1. CONNECTING TO THE POLITICAL PROCESS Political Parties & Party Structure

2. Political Parties What are they? How do they serve as linkage institutions? What are the roles of political parties?  Party in the electorate  Party in government  Party in organization

3. Party Systems One-Party System  What is the usually result? Two-Party System  Who looses out?  What is the benefit? Multi-Party System  Where is it most common?  What is the benefit?  What are the problems?

4. What do Political Parties do? Recruit candidates Nominate and support candidates for office Educate the electorate Organize the government

5. Party Identification & Membership Is party membership mandatory or voluntary? Do you pay dues? What are some factors that may influence party identification? Ideology Education Income Occupation Race or ethnicity Gender Religion Family tradition Region of the country Marital status

6. Third or Minor Parties What are some examples of U.S. third parties? Why aren’t third parties more successful? Types of Third Parties  Ideological  splinter/personality/factional  Single issue  Protest

7. Structure & Organization of Parties Why is organization important to success? What is the National Convention? What is the National Committee? Who is the National Chairperson? What is the Congressional Campaign Committee? How are states and local parties organized?

8. The Future of Political Parties What is the future of American political parties? Decline attributed to several factors:  Third-party challenges  Loss of support by party loyalists  Increase in split-ticket voting  Lack of perceived differences between the parties  Party reforms  Methods of campaigning