Government

Chapter 9

Roles of Political Parties Today

Section 3

Key Terms

• Nomination: A process by which political parties select and offer candidates for public office.

• Direct Primary: An election in which voters choose candidates to represent each party in a general election.

• Closed Primary: An election in only the declared members of a party are allowed to vote for that party’s nominees.

• Open Primary: An election in which voters need not declare their party preference.

Key Terms cont.

• Plurality: The most votes among all those running for a political office.

• Runoff Primary: Second primary election between the two candidates who received the most votes in the first primary election.

• Petition: A formal request for a govt. action; or a process by which candidates who are not affiliated with one of the two major parties can get on the ballot for the general election in most states.

Nominating Candidates

• People who make up political parties play an important role in govt.– Keep people informed– Keep people interested– Keep an eye on opposition

party– Link between branches of

govt.

• Political parties only organizations that select candidates for office– Nomination process

Primary Elections

• Parties nominate candidates through direct primaries

Direct Primaries• Two forms

– Closed primary

– Open primary

Closed Primaries

• Held in most states

• Only party members can vote at Party’s primary

Open Primary

• Held in few states• Choose a party when

you vote

Plurality

• Some political offices have more than 1 vacancy– Each party can nominate

more than 1 candidate

• Most offices only have 1 winner– Candidate who receive

plurality

Run-off

• Some states winner must have majority vote– More than half

• If no candidate receives the majority:– Runoff primary– Winner becomes

candidate

Unaffiliated Candidates

• Candidates that do not belong to the major parties

• In most states they can get on ballot by petition

Party Roles

• Campaigning for candidates

• Informing citizens

• Helping manage govt.

• Linking the different levels of govt.

• Acting as a watchdog

Campaigning for Candidates

• Party nominates its candidate

• Party begins to campaign for them in the general election

• Help candidates get ideas and views of public issues to voters

• Make sure supporters are registered

• Voters get to the polls

Informing Citizens

• Campaign informs citizens about public issues– Informational

pamphlets

– Speeches

– TV

– Radio

– Newspaper

Helping Manage Govt.

• First task after election– Parties hand out govt. jobs– Open, competitive

examinations and merit• Most are civil service jobs

• High ranking politicians use their power to appoint supporters to high-level jobs

Linking the Different Levels of Govt.

• Party ties are important in helping levels of govt. and branches of govt. cooperate

• Connections may make it easier to join forces on mutual problems

Acting as a Watchdog

• Losing party watches the actions of the party in power– Mistakes– Misuse of power

• Hope to attract voters for future elections

• Competition between parties force parties to pay attention to the will of the people