Jaymie Ticknor Political Science 1050 Sect 002 20 February 2014 Political Parties Chapter 11 Lecture 6 Political Parties label same for groups of like minded people changed who band together to exercise political power two dominant parties in the U S are Democrat and Republican parties they differ in big government and social programs more huacas in national defense more taxation Democrats and small government and greater emphasis on military defense less taxation Republicans Political parties strive for control over government with multiple interests while interest groups want to influence political government with just one specific interest Political parties are not mentioned in the Constitution because early founders were suspicious of parties and factions less important than in the past Dimensions of Party Party in the Electorate party among voters those who vote people in population that identify with particular party had declined between 1964 and 1974 less were identified as Democrat or Republican ticket splitting has declined voting for a Republican and another who is Democrat single ticketing is when voting for all Democrats or Republicans party defection rates have declined Party in Government elected officials affiliated with political parties partisanship in government has heightened party voting is at its highest levels in American history in decades Party in Organization formal structure that sets rules for party operations and supports political candidates and other party units role of organization in elections had declined for several years organizations are starting to spend more on candidate support and messaging Parties recruit candidates into the electoral process any election and nominate them for office inform citizens and bring them into the electoral process arguable going door to door may increase number of people going to polls running policies in order to influence public policy Parties fill gaps left by the Constitution U S Constitution provides framework for selection of officials political parties recruit candidates govern political institutions and mobilize voter support Parties and Elections parties provide assistance like fundraising issue development and campaign organization electable candidates increase party power Power to place candidate on ballot party nominations determine who represents party in election Two Party System Electoral system a means of translating popular votes into control of public offices Two Party System system in which two major parties compete for control of government Multi Party System system in which several major parties compete for control of government most democracies have multi party systems Reasons for Two Party System Duverger s Law Sociologist single member plurality systems tend to lead to two party systems Single Member Simple Plurality System two party system rely on this electoral system in which the country is divided into geographic districts and the candidates who win the most votes within their districts are elected Proportional Representation multi party systems rely on this electoral system in which parties receive a share of seats in parliament that is proportional to the popular vote they receive Structural Barriers Ballot Access Laws must win certain percentage of vote in last state election for party to automatically be placed on the ballot if not certain percentage of vote in last state election must sign a petition Campaign Finance must receive at least 5 of the vote in last presidential election to receive public matching funds Psychological component is throwing vote away if vote for third party cast vote in a second prefered candidate party that seems to have a chance of winning Future of Party Politics in Texas party organization Republicans have advantage in campaign funding Republicans have more visible leaders and control government There have been dramatic demographic changes significant increase in Latino population small portion of eligible voting population with socialization of Latinos Texas may become a competitive state may become purple state even though strictly red right now Party History in Texas long period of Democratic dominance 1870 1970 100 years similar political history as rest of South Resurgence of Republican Party state legislature is controlled by Republicans civil rights agenda weakened support for the Democratic Party in the 1970s