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UNIT 3: LINKAGE INSTITUTIONS Elections, Mass Media, Interest Groups
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UNIT 3: LINKAGE INSTITUTIONS
Elections, Mass Media, Interest Groups
Linkage Institutions
The channels or access points through which issues and people's policy preferences (public opinion) get on the government's policy agenda.
Connect the people and the government. Inform the government of the people’s wishes and inform the people of government plans and policies
Four linkage institutions in the United States: Political Parties, Elections, Mass Media, Interest Groups
Linkage institutions provide a means for the American people to participate in government Conventional Participation: Voting, Joining Political Party,
Campaigning, collecting signatures for petitions Unconventional Participation: nonviolent and violent
protesting, civil disobedience, marches, demonstrations
Elections in the United States
Three Types:1. Policy Elections
Allow the public to pass legislation directly Referendums - placed on the ballot by legislature Initiatives - placed on the ballot as a result of a
petition started by a citizen or group of citizens
2014 – 158 ballot measures in 42 States- 35 Initiatives
2012 – 188 ballot measures in 39 states - 50 Initiatives2010- 184/46, 2008 – 174/68, 2006 – 226/78
Colorado - Legalize recreational use of marijuana with regulations. – APPROVED
Idaho - Would add to the state constitution the right to hunt and fish.- APPROVED
Maine - Would legalize same-sex marriage in the state.- APPROVED
North Dakota - Makes it a felony to maliciously harm a cat, dog, or horse, with exemptions for people with occupations involving animals – REJECTED
Oklahoma - Would ban affirmative action programs in the state – APPROVED
Maryland- Would approve legislation that guarantees in-state tuition to illegal immigrants- APPROVED
Florida - Prohibits public funds for abortions. - REJECTED
Alabama - Would prohibit mandatory participation in any health care system. – APPROVEDTo remove references to segregation of schools in the state constitution. – REJECTED
Elections in the United States
2. Primary Elections and Caucuses Used to nominate candidates to run for office Usually held in September of election year for all offices except the
President Caucus: meeting of party members to deliberate and choose from a list
of candidates seeking the nomination Primary: election that allows voters to select a nominee from a list of
candidates seeking office Open: Voters can select to nominate a candidate from either party regardless
of the affiliation Closed: Voters can only select to nominate a candidate from the party they are
registered to
3. General Elections Race between the nominees from each party to determine who wins the
office/seat Held on election day (first Tuesday in November after the 1st) Majority v. Plurality
Presidential Primary Trail The nomination process for Presidents is different than for all other
offices in the United States Each state holds a primary or caucus between February and June of
Election Year By winning the primaries and caucuses, candidates accumulate
delegates (votes) for the party conventions which are held in July or August
In order to receive the nomination, candidates must have a majority of the delegates (votes) at the convention
The Trail: February: First Caucus – Iowa, First Primary – New Hampshire, South Carolina Super Tuesday: First Tuesday in March
Party Conventions: Week long infomercial for the Party and the Presidential Candidate - Reward
the faithful and energize the party Nominee with a majority of the delegates wins the party nomination (Dems –
4483) (GOP – 2470) Problems:
Importance of early states and momentum, Low voter turn-out, lengthens the election season (burn-out), expense
Presidential Elections: The Electoral College
The general election for the president is determined by the electoral college
Each state is winner take all and the number of votes is determined by adding the number of Congressmen and Senators from the state
Total number of electoral votes is 538; candidates need 270 to win Problems with the electoral college:
Emphasis on Large States and Swing States Can win the election and not win the popular vote (2000) Electors have no obligation to vote for the candidate selected by the
voters of the state If there is a tie, the election is decided by the House of Representative
where each state is given one vote, regardless of the size Solutions:
District Plan: Each congressional district receives one electoral vote, each state receives 2
Proportional Plan: Each candidate would receive a share of the state’s electoral votes based on the percentage of the popular vote won
Direct Popular Election
2000 Electoral Map – Bush – 271, Gore - 266
2004 Electoral Map – Bush – 286, Kerry - 251
2008 Electoral Map – Obama - 365, McCain - 173
2012 Electoral Map – Obama - 332, Romney - 206
Campaign Finance
Regulated by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) McCain-Feingold Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA)
Limit on individual ($2700) and PAC (political action committees) ($5000) contributions to candidates
Mandatory reporting of all donations and expenditures Ban on soft money contributions and electioneering within 60 days of
general election Buckley v. Valeo – 1974 – Money is speech Citizens United v. FEC – 2010 – ruled limits on corporate/union
ads unconstitutional Super PACs - allowed to raise and spend unlimited amounts of
money from corporations, unions, individuals and associations; cannot coordinate with candidates ; 2012 - $567 Million
Voter Registration
In order to vote in this country, a person must be registered to vote
Registration requirements: 18 Years Old Citizen of United States Resident of the district registered in 15 States allow same day registration, the rest
require registration before election day (NY – 25 Days)
Limits on convicted felons - 48 States ban voting from prison, 24 States ban felons on parole, 11 States ban felons for life
Voting
Voters are assigned to a precinct (voting district) of 500-1000 voters
Each precinct has a polling place (the place where the voters go to vote)
States set regulations regarding the hours and whether or not early voting is allowed (33 states have some form of early voting)
HAVA – 2002 – banned punch card and lever voting machines because of problems in 2000 election – Most states now use one of three options: At polling place - Optical scan or touch screen machines (DREs) All Mail-in Ballots – Oregon, Washington, Colorado
Ballots Australian Ballots: type of ballot used in US elections, designed to
ensure fair elections Printed at public expense Lists the names of all the candidates Distributed a polling places Can be cast in secret
Office-Group Ballot v. Party-Column Ballot Office Group ballots group candidates under the title of the office Lists all candidates of the same party in a column under the party name,
usually has a place to vote for everybody from the same party (straight-ticket voting)
Absentee Ballots – Vote cast by someone before the election because they are unwilling or unable to vote at the polling place on election day (28 states allow with no excuse, 22 states require an excuse) – generally they need to be requested at least one week prior to election day
Online Ballots – does not currently exist in any state Provisional Ballots – HAVA requires all states to allow people to cast a
provisional ballot on election day if there is a problem with the machines, lines, or voter registration
Voting Behavior in the United StatesPresidential Elections - 1996 – 51%, 2000 - 54%, 2004 – 60%, 2008 – 62%, 2012 – 58%
Midterm Elections - 1998 – 38%, 2002 – 40%, 2006 - 41%, 2010 – 41%
2004 2008 2012
Age: 18-24 47% 49% 41%
25-34 56% 57% 57%
Over 55 72% 71% 71%
Race: White 67% 66% 64%
Black 60% 65% 66%
Hispanic 47% 50% 47%
Asian 44% 47% 48%
2004 2008 2012Sex: Male 62% 62% 60%
Female 65% 66% 64%
Income: < $30,000 48% 52% 48%> $75,000 80% 79% 77%
Education: <HS 40% 39% 38%High School
Graduate 56% 55% 52%College
Graduate 78% 77% 75%
Why is voter turnout so low?
Reasons people gave in the 2012 election:- Too Busy, Conflict in Schedule – 18%- Don’t Know, Refused – 18%- Illness/Disability – 15%- Not Interested – 13%- Did not like candidates – 13%- Out of Town – 9%- Registration Problems – 6%- Transportation Problems – 5%- Forgot – 3%
Other Reasons:
1. Registration Requirements – Motor Voter Act (Registration Problems )
2. Difficulty of Absentee Ballots (Illness, Disability, Out of Town)
3. Number of Elections
4. Political Attitudes – Political Efficacy v. Political Apathy , Distrust of Government, Length and Negativity of Campaigns (Don’t Know/Refused, Don’t like the candidates, Not interested – 44%)
Possible Solutions
Ease Registration Requirements - Same Day Registration - Automatic Registration
Lengthen Voting Times - Early Voting (33 states now allow some type of early voting), Mail-in Ballots and online voting, Absentee Ballots, Extend Hours
Change Election Day - National Holiday or Saturday/Sunday
Other Ideas - Proportional Voting, Tax Credits, Compulsory Voting, Lottery
The Media: Paid
Political Candidates use the media to get their messages across to the American people. One of the main way they do this is by running ads. Television ads are one of the few ways to reach the masses and are on of the biggest expenses during campaigns.
Types of Propaganda:1. Testimonial – Celebrity Endorsements – Obama , Obama2. Bandwagon – Everyone else is doing it – Eisenhower3. Glittering Generalities – using accepted virtues like freedom,
the American Way – Kennedy, Bush4. Plain Folks – Identify with the People - Manchin5. Transfer - use symbols, quotes, and images from famous
people, speeches, or events to promote cause – Clinton6. Name Calling – Using negative images or accusations –
Johnson, Bush
The Media: Free
Politicians rely on the media to get their message across to the people and to help them judge peoples public opinion
Candidates try to make the most of free media in their campaigns
Free Media: The internet: YouTube, campaign websites, Facebook, social
networking, mass emails Endorsements: when a news outlet or interest group
announces their support for a candidate, encourages followers to do the same
Media Events, Sound Bites – candidates try to stage events or give key quotes that will make the news that night
Appearances on talk shows, televised debates, etc.
The Media: Bias Since the 1960s, there has been a growing concern over bias in the
media and the quality of reporting Changes since the 1960s:
Growth of Cable news networks – 24 hour programming, need to fill time and gain ratings – Narrowcasting, Use of Pundits 1960 – 90% of stories descriptive, 2000 – 80% of stories were
interpretive Profit Driven – Smaller News Teams
Growth of Talk Radio - Conservative Talk Radio, NPR - Polarize Adversarial Press - 1960 – 3:1 favorable, 1992 3:1 negative
(Vietnam, Watergate, Other Scandals) – expose lies Horserace v. The Issues – Who’s winning, who has the most
money, who has momentum, who is campaigning where – covering the campaigns, not the issues
Soundbites – 1968 – 43 secs, 2004 – 7 secs 2003 study found that:
11% of time on news was taken up by actual stories, mostly just pundits taking
News was often repeated with no new information Coverage of the news was ignorant and spotty
Bias in the Media
Can we see this bias in their reporting? Reporting v. Interpreting Routine Stories v. Feature Stories, Investigative Stories,
Editorials, Pundits Agenda Setting and Framing
What impact does this have on public opinion? Media does not regularly change people’s opinions but
reinforces their beliefs on certain topics – selective attention - moderates and independents
Polarization of the United States Media does create cynicism and negativity
Interest Groups
Organization of people with similar policy goals that enter the political process to try to achieve those goals
Difference between interest groups and political parties Do not try to win elections and do not run
candidates - try to influence those in government and who wins elections
Policy specialists not policy generalists Only try to satisfy their members, do no try to
appeal to everyone
Types of Interest Groups
Economic Interest Groups Labor - AFL-CIO, UAW Business - Chamber of Commerce, Microsoft, Google, AMA,
ABA Environmental Interests
Sierra Club, National Wildlife Federation, Greenpeace Equality Interests
NAACP, NOW, AARP, LULAC, ACLU Public Interests
Common Cause, League of Women Voters, Christian Coalition
Single Issue NRA, National Right to Life Committee, MADD
Methods Used by Interest Groups Lobbyists - Professionals that work for interest groups
and try to influence government - 40% are retired Congressmen/Senators Source of information and expertise – persuade politicians Help with political and campaign strategies Source of new policy ideas
Laws regulating lobbyists Honest Leadership and Open Government Act - 2007
Lobbyists must register with the Government All expenditures must be reported to the Government Retirement Senators and Congressmen must wait two years to
become a lobbyist No member of the government can receive any gift from any
lobbyist
Methods Used by Interest Groups Electioneering
Political Action Committees (PACs) – Campaign Finance Candidate Endorsement GOTV Drives Candidate and Office Holders Rating Cards Issue Advertisements (Citizens’ United)
Courts and Litigation Amicus Curiae Briefs – ‘Friend of the Court’ Class Action Lawsuits – Brown and NAACP, Roe and
NOW Grassroots - Public Opinion
Petitions, marches, email/letter campaigns, protests
Top 20 PAC Contributors to Republican Candidates, 2007-2008
PAC Name Repub Total
National Auto Dealers Assn $1,892,000
National Assn of Realtors $1,679,000
American Bankers Assn $1,671,743
AT&T Inc $1,626,950
Associated Builders & Contractors
$1,430,000
National Beer Wholesalers Assn
$1,361,000
National Assn of Home Builders $1,338,500
United Parcel Service $1,213,273
Honeywell International $1,196,616
Credit Union National Assn $1,089,149
Freedom Project $1,065,398
Every Republican is Crucial PAC
$1,029,500
Koch Industries $1,014,000
American Dental Assn
$883,650
PricewaterhouseCoopers
$877,500
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
$852,000
AFLAC Inc $831,000
National Rifle Assn $821,382
Blue Cross/Blue Shield
$804,340
National Rural Electric Cooperative Assn
$792,174
Top 20 PAC Contributors to Democratic Candidates, 2007-2008
International Assn of Fire Fighters $2,115,900
American Fedn of St/Cnty/Munic Employees
$2,083,093
Air Line Pilots Assn $2,065,500
Communications Workers of America $2,009,145
United Auto Workers $1,974,950
Sheet Metal Workers Union $1,974,260
United Food & Commercial Workers Union
$1,887,228
National Education Assn $1,857,800
Carpenters & Joiners Union $1,794,700
National Air Traffic Controllers Assn $1,768,975
PAC Name Dem Total
Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers $3,270,150
American Assn for Justice $2,576,000
Laborers Union $2,355,850
Operating Engineers Union $2,346,567
National Assn of Realtors $2,340,900
American Federation of Teachers $2,261,750
Machinists/Aerospace Workers Union $2,251,342
Plumbers/Pipefitters Union $2,205,909
Teamsters Union $2,175,950
Service Employees International Union $2,145,100
