2. U.S. System A political party is an association of voters with broad, common interests who want to influence or control decision making in government by electing the party’s candidate to office. We have a two party system – two major parties control the main political landscape

3. Parties The two main parties are the Democrats and the Republicans. The U.S. Constitution mentions nothing about political parties. Washington was opposed to parties and felt that they would divide the country.

4. Parties Third Parties – groups that challenge the other two are called third parties. No true third party has ever won the presidency, but has won many elections throughout the U.S. Single-Issue Parties – arise not to win the election, but to promote a social, economic, or moral issue.

5. Parties Ideological Parties focus on changing society in major ways. Example – Libertarian Party wants to cut the size of the U.S. government in order to increase individual freedoms. Independent Candidates – candidates that do not belong to a major party or a third party.

6. Parties In most democracies, there are multiparty systems in place. Canada has three major parties, while Germany has 5, and Israel has 20. A one-party system controls everything and everyone has the same views in the government. You would find these in communist countries and are not democracies.

7. Parties The platform is a series of statements expressing the party’s principles, beliefs, and positions on election issues. Each individual part of the platform is called a plank.