POL 310 

Political Parties

Political Participation

During this section of the course we will explore individual and group participation in elections

1) voting (as process, as individual action)
a) theoretical foundations
b) characteristics
c) actual variations in turnout rates

2) the election cycle
a) recruiting candidates for office
b) the primaries
c) conventions
d) the general election

3) campaigning
a) the candidate-centered organization
b) the role of the party in campaigns
c) external actors (PACs, the media)

Individual Participation: The Hierarchy of Political Involvement

(L. Milbrath)

 Milbrath discovered that Americans could be divided into a relatively small number of categories (approximate percentages) when it came to individual political participation:

Gladiators (1%)

holding public office

being a candidate

soliciting fundss

attending a caucus or strategy session

contributing time to a political campaign

Transitionals (3%)

attending a political meeting or rally

contributing money

contacting a political leader

Spectators (62 %)

button or bumper sticker

attempt to convince

vote

Apathetics (34%)

R. Reiter (Political Parties in Corporate America), writes that Americans get very clear messages  about what the nature of their participation should be from the electoral system itself:

politics is individualistic

politics is private

politics is episodic

Voting

Elections and voting can be examined from the three theoretical perspectives

elite theory

Elections are meaningless rituals that are

designed to tie the masses to the elite political system.

plural theory

Elections are a vehicle by which those who are motivated to participate in politics

can make choices as to who will facilitate the plural political system.

Elections are thus a personnel choice where voters decide who will occupy political positions and, at best, can hold politicians accountable for their actions. In that instance, voting is a retrospective judgment.

democratic theory

Elections are one of the arenas in which people participate meaningfully in the decisions that affect their lives.  In order to do this:

1) elections must provide meaningful choices for voters

2)  the candidates must differ on the issues

3) their stands must be clear; and and

4)  citizens must understand the differences between the candidates.

What would we expect to find to be the nature of voting in each of the three theories?

1) If elections are meaningless rituals, then we would expect:

a) people to invest little time and effort in voting
b) elections trying to entice people to cast ballots for "trivial" reasons
c) campaigns to deemphasize issues

2) If elections are personnel decisions by those who are interested, we should see:

a) variations in turnout rates
b) personal characteristics emphasized over policy stands
c) politicians held accountable through the ballot box

3) If elections are meaningful choices then we should see:

a) people investing effort in their decisions
b) candidate and party policy stands emphasized
c) voters making "rational" decisions