Political Science 1100, Introduction to American Politics, February 16, 2008

Participation in Politics

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

to Permit but to Control Participation

 

VOTING AND ELECTIONS
 

 

1. THE IDEAL FOR AMERICAN ELECTIONS:  PROSPECTIVE VOTING

 

PROSPECTIVE VOTING

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

 

2. THE REALITY OF AMERICAN ELECTIONS: American Circumstances are far from idea.
 

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
 
 

In Reality, we tend to cast Retrospective Votes: 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