generality (say things to appeal to voters without any real meaning) Jumping on the “Bandwagon”

9. Voting Day Polling Places 1) Voting District – determines candidates you can vote for 2) Precinct – an area in which you are assigned to vote 3) Board of Elections facilitates this Voting Properly 1) Must have gone through voter registration 2) Go to the polls and fill out the ballot using a voting machine 3) Taking an exit poll if necessary

10. Mass Media and Polling Polling determines public opinion, where a random sample of people are chosen for the best results Public Opinion often influences party platforms, and keeps people from being apathetic towards politics

11. “Domestic Tranquility” Ensure society is safe using both criminal and civil law Acts defined as criminal are listed in the state’s penal code, where mandatory sentencing requires incarceration, probation, and fines Civil Court has plaintiffs and defendants where someone may have to pay damages

12. Civic Responsibilities Public Service and Volunteering Serve on an impartial jury (jury duty) and take place during voir dire (attorneys ask jurors questions to figure out if they should be on the case) Costs of serving on a jury include being sequestered (removed from society for a time) Organizations include: 1) Peace Corps 2) Americorps 3) Job Corps 4) Senior Corps