American Government Exam 1

Front 1

Realigning Election

Back 1

-Majority party wins more seats than normal
-Fundamental shift in underlying basis of support
-EX. 1932 reaction to great depression only voted for Democrats for 20 years

Front 2

Dealighnment:

Back 2

Americans moving toward being independent than being a member of either party.

Front 3

Components of Successful Political Parties:

Back 3

1. The Party in the electorate:
-People who identify with or are registered with a political party and vote in primaries
-They support their party’s candidates in the general election
2. Electoral Party:
-Local, state, national party officials
-Staff members, regular contributors

3. Party in office:
-People who are elected or appointed to office based on their political party

Front 4

Apportionment:

Back 4

The geographical allocation of legislative seats.

Front 5

Gerrymandering:

Back 5

The drawing of legislative district lines to magnify, diminish, or isolate the power of a group.

Front 6

Interest Group:

Back 6

An organization that seeks to influence public policy without the responsibility of running the government.

Front 7

PAC

Back 7

A group organized to raise funds for candidates and causes with the expectation of direct benefit from their contribution

Front 8

Public Interest Group:

Back 8

Same as PAC but without the expectation of a direct benefit from their contribution.

Front 9

Demographic factors of participation:

Back 9

1. Age: Older you are more likely you will vote
2. Income: Higher income, more voting
3. Education: Higher education, higher participation
4. Race: Whites vote more than blacks, gap closing

Front 10

How I can participate:

Back 10

1. Register and vote
2. Join a political party
3. Join an interest group
4. Talk about politics

Front 11

Elements that lower voter turnout:

Back 11

. Decline of individual motivations to vote
2. Decline of outside encouragement to vote
3. Decline of social connectedness

Front 12

Why people feel lower voter turnout is not a problem:

Back 12

1. May signify all is well in the country and people’s tensions are at ease
2. The uninformed are the ones not showing up which is a good thing
3. Elections don’t matter anyway; a few rich people make the decisions regardless of how the vote goes

Front 13

Why people feel lower voter turnout is a problem:

Back 13

1. People don’t vote because they feel politicians aren’t trying to fix real issues like the economy, and worry about things the middle class worries about.
2. Low turnout is a loss of opportunity for citizens to better themselves
3. It creates an unrepresentative electorate because only wealthy, educated, white people are voting.

Front 14

Political Efficacy:

Back 14

: The belief that the citizen can make a difference by acting politically, which may be a result of the skills learned in school that make participation easier.

Front 15

Social Connectedness

Back 15

The extent to which people are integrated into society-their families, communities, churches, and other social units.