Political Behavior
OCTOBER 8-12
Post-Test Discussion
 Our next unit will be on political behavior and
political parties
 Do you think our country would run better without
political parties? Why?
 Do you think political parties are a natural evolution
for a democracy? Can a democracy exist without
them?
History of Voting Discussion
 Why do you think that some people wanted to
prevent certain groups from voting? What were they
afraid of?
 Do you think there should be any restrictions on who
should vote? If so, what kind?
Review Game
 http://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_educati
on/initiatives_awards/conversations_on_the_consti
tution/landingpage.html
Responsibilities
 As people living in a democracy, we have certain
responsibilities:

Personal responsibilities (behaviors that impact self and
family)

Civic responsibilities (responsibilities of citizens in a political
community that promote the common good)
Responsibilities
 Personal – supporting one’s family, caring for and
education one’s children, accepting consequences
for one’s actions, living according to moral
principles, respecting the rights of others
 Civic – obeying the law, paying taxes, respecting
others’ property, keeping informed on issues,
monitoring the actions of government leaders and
agencies, voting, participating in civics groups,
performing public service, serving as a juror,
serving in the armed forces
Voting
 As exciting as the last presidential election
was for America, only about 57% of the
people of voting age turned out to vote.
 Why do you think so few people vote?
 What excuses have you heard people give for
not voting?
Voting
 Do any of these reasons for not voting have
legitimacy?
 Can any of them be remedied by government
action?
 Which involve lack of personal or civic
responsibility?
 Can students make suggestions for
increasing voter turnout?
Increasing Voter Turnout
 Each group gets one proposal.
 Use the CHECKLIST to evaluate the assigned
proposal and recommend action on that proposal.
 Each group will report to the class on its
recommendation.
Voting Discussion
 Is there every a good reason not to vote? Why or
why not?
 How do you think elections would be different if
more people voted?
 Since so little of the population tends to vote, do you
think people would be upset if they suddenly lost
their right? Why or why not?
Who Votes?
 Years in BOLD type are years when there was a
presidential election.
 Years not in bold type represent years when only
members of Congress were being elected and are
called off-year elections. U.S. Representatives
must run every 2 years and one-third of the U.S.
Senate is up for re-election in any given election
year.
 The percent turnout given reflects the ratio of
actual voters to the number of people of voting
age. The voting age population includes felons,
mentally incompetent, resident legal immigrants
and others who cannot register to vote.
Who Votes?
 What happens to turnout when there is not a presidential election?
 It declines more than 10%
 What possible explanations exist for this decline in voter turnout?
 Less interest in Congressional elections, less media attention to them, people perceive the
President to be more important to what happens in their daily lives (probably Congress with its
lawmaking power actually influences their daily lives more),
 Explain that when an election is perceived by voters as going to be very
close, they will turn out in greater numbers.

This was true in 1960, when Kennedy defeated Nixon,
 Explain that when the country is at war or in crisis, turnouts tend to be
higher.

This was true in the 1960’s and in 2004 and 2008.
 Explain that when an incumbent President is running for re-election
and the country is generally satisfied with his performance, turnout will
go down.

This was true in l996 and l972.
 When the country is unhappy with the incumbent, turnout can increase.
 This was true in 1992.
 Attractive, appealing candidates (those with charisma) can also increase
turnout:

Kennedy in 1960, Clinton in 1992 and Obama in 2008.
Political Parties
 Throughout our history numerous parties
have played a role in politics in our country.
Sometimes parties are organized to reflect a
general political philosophy, sometimes they
are organized around a single issue, and
sometimes they are organized around a
single individual. Today, each student will
represent one of the parties from our history
and acquaint classmates with facts about that
party.
Political Parties
 Liberal - tend to look to government to solve problems,
the “left” on political spectrum
 Conservative - believe in traditional values, less
government, the “right” on political spectrum
 Grassroots democracy – local level political organization
 Ideology – manner of thinking, characteristic of a group
Political Parties
 Party platform – a political party’s stance on issues
 Platform plank – one topic in a party’s platform
 Populist – believer in the rights and wisdom of the common
people
 Faction – a group within a party, usually marked by
dissention
 Ballot status – qualifying to have one’s name on the ballot.
Varies from state to state, can be by paying money or getting
signatures of registered voters
Political Side-Step
 Study your party descriptions
 Divide the class in half.
 Form two lines facing each other. Designate one line as Line A and the other is Line
B.

Spread out as much as possible.
 Step forward to meet the person in front of you. Introduce yourself and then explain
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your party’s history and philosophy to your partner from the other line.
Using the Handout: Political Side-Step Dance Card Notes, list at least 5 facts
about the parties they are encountering.
After approximately one minute, you will be given a signal to move as outlined
below:
LINE B does NOT MOVE. Students in LINE A only move one person to
the LEFT. The person on the left end of the line moves to all the way to
the other end of the line.
Again introduce yourself to your partner, explain your party’s history and
philosophy to your new partner, and add notes to you Dance Card.
Continue rotating until you have returned to your original place in line. (On the last
rotation you may be asked to publicly introduce the person opposite you, since those
in each line never meet each other.)
Post Side-Step
 Answer these on a separate sheet of paper to be turned in
tomorrow:
Which two parties were organized first in our country?
Who was the first man elected President as a Democrat?
As a Republican? Which of those two parties is the oldest?
Which of those two parties has had the most people elected
President? Which third party is believed to have played a role in
determining the outcome of the 2000 election?
 What historic party developed in opposition to Andrew
Jackson’s policies?
 Name at least three parties that can be defined as single-issue
parties.
 Which parties seem to have been organized mainly around one
individual?
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Party Platform
 It is a personal choice whether or not to participate in or
identify with a particular party
 One “joins” a party simply by saying they identify with that
party. No dues are paid to be a member of a political party.
 Platforms are written every four years at the parties’
national nominating conventions. Committees
representing people from all states begin researching
the platforms weeks in advance of the convention,
holding hearings to get input from grassroots
members of the party. The convention delegates vote
on the platform early in the convention, and can
reject or change proposals put forth by the platform
committee. Each topic in the platform is referred to
as a “plank.”
Party Platform
 Party platforms are written in broad, general language rather
than getting into specific details or going to extremes. Both
parties must appeal to the electorate as a whole for votes.
 Both platforms do not always address the same ideas. Just
because a party is silent on an idea does not necessarily mean
they dislike the idea – they just may not have thought to include
it.
 Sometimes parties agree in principle on an issue, but may differ
on how to carry the idea into practice.
 People rarely agree with every stance a party takes on issues, but
they generally agree with a party’s overall philosophy. When
deciding on a party to support, voters must consider which
issues are the most important to them.