Parties, Voting and
Elections
Chapters 5-8
GOVERNMENT
 The institution through which a
society makes and enforces its
public policies.
DEMOCRACY
 A form of government in which
supreme authority rests with the
people.
Political Parties
 Group of persons who seek to
control government through the
winning of elections and the
holding of public office.
 2 major political parties:
 Republican
 Democrat
What Do Political Parties
Do?
 Nominating Candidates
 Informing and Activating Supporters
 Bonding Agent
 Ensure the good performance of it’s
candidates and officeholders
 Governing
 Acting as a Watchdog
 Watches the conduct of the party’s business
Party Platforms
 A political party’s formal statement
of basic principles, stands on
major issues and objectives.
Different Types of
Systems
 Two Party:
 Type of system found in the U.S
 Tradition
 Established with Thomas Jefferson and the
Federalists and Anti-Federalists.
 Multi-Party:
 Several major and many lesser parties
seriously compete for, and actually win, public
office.
 One-Party:
 Found in nearly all dictatorships
 Can also be called a “no party” system
First Political Parties
 Federalists:
 Founded by Alexander Hamilton
 Supported the Constitution
 Most were rich
 Anti-Federalists:
 Founded by Thomas Jefferson
 Limited role for the government
 Sympathetic to the “common man”
Minor Parties
 Different Types of Political Parties:
 Ideological Parties Based on a set of beliefs
 Single-Issue Parties Focus only on one public-policy matter
 Economic Protest Parties Rooted in periods of economic trouble
 Splinter Parties Have split away from one of the major
parties
Minor Parties Cont…
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America First
America 3rd Position Party
Boston Tea Party
Citizen’s Party of the U.S.
Constitution Party
Green Party of the U.S.
Independence Party of America
Labor Party
National Atheist Party
Objectivist Party
Populist Party of America
Reform Party of the U.S.A
Socialist Alternative
United States Pirates Party
Unity Party of America
Workers Party
Working Families Party
A Little Vocabulary
 Ward:
 Unit into which cities are divided for the
election of city council members
 Precinct:
 Voters in each report to one polling place
 Split-Ticket Voting:
 Voting for candidates of different parties for
different offices at the same election
The Electorate
 The size of the potential voting
population
 About 220 million people
 Various groups of people have
struggled to achieve voting
equality since 1789.
Extending the Right to
Vote
 Amendments that gave more
people the right to vote:
 15th: gave African American males
the right to vote after the Civil War
 19th: gave women the right to vote
 24th: eliminated the poll tax as a
condition for voting
 26th: lowered the voting age to 18
Requirements for Voting
 Citizenship
 If not born here, must take the citizenship
test
 Residence
 You must live in the state for a certain
period of time
 Age
 Over 18
 Registration
 All states except North Dakota require
voters to be registered to vote prior or at
the election
Limiting Voters Rights
 Literacy Test
 Your right to vote was based on the
person’s ability to read and write
 Poll Tax
 Pay a tax in order to be able to vote
 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 made the
tests and taxes illegal
 Today those convicted of serious crimes
and in mental institutions are not
allowed to vote.
 EXCERPTS FROM THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES
 Part 1. In case of the removal of the president from office, or
of his death, resignation or inability to discharge the powers
and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the
Vice-President, and the Congress may by law provide for the
case of removal, death. resignation or inability, both of the
President and Vice-President, declaring what officer shall then
act as President, and such officer shall act accordingly, until
the disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.
 Part 2. In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public
ministers and consuls, and those in which a state shall be a
party, the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction
 Part 3. In all the other cases before mentioned, the supreme
court shall have appellate jurisdiction both as to law and fact,
with such exceptions, and under such regulations as the
Congress shall make.
 Part 4. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a
punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly
convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place
subject to their jurisdiction
 INSTRUCTION "C"
 (After applicant has read, not aloud, the foregoing excerpts
from the Constitution, he will answer the following questions
in writing and without assistance:)

1. In case the president is unable to perform the duties of
his office, who assumes them?______________________

2. "Involuntary servitude" is permitted in the United States
upon conviction of a crime. (True or False)___________

3. If a state is a party to a case, the Constitution provides
that original jurisdiction shall be in_________________

4. Congress passes laws regulating cases which are included
in those over which the United States Supreme Court
has____________________________ jurisdiction.
Why Don’t People Vote?
 80 million people who were eligible in
the last election did not vote.
 Non-voters are:
 Under 35
 Unmarried
 Unskilled
 Live in the South and in rural areas
 Women are more likely to vote than men
Voting Behavior
 Income, Occupation
 Voters in lower income brackets are more likely to be
Democrats
 Education
 College graduates vote for Republicans in higher
percentages than high school graduates
 Gender, Age
 Women tend to favor Democrats
 Younger voters tend to vote for Democrats
 Religious, Ethnic Background
 Protestants typically vote Republican, Catholics Democrats
 Geography
 The South typically votes for Republicans, North and East
for Democrats
 Family and Other Groups
 Family members vote in very similar ways
Nominating Process
 Nomination: naming of those who seek
office
 General Elections: regularly scheduled
elections at which voters make the final
selection of officeholders.
 Caucus: a group of like minded people
who select candidates for the upcoming
election.
 Primary:a political party’s nominating
election
Elections
 Congress set the date as the “Tuesday-
after-the-first-Monday”.
 Absentee Voting: vote without actually
going to their polling places on election
day.
 Polling Place: place where voters who
live in a precinct actually vote.
 Ballot: device by which a voter registers
a choice in an election.
 Office Group Ballot: candidates for an office
are grouped together under the title of that
office.
 Votes are counted electronically
Campaign Financing
 People give because it’s a way to
participate in the political system
 Campaign donations are limited to
 $2,000 in a primary, $2,000 in a federal
election or $25,000 to a party committee.
 Campaign spending limits
 Candidates can spend no more than $37.3
million prior to the nominating convention.
 Candidates can spend no more than $74.6
million on the general election.