1. Parties Organize Nominations Article I, Section 4 of the Constitution Does not specify too much about elections – Congress has some power to make changes President must be at least 35 years old, a natural born citizen, and a resident of the US for 14 years A Senator must be at 30, a US citizen for at least 9 years, and a resident of the state he or she represents A member of the House must be at least 25, a US citizen for 7 years, and a resident of the state they represent Nomination: The process by which parties select their candidates for election to public office Nomination is the parties' most serious and difficult issues

2. Getting Out the Vote Election period beings right after the nominations – this has been a time of glory for political parties Getting Out the Vote –Get supporters registered (year round) Each party has databases on voters – GOP “Voter Vault”; Democrats “Demzilla”/ “VoteBuilder” Webased systems for collecting and sharing voter info Democrats were much more succesful in recent elections –Operate phone banks, put up yard signs, distribute bumper stickers –Offer rides to polling stations –Parties subsidize the costs of informing and mobilizing voters

3. Facilitating Voter Choice Americans vote on many more officials than most citizens of other countries do –Judges, the state controller, the state attorney general This requires Americans to be informed about more candidates Parties make obtaining this information easier

4. Parties in Congress Power in Congress is organized along party lines Majority party – the party that holds that majority of legislative seats in either the House or the Senate Minority Party – the party that holds the minority of legislative seats in either the House or the Senate The majority party has the leadership roles Both chambers organize their functions through committees All committees are divided by party

5. President and Party Presidents benefit from strong parties when their party controls both chambers of Congress If Congress is controlled by the opposition party, then we often see gridlock and delay rather than cooperation