Political Science 1100, Introduction to American Politics, September 17, 2007

How do Americans Participate in Politics?

A. There are some kinds of political participation
        we take for granted, such as
 

voting

contacting public officials (calling, writing, e-mailing)

petitioning

participating in political organizations
(political parties, interest groups)

lobbying

campaign contributions

protesting

 

B. There are some kinds of political participation
     we'd like to overlook, but they occur sometimes anyway

Political Corruption: Bribes, Extortion, Kickbacks, Patronage

Violence

2. Who Participates?

-- Generally, political participation is very limited

-- Middle class people are more involved than others

-- Poor people are less involved than others

3. American Government Was Designed

VOTING AND ELECTIONS
 

1. THE IDEAL: PROSPECTIVE VOTING 
 

PROSPECTIVE VOTING

Under Ideal Circumstances, Rational Voters Cast Prospective Votes For the Candidates That Offer Policies They Prefer

 

For Voting to be Prospective, Three Conditions Must Be Met:

1). Voters Must Know The Issues

2). Voters Must Vote For The Candidates who Share Their Views

3). Candidates Who Win Elections Must Understand Their Mandate and Govern As The Majority Prefers

 

2. THE REALITY OF AMERICAN ELECTIONS
 

Turnout tends to be Low

Those who turnout are not perfectly representative of voting age adults.
 

Four Reasons that Voters Choose One Candidate Over Another

a. Party Identification

 

b. The Image Of The Candidates
 

c. Candidates' Stands On Major Issues

 

d. Incumbents' Actual Performance Affects Outcomes
 
 

Retrospective Voting: We Tend To

• Reelect Incumbents When There Is Peace And Prosperity
   
• To Elect Challengers When We Feel Threatened And Experience Personal Economic Hardship

  Retrospective voting is particularly important in voting for President

POLITICAL PARTIES