General Primary and Runoff Elections Primary Determines who wins right to compete in a general election General Determines who wins office political office Senators etc Runoff Decides who goes to General Election usually between two candidates top two competitors compete to see who wins must have majority to win majority is behind you Open and Closed Primary Open You individually determine what party you want to vote in open to anybody can manipulate system to vote for whoever Closed lose that liberty what you choose closed to anyone who isn t a partisan means only hardcore party member vote in this Majority and Plurality Election Majority Need 50 plus 1 to win election Plurality Need more votes than any other candidate someone always wins never a run off Politicians Responsiveness Ability of politicians to do what you want do this through Problems Facing Election Principle Agent Problem left unchecked you won t do job but employers check by hiring and firing Problems Electoral Coalitions Group of voters large enough to get and keep politicians in office not responsive to everyone just one group Low Voter Turnout number of people who vote number of people who can votes doesn t breed high responsiveness listens to people who voted before not people who don t vote voter turnout in America is low because of P B C D P Probability your individual vote will change election B Benefit Benefit outweighs cost then you do it C Cost of Voting Cost that must be done to vote ex Standing in line D Duty People who feel it their duty to vote peer pressure Gerrymandering Adjust district voting lines to benefit one group or one person waters down responsiveness to certain groups Why people vote P B C D P Probability your individual vote will change election B Benefit Benefit outweighs cost then you do it C Cost of Voting Cost that must be done to vote ex Standing in line D Duty People who feel it their duty to vote peer pressure Costs of Voting Increases Federalism waiting every four years to vote Registration Requirement Burden on citizens citizens must be productive to vote Awkward Voting Times From 7 to 7 on Tuesdays most people have to work Types of People More Likely to Vote Total Voter Turnout 63 6 18 to 24 48 5 75 67 8 High School 39 4 Some College 68 Bachelor s Degree 77 below 20 000 51 100000 91 8 Factors Americans use to vote Higher Turnout High Profile Election Easy Accessible fees for not voting Lower Turnout Precincts to Far Rainy Days Voting Lines Political Efficacy Do you think your vote has an effect on politics Public Opinion Citizens expressed views about an issue at a specific time formed from getting everyone s opinion democracy to work because it lets government know what people want Democratic helps government be Democratic narrows down to be responsive to American voter Political Socialization Society teaches you how to operate in a political environment groundwork for political views Agents of Socialization Items or people who are teaching you how to operate in a political environment 1 Family 2 Demographics Race Ethnicity Wealth etc 3 Religion 4 Education Social Capital wealth money value of your social interactions networks larger social capital more money you have and more likely you are to vote Two Types Bending A lot of social capital to people who are like you Bridging When you have a bridge that takes you away from people like you Short Term on Public Opinion Economy more money that is flowing the better the opinion of the government and vice versa Political Events ex 9 11 Opinion Leaders Someone who influences your political opinions Media power to vote or show your opinions Interest Groups policy groups issues they want to promote How Public Opinion Is Measured Polls Good 1 Large Sample 1000 to 1500 people larger the sample lower margin of error 2 Random Sample No one person has greater chance of being selected removing bias 3 Good Questions Bad Question Types Push Poll ask question to influence results Loaded Questions Public Opinion Polls Good Good Questions Ask non influenced question Random Samples Large Samples Interest Groups and How They Differ From Parties Interest Groups Groups of likeminded people that attempt to influence the government Pluralism Democracy functions through interest group competition 1 Magnifies Individual Competition 2 More Responsiveness Policies offsetting points of extreme points keeps most citizens happy Group Formation has to have a group of same interests to form good group Need For Group to Form 1 Members 2 Organizational Skills 3 Money Free Rider Problem One person is paying for something but everyone is using it eventually resource is gone everyone is now mad and one group wants to withhold the entire resource Persuasion Persuading people to support your cause Replacement Replace you with someone more specific to cause Tactics Lobbying convincing somebody to do something Inside Lobbying try to persuade a member of congress to go a certain way throwing political arguments Outside Lobbying Going public for person influence people so people influence government Election Score Card Grading Politicians so voters who like the group will come with them Campaign Contributions PAC Political Action Committee Donates money to campaign to help a campaign What Groups Get Buying Votes Interest groups don t change vote behavior vote behavior changes interest groups Special Benefits Tours of Politicians office get to meet politician go to politically sanctioned event Iron Triangle Different Types of Media Roles of the Media 1 Reporting The News 2 Link the People to the Government public opinion 3 Watchdog Function Types of Media Hard News Rational Ignorance not easily accessible difficult to understand active understanding Soft News Designed to entertain while entertained you may also be informed watered down version of news Setting Influenced Agenda Setting Driven by demand media gives people what they want Framing Criteria you use to judge an event Priming Prepare something for something else Pros and Cons of Media Pros Limited Government Restrictions Cons Green Bias Bias towards money giving people what they want so they can stay in business Campaigns are Candidate Centered Politicians act towards best interest of politicians government gives you money towards campaign candidates do what people want but if people don t say what they want candidates choose Candidates Disclose Campaign Contributions Politicians have to make donations public