Forms of Political Participation
• Lobbying is the strategy by which organized interests
seek to influence the passage of legislation by exerting
direct pressure on members of the legislature.
• Public relations is the attempt, usually through the use
of paid consultants, to establish a favorable relationship
with the public and influence its political opinions.
• Litigation is the attempt to use the courts to achieve a
political goal
• Protest is a form of political participation that involves
assembling crowds to confront a government or other
official organization.
The Practice and Privilege of Voting
• In practice, citizen participation in the United
States is limited to voting and other electoral
activities such as campaigning. However,
American voter turnout (the percentage of
eligible individuals who actually vote) is
relatively low.
• Electoral participation studies show turnout
has declined. These studies also conclude that
the least well off Americans are least likely to
participate and the most advantaged are
likeliest to vote.
Voter Turnout By Income Chart
Who Participates and How
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Participation and New Technologies
African Americans
Latinos
Asian Americans
Women vs Men
Religious Identity and Politics
Age and Participation
Explaining Political Participation
• Participation is higher among those with more education
and money.
• Socioeconomic Status: Individual characters explain
participation levels. Survey results show that Americans
with higher socioeconomic status participate much more in
politics than those with lower socioeconomic status.
• Civic Engagement: Civic Engagement is the sense of
concern among members of the political community about
public, social, and political life, expressed through
participation in social and political organizations.
Participation depends on three elements: resources (time,
money, and know how), civic engagement (Are you
concerned about public issues, and do you feel you can
make a difference?), and recruitment (Are you asked to
participate by someone you know?).
Formal Obstacles and Political
Mobilization
• Formal obstacles can greatly decrease participation. The
poll tax, white primaries, and other measures deprived
minorities and the poor of their right to vote until the
passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Other important
political factors reducing voter turnout are registration and
voting requirements. Most American states require citizens
to register well in advance prior to the election. Elections
are held on working days.
• The process by which large numbers of people are
organized for a political activity is called political
mobilization. The most significant factor affecting
participation is whether people are mobilized by parties,
candidates, interest groups, and social movements. Half
the drop-off in American participation can be attributed to
reduced mobilization efforts.
Elections in America and Types of
Elections
• American elections are held at regular intervals. Presidential
elections are held on the first Tuesday in November every four
years. Congressional elections are held on the same day every two
years, some being midterm elections (congressional elections not
coinciding with presidential elections, also called off year elections).
• Primary Elections
• Closed Primary
• Open Primary
• General Election
• Some states also provide the following voting opportunities:
• a. Referendum: the practice of referring a measure proposed
laws or actions.
• b. Recall: procedure that allows voters the opportunity to
remove a elected state official from office before his or her term
expires.
The Criteria of Winning
• Majority System: a type of electoral system in which,
to win a seat in the parliament or other
representative body, a candidate must receive a
majority of all the votes cast in the relevant district.
• Plurality System: a type of electoral system in which,
to win a legislative seat, a candidate need only
receive the most votes in the election, not necessarily
a majority of the votes cast.
• Proportional Representation: a multiple member
district system that allows each political party
representation in proportion to its percentage of the
total vote. In European elections, a party is awarded
legislative seats in proportion to the amount of votes
the party won.
Example of Proportional
Representation
• U.S. House of Representatives has 100 total
seats.
• The Republicans get 42% of the popular vote,
the Democrats get 26%, the Libertarians get
20%, and the Green Party gets 12%, total
100%
• The results: Republicans get 42 seats,
Democrats get 26 seats, Libertarians get 20
seats, and the Greens get 12 seats, totaling
100 seats.
Electoral College
• The Electoral College is made up of the presidential
electors from each state, who meet after the popular
election to cast ballots for president and vice president.
This is a product of indirect elections, where voters
choose an intermediate body to select public officials.
• On Election Day, American voters do not vote directly
for their president. Instead, they choose electors
selected by the state’s party to support and cast their
vote for the party’s presidential candidate (except in
Maine and Nebraska, where one electoral vote goes to
the winner in each congressional district and two
electoral votes go to the winner statewide).
• There are 538 electoral votes.
Election Campaigns
• Campaigns are efforts made by political
candidates and their staffs to win the backing
of donors, political activists, and voters in the
quest for political office. Campaigns precede
primary and general elections. Campaigns
consist of a number of steps, including first
organizing groups to raise funds and gain
media attention.
• Advisers
• Polling
• Primaries
Presidential Elections
• The major party presidential nominations follow
a pattern this is quite different from the
nominating process for other political offices.
The presidential nominating process includes
primary elections, but these are different from
those for other political offices. In some years,
especially when an incumbent president is
running for re-election, one party’s nomination
may not even be contested.
• Open Caucuses/Primaries
• Closed Caucuses/Primaries
• Nominating Conventions
• Presidential Debates
How Voters Decide
• The ultimate decision is made by the voters.
There are three factors that influence voters’
decisions at the polls: partisan loyalty, issue
and policy concerns, and candidate
characteristics.
• Partisan Loyalty
• Issues
• Economy
• Candidate Characteristics
Money and Politics
• Modern national political campaigns are fueled
by enormous amounts of money. In a national
race, millions of dollars are spent on media time,
on public opinion polls, and on media
consultants.
• Sources of Campaign Funds
• Individual Donors
• Political Action Committees
• The Candidates
• 527 Committees
• Political Parties
• Public Funding