POLI 365 1nd EditionExam # 2 Study Guide Lectures: 8 - 11Lecture 8 (February 20)What are the different kinds of elections? When is voter turnout highest? Why was the South traditionally dominated by Democrats? When did that change, and what is the name of that change called? Elections:1. Nonpartisan/ Top Two Primary In this election, all candidates are on one ballot with party labels. A majority voteis needed to win the seat outright, but if there is none, there is a runoff between the top two candidates in the general election.These elections occur in LA, CA, and WAIn this kind of election, the top two candidates could be in the same party. This is particularly useful when a state is dominated by one party.Voter Turnout:2. Voter turnout is highest when:- There are general elections- There are national elections, especially presidential elections - There are close elections - The state has high party competition Traditional Democratic Domination of the South From 1877-1995, there was not a single Southern state legislature in which a single chamber was controlled by the Republicans. Why? Firstly, Southerners resented the Republican party over the Civil War and therefore voted Democratic. Second, there was ideological homogeneity in the south. That is, the south was not very racially, industrially, ethically, or religiously diverse. Therefore the Democratic party represented them well. Third, there was a lack of party competition. In 1964, the core southern states began to vote Republican, thus, realignment began. Realignment refers to the movement of Southern Democrats back to the Republican Party. Realignment began in 1964 as a reaction against the Democratic party, who began to advocate for civil rights for black citizens. The recent 1964 Civil Rights Act overturned Jim Crowe laws and ended segregation. Realignment occurred slowly.3. Causes of realignment:a. Reaction against Democrats because of Civil Rights movementsb. Southerners were more ideologically matched with the conservative Republican Partyc. The Republicans aligned with moral conservatisms and ChristianityLecture 9 (March 4)What are the pros and cons of uncompetitive elections? How can we accurately predict elections? What are the different types of representation in the legislature? What are the pros and cons for term limits? Uncompetitive Elections - Pros of Uncompetitive Elections: (1) if legislatures don’t have to spend time/effort/money on campaigning for competitive elections, they can spend more time focusing on laws and the wellbeing of the state. (2) legislatures could be doing such a good job of representing us, that they don’t need to be replaced.- Cons of Uncompetitive Elections: (1) institutional bias; the system could be rigged. (2) it can discourage voters from voting Predicting ElectionsAccurately predicting elections involves looking at three key factors: - Party of the District : districts tend to be relatively homogenous; therefore districts tend to lean towards one party or another. Did a Democrat or Republican win in the last election? - Incumbency: candidate who is currently holding the office is called the incumbent. The incumbent has the greatest chance of being reelected. In state legislatures, the incumbency advantage isn’t as big as in Congress, but it is still very influential. Incumbency advantages is greater when: (1) there are two year terms, rather than four (2) there are more professional legislatures and (3) redistricting is controlled by their own party- Campaign Spending How are we represented in the legislature? The general public are represented in two main ways: - Substantive Representation: we are interested in if the legislator is doing a good job of representing the interest of their constituents. There are two different types of substantive representation:o Delegate (Representative) Representation: if a person is a delegate, or representative of a group of people, you should act exactly how the majority ofyour constituents want you to. A delegate is a tool of the people whose job is simply to reflect the preferences of the people. o Trustee Representation: as voters, we entrust the representatives to use their best judgment to make their decisions. If a representative feels that what the voters want would not be in their best interest, he/she will do what they think will ultimately benefit his/her voters. - Sociological/Symbolic Representation: people are best represented by representatives that are similar to them in terms of ideological, moral, ethnic, gender, occupation and age. Representatives should look a lot like the people they are representing. Term Limits- Pros for Term Limits: o Legislators become institutionalized, they no longer think like regular citizens, therefore they are unable to represent their citizens. They may begin to value their relationships with lobbyists and lawmakers more than their relationships with their citizens.o There is a lot of potential for creativity and innovation from new legislators. We want new ideas from new legislators, not stale ideas from old ones. New blood, new ideas. o Older legislators aren’t very representative of their population. o Greater diversity of new legislators.o Less focus on districts. Instead of focusing on reelection, they should think about the benefit of the state as a whole. What could be best for the whole state might not be best for their specific district. o Creating a sense of urgency amongst legislators will encourage new ideas and ambition for policy changes, rather than waiting because you don’t have a term limit. - Cons for Term Limits o Limits voters choice: even if you like this legislator, you can’t vote for him/her anymore because his/her term is up.o Limits accountability: legislators don’t have the incentive to be good representatives because they can’t be reelected. They might pass unpopular policy because he/she has no chance of being reelected. o Loss of experience: procedurally or politically, it is difficult to work within a legislative body and come to coherent conclusions. The longer you work in the legislature, the more knowledge you gain about policy and other facets of your state. o Moves influence away from legislature o Less bipartisanshipLecture 10 (March 6)How is the legislature organized? What are the institutional powers of the governor? Legislative OrganizationThe legislature is organized into two main groups: parties and