Political Parties and
Political Behavior
Parties, Voters, and Political Trends
Political Parties
 Definition:
 A group of people who seek to control the
government through winning elections
 There is NO Constitutional basis for their creation
or their structure
 Examples:
 The Big Two  Republican (Conservative)
 Democrat (Liberal)
 ‘Major’ Third Parties  Constitution, Green, Libertarian
What do political Parties do? G.A.I.N.
W.
5. Govern – or conduct the business of government
4. Approve – its candidate(s) to ensure the good performance of its
people by seeing that they are qualified and of good character
 Buttons, bumper stickers, ads, speeches, rallies, conventions—
the media also partially performs this function on behalf of the
parties
3. Inform – the people and stimulate their interests and participation in
public affairs
2. Nominate – or name candidates for public office
 Select candidate; present them to voters
1. Act as Watchdogs – over the conduct of the government, particularly
criticizing the party in power
 This is a constant action of the party. They do not have to have a
viable candidate or members in government to be watchdogs.
Why a Two-Party System?
 Historical: Parties began with the nation – Federalist
v. Anti-Federalists
 Tradition: most Americans accept the idea of a twoparty system because there has always been one
 Electoral System: our method of electing the
President is a winner-takes-all system, so people
think they are ‘wasting’ their vote by voting for a 3rd
party candidate
 American Ideological Consensus: Americans, in
general have shared ideals, principles, and patterns
of belief
 Agree? Are people becoming ‘sheeple’?
Other Systems
 Multi-Party - Several major parties and many lesser parties
exist
 Positives: may better represent needs and concerns of
people
 Some people say that Republicans and Democrats aren’t
that different (Demi-cans and Republi-crats)
 Negatives: tend to lead to instability, difficult to win the
support of a majority
 A big problem in a Democracy – Popular Sovereignty?
 One-Party – really means ‘no-party’
 Positives: ??? Are there any?
 Negatives: too many to list…
Minor Parties

Definition:


4 types of minor parties:
1.
2.
3.
4.

There are numerous, less politically reliable parties in
the US other than the D’s and R’s.
Ideological: based on a particular set of beliefs (Ex:
Libertarian – emphasizes individualism)
Single-Issue: those concentrating on a single public
policy matter (Ex: Right to Life Party opposes abortion)
Economic Protest: those rooted in periods of economic
discontent
Splinter: those that have split away from one of the
major parties (from R: Bull Moose; from D:
Progressive, American Independent Party)
Although they have no real chance of winning they
are still important

Spoiler – ‘steal’ votes from a major party candidate
Key Terms
 Strong devotion or faithfulness to a party, their
beliefs, and/or candidates is called partisanship.
 When the two major parties work together on an
issue, we call this cooperation bipartisanship.
 Despite their differences the two major parties
share an ideological consensus, that is they
share a general agreement on fundamental
issues.
 Each of the parties writes out it’s formal stance
on major issues. This is called the party’s
platform.
 People who chose no party affiliation are called
independents.
Voter Behavior
Voting Rights History in the US
Party Membership Patterns
(Remember: These are TENDENCIES…there are many that do
NOT follow the following criteria)
DEMOCRAT
Lower income / Lower
Status in Occupation
Income/Occupati
& union workers
on
REPUBLICAN
Wealthy / Higher
Status Occupations
& members of the
business community
Education
Less education
More Education
Gender/age
Women / 18-30 year
olds
Men / 55 years+
Religion
Jews and Catholics
Protestants
Ethnicity
Black
White
Geography
Northeast and far
West; urban
Midwest & increasingly
the South; rural
History of Voting in America
 Before Constitution
– in some colonies
 Free Blacks – in some colonies
 Slaves – Nope
 Women
 After Constitution
 Women,
Free Blacks, and Slaves were
initially denied the right or the States
decided
Voting…how we got to where we are today
 13th Amendment (1865)– outlawed slavery
 14th Amendment (1868)– granted citizenship to former
slaves
 15th Amendment (1870)– gave African-American males
the right to vote


However, later state laws prohibited them from
voting…Ex: Jim Crow Laws (1876-1965)
Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts of ’64, ’65 – ended Jim
Crow Laws
 19th Amendment (1920) – gave women the right to vote
 Women’s Suffrage: women’s right to vote
 26th Amendment (1971) – lowered the minimum voting
age from 21 to 18
Understanding the
Presidential Election Process
Quick video…
 A preview/review of the election process

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok_VQ8I7g
6I
Announcing Plan to Run for Office
 Get their name “out there” for potential voters to
know and remember
 Usually 1 to 1.5 (…or 2) years before a
presidential election


John McCain 2008 election announcement:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53caXQKTs9Y
Barak Obama’s 2012 announcement:
http://www.barackobama.com/
Candidate campaigns to win
delegate support
 Competing with
members from your own
party
 Hope to gain popularity
and financial support
 Also, hope to win the
support of party
delegates who will vote
for a specific candidate
at the party’s national
convention
Caucuses and Primary elections take
place in the states
 Primary elections: D vs. D and R vs. R


OPEN primary – any qualified voter can take
part in the vote (23 states)
CLOSED primary – only declared party
members can take part in the vote (27 states
and DC)

Pennsylvania has a closed primary
 Caucus – meetings where people decide and
discuss which candidate/delegates to support
Nominee for President is announced
at the National Party Convention
 Cities host to bid
 Party NOT in power goes first
 3 functions:
1.
2.
3.
Organize (rewrite Platform: a political party’s
formal statement of basic principles, stands on
major issues, and goals)
“Pep Rally” and a keynote speaker
Announce candidate…today it has become
simply a formality
Lots of Campaigning…then voting
 Voting Day – Tuesday following the first
Monday in November (on an even year)
 Democrat v. Republican (and a possible 3rd party)
 We are actually voting for ELECTORS not the
presidential candidate

Each state picks D and R electors


A winner-takes-all system - whichever candidate
wins, ALL of their (the winning party’s) electors are
sent to cast their votes for that candidate
Electors cast their vote on the Monday after the
2nd Wednesday in December
President is Inaugurated
January 20th of the following year (always an odd
year) the President officially takes office!