Nevada: Saturday
What were the criteria that voters prioritizedfor redistricting when they approved the California Redistricting Commission (CRC) initiative?If the legislature drew the new districts, what criteria would they prioritize?How much did the CRC's district maps adhere to voters criteria?Did the new CRC process produce districts that were more competitive?
Did it create maps that had distinct partisan advantages?Elections and Party SystemsWhat is a Party System?not all systems the same...why?What is basis of party competition?
Why two party systems, why multi-party systems?What are Parties? Organization dedicated to winning elections
Primary institution for organizing mass democracy Democracy, representation impossible w/o parties
Responsible party model Two parties:
One Controls Government
One Acts as Opposition
Elections a referendum on the Government
Requires discipline, but provides simplicity, accountabilityParties and Responsible GovernmentParties present clear choices to votersCohesive platformMPs all vote party line
Number of choices limitedGovernment Opposition
AccountabilityLippset & Rokkan ModelParty Systems function of: Coalitions of social groups defied by historical cleavages National Revolution (State building) Industrial Revolution Post - material RevolutionLippset and Rokkan: Old CoalitionsNational RevolutionCleavages: Pre-existing interests vs..... forces of new nation-stateLand-based elites vs. liberals/merchantsChurch vs.... StateCity vs. CountryCenter vs..... peripheryDominant culture against distinct regionsLippset and Rokkan: Old CoalitionsIndustrial RevolutionCleavages:Owners vs. workersCapital vs. Labor / workersLand-based interests vs. Capital
Lippset and Rokkan: New CoalitionsPost-material / post-industrial revolution (Inglehart)Society moves beyond material economic concernsNewer cleavages around cultural values process oriented concerns
Lippset and Rokkan: CoalitionsHow do these old cleavages define contemporary parties? Religion (CDU in Germany, US Democrats pre68?) Region (Scotland SNP, Germany CSU, Canada BQ, ) Class(Torries v. Labour in UK; Socialists in FR, IT, SP)
Lippset and Rokkan: CoalitionsDalton:Most parties and party systems are still oriented primarily toward the traditional political alignments that L & R described
New coalitions: Values based, environment, lifestyle, minority rights, social/moral issues (?)
Lippset & Rokkan: CoalitionsHow much do old cleavages matter?Does this model work in US (why? why not?)Class?Land-elite based parties (Conservatives vs..... Liberals)a dead cleavage?Church v. State Cleavage (religious v. secularists)Old Politics v New Politics?In USOld New Deal system: Dems = party of working class GOP = party of businessSince then:Womens movement, Civil Right Movement, Environmentalism, sexual-orientation concerns, changes in economy, family structureBut: Rising income inequalityParty IdentificationGenerally speaking, do you think of yourself as a Democrat,Republican, independent, or what?
Where do attachments to party come from?
Sociological determinism
You have no free will?
Funnel of Causality Early life-->PID----------------->vote
Old vs. New Politics, USParty ID 1952 19681980199620002008Low income 64% 65% 60% 63% 62% 63%% Democratic
High income 30% 41% 32% 41% 36% 28%% Democratic
Old vs. New Politics, USParty ID 1952 19681980199620002008Unskilled 71% 81% 56% 52% 50% n/a% Democratic
Professional 52% 44% 47% 41% 46% n/a% Democratic
Old vs. New Politics, USIs there Class in the US?
Dalton, Chpt. 8% working class = % middle class
Class v. income
Is there an upper class?
Old vs. New Politics, USWhy is class voting decreasing?
Growth of the new middle classWorkers have income similar to middle classIncreased social mobilitySocial modernizationParties have broadened their appeal to attract middle class votersSocialists appeal to center
Old vs. New Politics, USIs class voting decreasing?
Change in political conflict
Parties less likely to make appeals on class-based issues
Or, all parties have abandoned working class, low income voters
Old Politics v New Politics: If not class, then what? Traditionalists vs..... Non-traditionalists? Small public sector vs..... larger public sector (old cleavage?) Materialists vs..... Post materialists?environment over economy vs....economy over environmentCleavages and VotersNational revolutionregion, religion
Industrial revolutionmiddle class vs. working class
Postindustrialmaterialist/post matParty Systems: Number of PartiesTypes of parties & basis of competition in a nation (Dalton)
Number of parties Two-party systems (US, UK..sort of) Multi-party systems (FR, IT, Ger...sort of)Why 2, 3, more parties?Number of cleavagesRegionalismInstitutional design Electoral system rules:Single member constituencies vs.....Multi-member constituenciesRunoff proceduresParty Systems & Electoral RulesFrance:Plurality, 2 round w/ runoff2 large parties, several smallGermany:Mixed Member Proportional (MMP)2 large parties, several smallUK:Simple Plurality..... 2.5 (?) partiesUS:Simple Plurality......2 partiesParty Systems and Electoral RulesRules that affect number of parties:SMSP vs......... PR (but see last slide)Size of national legislaturePresidential vs..... parliamentaryFederalism (regionalism)...CanadaRunoffs, alternate vote systems (Australia)Comparing partiesHow do US parties compare to Europe?
Does a two party system = less distinct parties?more distinctive parties?
Does a multi-party system = more ideological diversity?
Party IdentificationGenerally speaking, do you think of yourself as a Democrat,Republican, independent, or what?
Where do attachments to party come from?
Sociological determinism
You have no free will?
Funnel of Causality Early life-->PID----------------->vote