Texas Government Test 3

Front 1

Visiting every country personally during primary:

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4 counties/day

5 days/week

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TV

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Most important medium for Texas voters

Front 3

Campaign Reform

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Includes eliminating negative campaigning increasing free media access for candidates, & regulating campaign finance.

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Markle Commission on Media & Electorate

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Concluded candidates, media consultants, & electorate are all blameworthy for the increase.

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2010

Back 5

Study showed that ads in Texas that were negative influenced voters.

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Campaign Finance

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"Money makes the mare go."

-Pres. LBJ

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5th most expensive gubernatorial race

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Perry V. Sanchez

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Houston City Council often requires:

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Approx $150,000 (district races)

Approx $250,000 (at-large races)

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Mayoral Candidates

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$2 million or more

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Federal Law

(regulating campaign financing)

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More restrictive w/ reporting requirements and limits.

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Texas Law

(regulating campaign financing)

Back 11

Relatively weak & tends to emphasize reporting of contributions.

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Lonnie "Bo" Pilgrim

(1989)

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Handed out $10,000 checks on Texas senate floor with "payable to" lines left blank as legislators debated reforming states' worker compensation laws.

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1991

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Texas lesgislature passed laws prohibiting political contributions to members while in session.

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1993

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Voters approved constitutional amendment establishing Texas Ethics commisions.

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Latinos

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Mexican Americans played an important role in south Texas politics throughout 20th century.

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La Raza Unida Party

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Founded in 1969 by Jose Angel Gutierrez

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1980s

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Mexican American election strategy became more sophisticated.

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Raul Gonzalez, Jr. (D)

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Served on Texas Supreme Court from '84-'99

(1st latino to win statewide office)

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Dan Morales (D)

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Texas attorney general from '91-'98

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George W. Bush

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Selected Latinos for several high-profile positions.

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Tony Garza

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Sec. of state

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Alberto Gonzalez

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Texas supreme court justice & later, U.S. attorney general.

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Tony Sanchez, Jr.

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Challenged Dan Morales for Democratic gubernatorial nomination.

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March 1, 2002

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2 men held 1st Spanish-language gubernatorial debate in U.S. history.

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2012

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Democratic Party selects Gilberto Hinojosa to state chair.

(1st Latino chair of major political party in Texas)

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2015

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Substancial #'s of Latino's hold office in Texas.

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Latino Issues

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None more relevant than immigration.

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Rick Perry

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Defended support for state law allowing some undocumented students who graduated from TX high schools & who are working towards legal status, to qualify for in-state tuition at Texas state colleges.

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African Americans

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Tended to identify w/ Democratic Party since 1930s

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Voting age population

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Approx. 1 million

(about 10% of potential voters in Texas)

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TX African Americans

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80% Democrats

5% Republican

15% Independent

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2013-African Americans holding office include:

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500+ seats of 5,200 elected positions in the state.

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Until 1990

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Only 4 women had won statewide office.

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Miriam "Ma" Ferguson

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2 term gov.

1925-1927

1933-1935

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1990

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Female voters outnumber males & Ann Richards elected gov.

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Post-1990

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# of women elected to statewide offices increased dramatically.

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Early 1990s

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Women served as mayors in about 150 of TX towns/cities including top 4 in terms of pop.

Houston

Dallas

San Antonio

El Paso

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"Welcome to Texas, where men are men and women are mayors."

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Annette Strauss, Mayor of Dallas.

Front 39

Obstacles to voting

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Universal suffrage did not become a reality in Texas until mid-1960s

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14th & 15th Amendments to U.S. Consitution

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Intended to prevent denial of right to vote based on race.

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Literacy Tests

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Used as means to prevent minorities from voting.

Front 42

Grandfather Clause

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Persons who could exercise right to vote pre-1867 (or descendants) would be exempt from educational, property, or tax requirements for voting.

Front 43

Guinn v. United States (1915)

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Declared grandfather clause unconstitutional b/c it violated equal rights guaranteed by 15th Amendment.

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Poll Tax

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Began in 1902 & required Texas citizens to pay a special tax to become eligible to vote.

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Poll Tax cost

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$1.75

$1.50 + $0.25 optional w/ each county

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24th Amendment

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ratified in Jan 1964

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Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections (1966)

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U.S. Supreme Court invalidated all state laws making poll tax a prerequisite of voting in state elections.

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All-White Primaries

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Product of political/legal maneuvering w/in southern states.

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1876-1926

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Republican party held one-party after Reconstruction.

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1923

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Texas legislature passed law explicitly forbidding African Americans from voting in Democratic parties.

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1923 lesgislature lasted from 1923-1944

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U.S. Supreme court declared it unconstutitional in Smith v. Albright (1944).

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Racial Gerrymandering

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Practice of manipulating legislative district lines to under-represent persons of a political party or group.

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"Packing"

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Specific black voters into a specific district.

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"Cracking"

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Making black voters a minority in all districts.

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Diluting Minority Voters

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Creating at-large majority districs for state lesgislatures & city councils can prevent an area w/ significant minority pop. from electing a representative of its choice.

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Federal Voting Rights Legislation

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Voting Rights Act of 1965 expanded electorate & encouraged voting.

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U.S. Constitutional Amendment 15

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Prohibits denial of voting rights b/c of race.

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U.S. Constitutional Amendement 19

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Precludes denial of suffrage on basis of gender.

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U.S. Constitutional Amendment 24

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Prohibits states from requiring payment of poll tax to vote.

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U.S. Constitutional Amendment 26

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Forbids setting minimum age above 18 years.

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Voter Turnout

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Universal suffrage has not resulted in a corresponding increase in voter turnout, either nationally or in Texas.

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2012-Texas

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5th worst turnout in nation.

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2014

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Approx. 34% gubernatorial turnout.

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Low participation attributed in part to:

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1. Voter fatigue resulting from too many elections.

2. Negative campaigning by candidates.

3. Lack of info about candidates & issues.

4. Feelings of isolation from govt.

5. Lack of caring

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"Turnout Burnout"

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Texas passed a law that limits elections to 2 uniform election dates each year.

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2 uniform election dates?

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2nd Saturday in May

1st Tuesday after 1st Monday in November

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Socioeconomic

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Education is strongest.

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Income

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Texas ranks 4th nationally in % of pop. living in poverty.

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Administering Elections

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Voting procedure is a state responsibility.

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Registration

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Texas uses permanent registration system.

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Voting Early

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Limited to in-person voting by mail, & fax voting.

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Voting Precincts

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Basic geographic area conducting national, state, district, & county elections.

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Voting Systems

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Texas has 3 voting systems in general elections.

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Paper Ballot

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Relatively cheap & easy to use, but counting is slow and error-prone.

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Optical Scan

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Similar to scantron, automatically counts each vote as ballot cast. Requires special expensive equipment, but can reduce costs where lost of voters are involved.

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Direct-Record Electronic (DRE)

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Known as touch screen, (see optical scan)

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Ballot forms

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List of parties for straight-ticket voting appears 1st, followed by list of candidates for national state district, & local officers, in that order.

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Primaries

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Conducted by political parties to select nominees for public office.

Every 2yrs

Presidential every 4yrs

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Development of Direct Primaries

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Designed to provide nominating method to avoid domination by party bosses & allow wider participation by party members.

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4 basic forms of direct Primary in America:

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Closed

Open

Top-two primary

Jungle primary

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Closed Primary

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Requires voters to declare party affiliation when registering to vote.

-Must show I.D.

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Open Primary

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Does not require I.D. of voters.

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Top-Two Primary

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Used in California & Washington.

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Jungle Primary

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Used in Louisiana.

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Texas Primaries

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Texas bonds of party loyalty loosen at general election.

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Texas Primaries 1950s

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Common practice for Texans to participate in primaries of Democratic Party then legally cross over to vote for Republican candidates ingeneral election.

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Precinct Conventions

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Traditionally occur every even-numbered year on 1st Tuesday in March

(day of 1st primary)

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Precinct Conventions Main Business

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Elect delegates to county or district convention.

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County & District Conventions

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Occur on 3rd Saturday after precinct conventions.

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County & District Conventions Main Business

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Elect delegate to state convention

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Presidential election years- delegate perform 3 additional functions:

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Elect delegates to national presidential nominating convention.

Elect members from Texas to serve on party's national committee.

Elect slate of potential electors to cast Texas's electoral votes.

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Texas electoral votes

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38

2 Senators

36 Representatives

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Temporary Party Organization

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Consists of primaries & conventions where major parties participate in elections to determine candidates for office.

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Primary Election Voting

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May involve runoff primary.

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Conventions

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Elect state-level party officers.

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Party platform established

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Position on current issues

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Presidential Preference Primary

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Rank-and-file party members vote directly for presidential candidate of choice.

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Caucuses

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Many states use these to select delegates.

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Democratic Selection

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"Texas two-step"

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Republican Selection

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Selects delegates from results of presidential preferences primary.

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Permanent Party Organization

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Role is to recruit candidates, devise strategies, raise funds, distribute candidate litm register voters, & turn them out on election day.

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Precinct Chair

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Basic party official

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County & District Exec. Committees

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Comprises all precinct chairs & county the county chair.

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County Chair

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Key party official at local level & serves as parties' chief strategist w/in county.

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State Exec. Committee

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Highest permanent party organization in state.

Front 106

As mandated by law

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1 man, 1 woman from each of 31 state senatorial districts.

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Chair & Vice Chair

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1 must be woman.

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Chair

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Chief strategist/chief spokesperson, helps recruit candidates for state/district officers, & raise funds.

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Vice Chair

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Largely honorary

Front 110

Dems & Reps

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Exec. committee consists of 64 members elected at state party convention.

Front 111

Liberal v. Conservative

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Terms have meant more to Texas since 1930s than actual names of political parties have.

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Texas

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Democrats & Republicans tend to be overall more conservative than not.

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Right vs. Left

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Origins can be traced back to French Revolution.

Front 114

Conservatism

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Purest form envisions ideal social/economic orders largely untouched by govt.

Front 115

Laissez-faire

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Individuals left alone to persue self-interests & both social/economic systems benefit w/ cost of govt. being low.

Front 116

Conservatives

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Generally opposed to govt-managed or subsidized programs.

Front 117

Conservative divisions

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Fiscal vs. Social

Front 118

Neoconservatism

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Fiscally conservative while allowing a limited govt. role in solving social problems.

Front 119

Tea Party

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Consists of thousands of seperate, autonomous groups.

Front 120

Liberalists

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Favor govt. regulating of economy to achive more equitable distribution of wealth.

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Liberalism

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Seeks limited role for govt. involment w/ regard to other social issues, especially related to morality/religion.

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Neoliberal

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Texas has many who fall into this category which incoporates a philosophy of less govt. regulation of business & economy, while adopting more liberal views of greater govt. involvement in social programs.

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Historically

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Texas dominated by Democratic Party from origins until 1960s.

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1970s-1980s

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Moved towards competitive two-party structure.

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1990s-21st century

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Texas is 1-party state w/ Republican Party in control.

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1840s-1870s

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The origin of the Party system.

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Republic of Texas

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Political factions coalesced around personalities rather than parties.

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1850s

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Pro-Houston-> Jackson Democrats

&

Anti-Houston-> Calhoun Democrats

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Reconstruction (1865-1873)

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Republican Party controls politics.

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1873

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Gov. E.J. Davis defeated by newly enfranchised electorate.

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1870s-1970s

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A one-party Dominant system.

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Gubernational Elections

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Democrats won 52 consecutive

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Democratic Presidential Nominees

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Carried state in all but 3 of 25 presidential elections.

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Populist (People's) Party

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Agrarian-based & won local election throughout state.

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1892-1898

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Gubernatorial nominees win more votes than Republicans.

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Next 5 decades

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2 factions emerge w/in Democratic Party

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Late 1940s-Early 1950s

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Republican presidential candidates begin receiving greater support from electorate.

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John Tower

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1st Republican to win statewide office (U.S. senate) since 1869 after the seat was vacated by LBJ to become VP.

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Third Parties

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Major party's success measured in ability to win elections.

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Independents

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Applies to candidates who have no party affiliation.

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Dealignment

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When citizens have no alignment to a political party or become independent voters.

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Realignment

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When members of 1 party shift to another

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2008 & 2012

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Barack Obama becomes 2nd Democratic pres. candidate in history elected w/ carrying Texas.

Front 144

Post-2012 Elections

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Republican party remained firmly in control of all 3 branches of govt.

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2000-2012

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Republican Dominance

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1970s-1990s

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An emerging Two-Party system.

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1978

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Bill Clements becomes 1st Republican gov elected since Reconstruction.

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1996

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1st time since primary system established that Republican primaries are conducted in all 254 Texas counties.

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1998

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Republicans gain control of all statewide office but one.

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1940s

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Majority of conservative Democrats began to support national Republican ticket.

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Interest Group

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Defined as a pressure group, special interest group, or a lobby.

Front 152

Reasons for Interest Groups

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Increasingly complex society has much to do w/ rate of growth of interest groups.

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NAACP v. Alabama (1958)

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U.S. Supreme Court recognized right of association as part of the right of assembly granted by 1st Amendment.

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Decentralized Govt.

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Power is not concentrated at highest level

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Characteristics of Interest Groups

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Provides members w/ info & benefits & usually tries to involve them in political process.

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Organizational Patterns

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Variety arises from fact that interest groups lobby & perform nonpolitical functions of paramount importance to members.

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Highly Centralized Organizations

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Form a single controlling body w/o affiliated local/regional units.

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Decentralized Organizations

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Consists of loose alliance of local/regional subgroups.

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Composition

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Chiefly persons from professional & managerial occupations.

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Economic Groups

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Many exist to promote members' economic self-interest

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Business Groups

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Business people understand that they have common interests that may be promoted by collective action

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Labor Groups

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Seeks govt. intervention to increase wages, provide unemployment insurance, promote safe working conditions.

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Professional Groups

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Concerned w/ standards of admission to admissions to a profession or occupation as well as licensing practitioners.

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Govt. Employee Groups

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Officers & employess of state & local govts. organize to obtain better working conditions, higher wages, more fringe benefits, & better retirement packages, & resist efforts to reduce size of the state/local bureacracies.

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Largest Group

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Texas Public Employees Association at 17,000+ members

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Social Groups

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Include racial & ethnic organizations, civil rights organizations, gender-based organizations, religious-based organizations, & public interest groups.

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Racial & Ethnic Groups

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Leaders recognize that through effective organizations they can achieve their goals.

Front 168

Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund (MALDEF)

Back 168

Uses court action to obtain political equality, education, immigration rights, & representation for Latinos.

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Women's Groups

Back 169

Promotes equal rights & greater participation by women in political arena.

Front 170

League of Women Voters of Texas

Back 170

Nonpartisan & publishes The Texas Voters Guide, which provides info about elections, candidates, & candidates' positions on various issues.

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The Christian Coalition

Back 171

One of the state's most influential political forces which engages in political action, primarily w/in Republican party.

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Texas Freedom Network

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Formed in 1995 by Cecile Richards (daughter of former gov. Ann Richards) to oppose Christian coalition.

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Public Interest Group

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Claim to promote general interests of society, rather than narrower private or corporate interests.

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Texas Power Groups

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Groups legislators considered most powerful:

Business

Professional associations

Labor unions

Honorable mentions

Front 175

Texas Medical Association (TMA)

Back 175

Formed in 1853 & one of the most influential power groups.

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Lobbying

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Perhaps the oldest & best-known interest group tactic.

Front 177

Who are the lobbyists?

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Individuals attempting to influence govt. decision makers on behalf of special interests.

Front 178

Personal Communication

Back 178

One of the main techniques

Front 179

Grassroots Activities

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Interest groups attempt to create an image of broad support when needed in order to support group's goals.

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Electioneering

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Participating in political campaign activities is widespread among interest groups.

Front 181

Campaign Financing by PACs

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Constitute an important form of participation, especially in state & federal level elections.

Front 182

Bribery & Unethical Practices

Back 182

Though uncommon in Texas, has occurred in state & local govt.

Front 183

Texas Ethics Commission

Back 183

Created as a result of media reports & big spending by lobbyists.