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