The founder of the Democratic party was Thomas Jefferson Two Party Systems 37 Source http://www.churchillcounty.org/clerktrs/Images/donkeyelephant.gif Party Differences Source: http://home.att.net/~floco-gop/diff/diff.gif Other Party Systems People’s National Congress in China---meets for a couple of weeks a year Source: http://www.sinomania.com/images/greathall.JPG In some nations, such as China, there is only a single party and many times it is a authoritarian style of government. The Republican Party is one of the two major parties in the United States. The United States uses a two party system while other countries have multi-party or one party systems. Some places like Scotland use a Multi-Party System where voters have more choices but a majority is hard to achieve. George Washington warned the nation about the dangers of political parties dividing the nation. The two major parties in the US are actually more similar than different. The founder of the Democratic party was Thomas Jefferson

History of US Political Parties 38 1st Democratic President 1st Republican President Source: http://www.billofrightsinstitute.org/images/founder-of-the-month/thomas-jefferson.jpg http://sunsite.utk.edu/civil-war/lincoln.jpg 3rd Party Candidates Source: http://www.4president.org/perot1992.gif Other Parties Source: http://www.gp.org/images/nader2.jpg The Green Party is a reform based party formed by Ralph Nader. The Republican Party traces its beginnings to Abraham Lincoln. Many people tend to follow the political beliefs of their family. Jefferson’s Democratic party had a belief in smaller less involved government. Some third parties are formed around the ideas of a single person---such was the case in the campaign of 1992 of Ross Perot. One problem in our system is the difficulty third parties face in trying to win elections.

Local Party Organization Party Members 39 Source: http://www.usneighbor.org/gardenvalley/images-4th/democrats.jpg Local Party Organization Source: http://www.utdavisgop.org/graphics/dcgopseal.gif Party Platforms Source: http://www.equipeolivier.com/eng/images/menugauche/programme_on.jpg The State level of a political party focuses on state level positions such as governor. Local parties are very important since all voting takes place at this level. --- A plank is what a party believes on a single issue. People tend to place themselves somewhere between liberalism and conservative views. Our political system is Actually divided into many levels with different priorities. The major parties are very similar in many of their core beliefs One of the main jobs of a party is to get people out to vote on election day.

Supporting Candidates 40 Source: http://www.demstore.com/scstore/DemStore/images/campaign-merchandise3.gif Political Watchdogs Source: http://www.webcom.com/penina/portfolio/prtfolio/eaglhed.jpg Today’s Political Parties Source: http://www.meckgop.com/images/ncgop.gif The major function of any party is to benefit the people. --- Parties also help to select candidates—although sometimes the media influence is too great The support of their candidates is a primary party function. The inability to pass campaign finance restrictions has made fundraising a major functions of parties. One role of parties is to act as a watchdog on the activities of government.

Lobbying the Government Public Opinion Polls 41 Source: http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/09/29/poll/poll.gif Interest Groups Source: http://www2.uiuc.edu/ro/aclu/images/acluuiuc.gif Lobbying the Government Source: http://www.corporatefinancingweek.com/images/cfw_nulobbyist(beltway).gif The ACLU is concerned with the civil rights of Americans. The use of extensive polling causes polls to mean less to most people Lobbyists are paid to influence and inform Congressmen about their issues. The idea of media bias is often a hot political topic. Other interest groups represent people with similar ideas. Opinion polls are done to determine what the public thinks. Good public polls use random samples to accurately portray the public’s opinion. Some interest groups represent particular groups of people.

Voting Requirements 42 Obstacles to Voting Why Vote? Source: http://www.dreamscape.com/wiltiba/spiffy/voting.gif Obstacles to Voting Source: http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2001/quarterly/summer/images/2fig02.gif Why Vote? Source: http://www.bigvote.org/voices/labels/voicesof.gif The rate of voting in the US is one of the world’s lowest in established democracies. The growth of voter apathy is the greatest threat to our system. Apathy is when a citizen just does not care about the political process. One must be 18, a citizen, and resident of the local community in order to vote. The electorate is all the people who are eligible to vote. Citizens should vote in order to voice their opinions and choose their leaders. Some voters may encounter an exit poll to help predict the winner of elections.

Primary Elections 43 Campaigning Campaign Finance Source: http://regrec.co.la.ca.us/general/3-5-02PSR/images/frontcover.gif Campaigning Source: http://www.phschool.com/curriculum_support/election_kit/images/activity9_gore.gif Campaign Finance Source: http://www.freedomforum.org/graphics/2000/09/illos/campaign.finance.jpg The role of PAC’s to raise money spurs questions about campaign finance reforms. The high cost of campaigning has eliminated many ordinary people from seeking office. The use of primaries have made certain state primaries important testing grounds for candidates. Some candidates use generalizations and exaggerations to be elected. Many people are pushing for limitations on financial contributions in political elections. Primary elections are used to nominate the main candidates from each major party. The use of negative advertising is often called mudslinging. The use of short-catchy slogans to promote one’s beliefs are called sound bites.

Election Day and Polling Places 44 Source: http://whyfiles.org/shorties/068voting/images/sign.gif Casting Your Ballot Source: http://www.selwyn.govt.nz/images/voting%20hand_copy(1).jpg Issue Elections Source: http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22voting%22 The disputed results from Florida in 2000 caused anxiety for the 2002 election. Some elections-- like referendums--allow voters to vote on specific issues The length of the campaign and election process takes its toll on many voters. Citizens cast their votes at local poling places. Some critics argue that casting ballot for a third party candidate is like wasting a vote. The mishandling of an election or voting process can deny the right of citizens voice their opinion. Many media sources will try to predict the winner of elections. Polling Places are open early and open late to allow people to vote after work.