1. Roles of Political Parties

2. Primaries Direct: voters choose candidates to run for an office. –Closed Primary: only people of a certain party can vote –Open Primary: voters do not need to be a part of a certain party.

3. Who wins? The candidate who receives a majority (greater than ½ of the total) called plurality

4. What if no one has a majority? Runoff Primary: b/w the top two vote getters

5. General Election Takes place after the primary. Then the voters get to choose between the two candidates who will hold the office. Presidential election: First Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

6. Interest Groups Freedom of assembly and petition NAACP, NOW, AARP, Sierra Club, National Wildlife Association, labor unions

7. PACs Political Action Committees What do they do? Endorse a candidate that will support their cause

8. Lobbyist Representatives of interest groups that try to influence gov’t officials directly.