1. Unit 2
Political
Parties,Participation,and Elections

2. Tuesday, October 30th Good morning! Happy Halloween Eve!!
As you come in, please:
Sit in your NEW assigned seats
Front table – pick up a Unit 2 Info Summary and a Unit 2/Day 1 Get It, Got It, Government and complete it!
Can only give you 10 minutes today…so make the most of it!

3. Class Updates Unit One Summative grades are in Synergy!
Make-ups – Thursday after school
Unit Two – Elections and Campaigns kicks off today!
Friday – Summative (believe it or not!)

4. Political Parties, Participation, and Elections
For much of the country’s history, large groups of Americans were denied the right to vote. Most restrictions on voting have been eliminated for Americans age 18 and older, but voter turnout remains relatively low, especially among young voters. Will the rise of online politics increase participation?

5. What Are Political Parties?
Political parties: organized groups that attempt to influence the government by electing their members to local, state, and national offices.
Important link between public and government
Voters Parties Elected Officials
Especially true in elections, parties filter participation
Voters today frequently understand government and politics through the lens of political parties.
That makes sense given the fact that our direct participation in elections is mediated by parties in many ways.
Think about examples of the first set of relationships (voters  parties).
Think of examples of the second set of relationships (parties elected officials).

6. What Are Political Parties?
The Democratic Party of the United States is the world’s oldest political party. It can trace its history back to Thomas Jefferson’s Jeffersonian Republicans and, later, to Andrew Jackson’s Jacksonian Democrats. The Jacksonians expanded voter participation and ushered in the political era of the common person, as shown in this image of Jackson’s inauguration celebration.

7. What Are Political Parties?
Utility in American government and politics
Increase political participation
Provide important information cues to voters
Promote party’s causes and issues
Organize congressional business
Parties have an important role in American politics beyond running conventions.
Mobilization and turnout are a large part of their job.
They provide information shortcuts so voters can make decisions when faced with candidates they may not know much about.
The “R” or “D” next to the candidate name on a ballot is a strong cue to vote choices.

8. Parties and Elections Recruiting candidates A quality candidate needs:
Good name recognition
Previous experience in office
Ability to raise large amounts of money
Understanding of the key issues
Ability to withstand severe scrutiny

9. Parties and Elections Mobilization: getting out the vote
Get supporters registered
Keeping online groups engaged
Turning out their base on election day
Operate phone banks, put up yard signs
Offer rides to polling stations
Parties subsidize the costs of informing and mobilizing voters
You might ask the students if anyone helped, or offered to, register others to vote.

10. Parties and Elections Facilitating voter choice
Americans vote on many more officials than most citizens of other countries do.
This requires Americans to be informed about more candidates.
Parties make obtaining this information easier.
People use party as an information “shortcut” when making voting decisions.

11. Parties and Government
Parties in Congress
Both chambers organize functions through committees that are divided by party.
The majority party has the leadership roles.
President and party
If Congress is controlled by the opposition party, then we often see gridlock and delay rather than cooperation (divided government).
President is de facto head of his party.

12. Parties Organize Power in Congress
Within the government, parties help like-minded politicians achieve their policy goals. In Congress, party members work together to try to pass legislation, and they also work with the president. Here, President Barack Obama meets with the Democrats’ congressional leaders in the Oval Office.

13. What Are Political Parties?
American two-party system
Winner takes all single-member districts.
If candidate wins by 20%, or .001%, same result
Losing party gets no representation from that specific district.
Unlike proportional pepresentation systems
Multi-member districts/states, party wins number of seats in proportion to the share of votes won in election
Third parties less viable; voters feel “wasted vote”
No incentive to vote for candidates who cannot win because that point of view will not get represented.
Many democracies have PR systems instead. Discuss the merits of the PR system.

14. Party Systems FIGURE 7.2 Electoral Realignments
Political scientists disagree over whether an electoral alignment occurred in 1968 because no one party clearly dominated the national government after that election. Although Republicans dominated the federal government between 2000 and 2006, their control fell short of a full-fledged realignment; Republicans never gained a majority of party identifiers, they failed to enact many of their key policy goals, and elections remained extremely close.

15. Party Systems
The first party system: Federalists and Jeffersonian Republicans
Federalists: stronger federal government, assumption of Revolutionary War debt, protective tariffs, commercial ties with Britain
Jeffersonians: free trade, agriculture, relations with France
You may want to stress that the term “party” should be loosely construed during this time period. There were no party organizations as we now know them. Parties were mostly voting coalitions in Congress and did not even have party platforms or any national structures or conventions. The Federalist party eventually fell apart.

16. Party Systems The second party system: Democrats and Whigs
Intense competition for votes led politicians to increase suffrage.
Parties divided more by personalities and petty politics than by significant ideologies
Eventually, the Whigs were replaced by a coalition of free labor, free soil, and free land supporters.
In previous chapters, students have read that very few individuals are true ideologues, and most people lean toward a basket of ideas that are sometimes, but not always, connected. It is the same with political parties. There are central moments when the parties are divided along key ideological tenants, and then others where they are driven more by petty politics. This era falls into the latter category; it was interrupted by the most violent division the nation has ever seen—the Civil War.

17. Party Systems
The Civil War and postwar system: Republicans and Democrats
Republicans: higher tariffs to protect industry, no slavery in new territories, post-war – Radical Republicans helped ex-slaves during Reconstruction with education and building new lives, westward expansion
Democrats: lower tariffs to promote agriculture, smaller, local government, pro-slavery, post-war – banned from Southern governments through Reconstruction, responsible for Jim Crowe laws
The northern industrialists needed high tariffs to protect their businesses from more efficient European ones and hence favored high tariffs. However, they needed new markets, so they promoted westward expansion, which generated a need for railroads and new construction. High tariffs hurt agricultural exporters, who leaned toward the Democratic party. The parties were divided over slavery, but their core economic interests were directly opposed as well.

18. The Civil War and Post-Civil War Party System
Following the Civil War, the Republican Party remained dominant in the North. This poster supporting Republican Benjamin Harrison in the 1888 election promises protective tariffs and other policies that appealed to the industrial states in the North.

19. Party Systems The New Deal party system
Franklin Delano Roosevelt elected in 1932
Expanded reach of government
Began regulating the workplace
Created a social safety net
Created a broad coalition of voters that sustained it until the late 1960s
Explaining the New Deal is beyond the scope of this section. For your purposes, you may simply want to explain that the government we have today, with a powerful executive branch and large federal programs, began with the New Deal. Before that, virtually all assistance to the poor and needy was provided by the states, and there was virtually no government regulation of the economy.

20. Party Systems The contemporary American party system
GOP broadens base of economic and social conservatives, especially Southerners
Ideological divide increases among elected officials, within ranks as well
Tea Party (not an actual political party) illustrates base frustration with GOP elected officials
Progressive activists, Occupy Wall Street most notably, illustrate base frustration with Democratic party.
Over the last several decades, the party leaders are becoming farther apart ideologically and are purging moderate members from the ranks.
There is debate as to whether the public follows elite polarization or not.
Online activism makes it easier for party activists to mobilize and publicize their grievances with the party; the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street are examples.
The GOP has been very responsive to their activist base (with a congressional Tea Party caucus), the Democrats have not yet shown the same attention to their party members who are unhappy with the party (Occupy and immigration activists are examples).

21. Parties and Candidates in 2012
TABLE 7.1 Parties and Candidates in 2012
*With 99 percent of votes tallied.
SOURCE: ngtonpost.com/2012/results# (accessed 11/12/12).

22. Parties and the Electorate
Party Identification 1952–2010
FIGURE 7.3 Americans’ Party Identification, 1952–2010
Over time, the Democrats lost strength as more Americans identified themselves as Republicans and independents. Why do you think the percentage of people identifying themselves as independents grew during the 1970s?
SOURCE: 1952–2004: American National Election Studies; 2006–10: Gallup.com (accessed 7/15/10). *Independents who said they leaned toward one party are counted with that party.

23. Party Identification by Social Groups, 2008
FIGURE 7.4 Party Identification by Social Groups, 2008
Party identification varies by income, race, and gender. For example, as these statistics from 2008 show, Americans with higher incomes are more likely to support the Republican Party. Women and African Americans are more likely than white men to identify with the Democratic Party.
NOTE: Group percentages are rounded and may equal more than 100 percent in this graph.
SOURCE: Harold W. Stanley and Richard G. Niemi, Vital Statistics on American Politics, 2009–10, 5th ed. (Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2009), pp. 108–9.

24. How Do Voters Decide?
FIGURE 7.7 The Effect of Party Identification on the Vote, 2008
Party identification predisposes voters in favor of their party’s candidates and against those of the opposing party.
One’s party identification is largely shaped by one’s experiences and the stories one is told about the nature of politics as one goes through life.

25. How Voters Decide Three factors Partisanship
People with strong party identification vote at higher rates, even if the contest is not competitive.
Issues and policy preferences
Candidate characteristics

26. How Do Voters Decide? Issues and policy preferences
Candidates take strong stands on issues to differentiate themselves from other members of their party or past leaders.
Difficult to vote based on issues when candidates only address “safe” topics or seem to differ little on important issues
This is a good time to discuss how John McCain attempted to distance himself from President George W. Bush by repeatedly calling himself a “maverick.” This tactic aimed to attract voters who otherwise might not vote Republican.

27. How Do Voters Decide? Candidate characteristics Religion
Race and ethnicity
Gender
Social background
Perceived personality traits
Career

28. Candidate Characteristics Are More Important in the Media Age
Many winning candidates of the 2010 elections were supported by Tea Party groups. Here, Senator Rand Paul campaigns at a Tea Party event. The question was whether these trends would continue in 2012.

29. Voting
Suffrage extended to different groups at different points in American history. Initially only wealthy, white, male, >21 yrs
Wealth limitation eliminated early 1800s
Fifteenth Amendment enfranchises black men (1870)
Nineteenth Amend. enfranchises women (1920)
Twenty-Fourth Amend. ends poll taxes (1964)
Twenty-Sixth Amend. lowers age to 18 (1971)
Jim Crow laws emerged in response to the Fifteenth Amendment. Though black men had the right to vote, many states and communities worked vehemently to keep them from participating using laws, discriminatory social norms, and violence.
Black voting rights have no parallel in American history; women and young voters never encountered the systematic and extreme backlash to their enfranchisement.

30. Voting Right to vote: all American citizens >18 yrs. old
10 states (as of 2012) lifetime ban convicted felons
Turnout relatively low today
Other democracies and points in American history
60 percent national average presidential elections
33 percent national average in off-year national races
Significant state and regional differences
Students can look up which states have lifetime bans on voting.
There is a common misunderstanding that this law is a national rule, but in fact, the vast majority of American states (40 as of 2012) do not have this policy in place.
We need points of comparison to determine whether turnout is high or low.
Most often we compare contemporary turnout to two variables: prior turnout rates at different points in American history and nations with comparable governments (democracies).

31. Voting
FIGURE 7.5 Voter Turnout in Presidential and Midterm Elections, 1892–2010
Since the 1800s, participation in elections has declined substantially. One pattern is consistent across time: more Americans tend to vote in presidential election years than in years when only congressional and local elections are held. What are some of the reasons that participation rose and fell during the last century?
SOURCES: Erik Austin and Jerome Clubb, Political Facts of the United States since 1789 (Columbia University Press, 1986), pp. 378–79; U.S. Census Bureau, (accessed 4/7/08); Mathew Daly, “Voter turnout increases from last midterm in 2006,” Washington Post, 11/3/10.
*estimate

32. Voting Voter turnout in democratic nations 1945–2008
FIGURE 7.6 Voter Turnout around the World, 1945–2008
Although the United States is the oldest mass democracy, rates of voter turnout are substantially higher in other countries. In many of these countries, election days are holidays and voting is compulsory. Do you think that either of these reforms would increase voting in the United States?
NOTE: Average between 1945 and 2008.
SOURCE: International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, (accessed 12/5/09); note that for some of the countries, the most recent election data are from 2007; for Brazil the average is calculated for the period after 1989, when democracy was restored. Turnout is based on percentage of voting-age population.

33. Voting Why Do People Vote? 1. Individual preferences and traits
Partisanship, ideology, religion, sex, income, etc.
2. Political environment
Campaigns, issues, mobilization, party competition
3. State policies
Registration deadlines and methods, identification, ballot types (paper, mail only, etc.)
It is easy to identify who votes, but a more complicated question is why people vote.
This list gives information about variables that predict and explain underlying experiences that influence turnout.
For example, there is nothing magical about age; someone does not automatically turn into a voter because they hit a certain number.
Rather these factors, in combination, tell us a great deal about individual and contextual factors that influence the propensity to vote.
Of course, there are always people of X set of traits that do or do not vote; that does not invalidate these consistent, well-established findings.

34. Types of Elections Four types of elections: Primary General Runoff
Referendum elections
Proposed laws placed on the ballot for statewide vote

35. Types of Elections Primaries
Parties choose candidates who will run in the general elections.
Primaries do not elect people to office.
Open v. closed primaries
Voters can participate in either party primary, or not.
Voters do or do not register with party affiliations.
States may have caucuses; members meet and vote in the open.
Primaries seem like private events, since they are internal to the respective political parties.
The Supreme Court has determined that parties serve a public and indeed quasi-government purpose, so their primaries fall under election law.
There is a lot of video in which students can see the difference between a caucus and a primary.

36. Types of Elections General elections Runoff elections
Determine who gets to hold office
Typically draws the most voters
Runoff elections
If a candidate does not win a majority in the general election, some states hold a runoff between the two highest vote-getters.
There is much more national mobilization and awareness about general election (presidential specifically) candidates and issues; hence higher turnout.

37. Types of Elections Direct democracy
Legislative referenda: all 50 states’ legislatures refer policy to the public for a popular vote
Popular referenda and initiative: 24 states, citizens petition to place issue on ballot for a vote
Bypass the legislature
Often controversial and/or expensive policies
Recall elections: 18 states, citizens vote to remove elected official from office
A wide range of issues are up for consideration.
In 2008, Massachusetts voted on: a) banning dog racing b) decriminalizing possession of less than one ounce of marijuana, c) ending the state income tax.
California recalled Governor Davis (lost his seat), Wisconsin recalled, but failed to remove (majority has to support) their governor in 2012.
Some issues legislators don’t want to deal with because they are divisive, or too expensive to support—politically dangerous to their career prospects.
Two excellent resources on this topic: and

38. Electoral College
Founders created electoral college because citizens were not trusted to make good decisions.
Even today, citizens do not directly vote for president, but rather for electors.
State electoral votes = number of U.S. Representatives + Senators (2)
All states but Maine and Nebraska allocate all electoral votes to the popular vote winner.
Students can look up the Maine and Nebraska process, many find it an interesting alternative, especially for noncompetitive states.

39. Path to the White House

40. 270 to Win! Electoral College Simulation
How to Play
Play with one of your Quadmates
Object – collect as many electoral votes as possible – 270 to Win!
Materials
One die
Electoral College map
Tally Sheet

41. 270 to Win! Electoral College Simulation
How to Play
Write both your names on all papers.
Decide who’ll be Republican (red) and who’ll be Democrat (blue)
Roll the die to see who goes first
That person then selects a state. Write the name of the state on your Tally Sheet.
Both players take turns rolling the die. Your roll should be recorded on your Tally Sheet.
The player with the highest roll gets all the Electoral College votes from that state.
Record that number on your Tally Chart & color in your map
The losing player will record 0 for that state.
- Whoever won the previous roll gets to choose the next state…

42. Who Wins!!

43. Wednesday, October 31st Good morning! Happy Halloween!!
As you enter, please:
Front table – pick up our Day 2 – Get It, Got It, Government and complete it using your Unit 2 Info Summary!

44. Class Updates What’s Up Today?? Get It, Got It Government – Day 2
Quizlet Live!
Political Spectrum Gallery Walk
Borrow a clipboard & complete your Graphic Organizer
Where Do I Fit In?
Get your worksheet off the front table
Go to our website: Gpowell6.weebly.com
Complete the 3 surveys & your worksheet
Win the Whitehouse simulation on iCivics!

45. Win the White House Go to iCivics student login
Log in using your sign on and password
Play ‘Win the White House’ for prizes when you’re done!

46. Class Updates Ghoully reminders! Friday Unit Two Summative
All Unit One and Unit Two papers are due
Unit One and Unit Two Vocab is due, too!
Paper and pencil OR
Quizlet
OR Double Does It Bonus!!

47. Debate About the Electoral College

48. 2016 County-by-County Results

49. Campaign Finance Sources: Individual donors
Political Action Committees (PACs)
The candidates themselves
Independent spending committees—527 and 501(c)(4)

50. Party Organization Hard money, soft money, and 527s
Hard money was used for campaigning; soft money for party building.
2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act outlawed soft money
527s: nonprofits that can campaign for, but not coordinate with, the candidates
Citizens United allows unlimited, anonymous donations via interest groups; significant impact
Citizens United renders many of the rules and distinctions about “what kinds of money” insignificant.
For more on Citizens United, and the role of money in elections, an excellent podcast from This American Life:

51. Campaign Finance Individual donors The candidates themselves
Can donate limited amounts to individual candidates, parties, PACs, and independent spending committees
Can also “bundle” contributions to increase donations
The candidates themselves
Extremely wealthy candidates have an advantage
Examples: Mitt Romney, Michael Bloomberg

52. Campaign Finance Political Action Committees (PACs)
Organizations established by corporations, labor unions, or interest groups to channel their member’s contributions into political campaigns
There are over 4,500 PACs, and each can donate up to $5,000 to each individual candidate.

53. Campaign Finance Independent spending committees: 527 and 501(c)(4)
Groups not covered by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002
527: A political advocacy group
501(c)(4): A nonprofit group that is also involved in politics
Allow donors to give much more than the limits imposed on individuals and PACs

54. Campaign Finance Public funding
Candidates who take public funding must adhere to campaign spending limits.
Those who turn down public funding have no limits on what they can spend.
In the 2008 presidential campaign, John McCain accepted public funding, while Obama declined it. Obama ended up raising far more money through his own fund-raising efforts than McCain was given. Will this mean the end of public funding?

55. Media and Public Opinion
Public opinion and public agenda may be shaped or determined by mass media—the means of communication that provide information to a large audience. Your daily routine is probably filled with mass media such as magazines, radio, television news, news on the Web, and videos on the internet.
Media Impact
Effect on public opinion, public policy, most visible in two areas
Media monitors, shapes, determines public agenda
Media covers politics—issues, leaders public consider important
Also reports when officials ignore public opinion
Does not force people to take sides, focuses attention on issues

56. The Growth of Mass Media
Print media most enduring form of mass media
1789: Federalist paper Gazette of the United States published
1791: Whigs countered with National Gazette.
Other examples:
Penny press: inexpensive newspapers, covered issues of interest to working-class people
Yellow journalism: sensationalism, scandals, appeals to patriotism
Average daily newspaper readership declined after 1970s; today about 40% of adults read newspapers daily.
Radio first form of electronic media, beginning in 1920s
1950s: television replaced radio as most influential electronic media
Internet has changed mass media: 1 in 3 people regularly get news online.

58. Roles of Media Criticism of the Media The Future of Media
Media shape public opinion by issues they cover, and issues they ignore
Type of coverage important
Some stories describe candidate’s experience; others focus on issues
Criticism of the Media
Bias in reporting and/or story selection
Factual inaccuracy
Media consolidation
The Future of Media
News more accessible than ever before, not necessarily more accurate
Multiple sources help avoid propaganda, incomplete statements meant to influence public opinion, promote one cause or viewpoint

59. Why should you consult more than one source for your news?
Summarizing
Why should you consult more than one source for your news?
Answer(s): to get accurate information

60. Public Opinion Poll
Should there be limits on the amount of money candidates can spend on campaigns?
Yes No 60

61. Public Opinion Poll
Several countries (that are democracies) have compulsory voting policies that require all citizens to vote and fine those who do not. Should the United States adopt such a policy to increase voter participation in American elections?
Yes No 61

62. Public Opinion Poll
Do you think more people would vote if there were more convenient options, like weekend or online (secured website) voting?
Yes No 62

63. Public Opinion Poll
Do you think more people would vote if there were more viable political parties (maybe three to five) instead of only two as we have now?
Yes, more people would vote.
No, more parties would have no impact on turnout.
Fewer people would vote; it would cause confusion.

64. Public Opinion Poll
State rules governing the voting process—deadlines, early/absentee options, ballot method— vary widely. Should all states have the same rules on these aspects to voting and elections?
Yes No 64

65. Chapter 7: Political Parties and Elections
Quizzes
Flashcards
Outlines
Exercises
wwnorton.com/we-the-people 65

66. Following this slide, you will find additional images, figures, and tables from the textbook.

67. How the Party System Evolved
FIGURE 7.1 How the Party System Evolved
During the nineteenth century, the Democrats and the Republicans emerged as the two dominant parties in American politics. As the American party system evolved, many third parties emerged, but few of them remained in existence for very long.
*Or in some cases, fourth parties; most of these parties lasted through only one term.
**The Anti-Masonics had the distinction of being not only the first third party but also the first party to hold a national nominating convention and the fi rst to announce a party platform.

68. The 2012 Presidential Election Season
FIGURE 7.8 The 2008 Presidential Election Season
The presidential election season is a marathon for the candidates.

69. Campaign Funds
During the 2004 presidential campaign, dozens of independent 527 committees spent hundreds of millions of dollars on television advertising. One of the most notorious of these ads was the “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth,” which challenged John Kerry’s military record and activism against the Vietnam War.

70. Section 4 at a Glance The Electoral Process
Candidates for public office can be chosen in a variety of ways.
Political parties and political candidates conduct political campaigns to try to win public office.
Voters may be influenced by several factors, such as their religion, experiences, and age.

71. The Electoral Process Main Idea Reading Focus
The Constitution creates a system in which citizens elect representatives to public office. Each citizen has the responsibility to help make this system work. Citizens can affect the electoral process in many ways, but the most powerful is by voting on election day.
Reading Focus
How is a political campaign organized and financed?
How are candidates chosen for an election?
What are four factors that may influence voting and voter behavior?
What is the difference between a general election and a special election?
Do political campaigns serve the public good?

72. Your Vote, Your Choice

73. Organizing and Financing Campaigns
Political campaigns are expensive in both time and money. So why do people bother to run for office? Holding elective office is considered an honor and most candidates are public-minded people who want to contribute to society. However, some do run for office because they want the power.
Campaigning is hard work.
Local candidates walk door-to-door, attend local functions
Presidential candidates travel from state to state.
Candidates try to reach and attract enough voters to win.
Candidates rely heavily on media.
Political Campaigns
Candidates spend a lot of time raising money.
Sources: PACs, candidate’s party, private individuals, personal funds
Hard money: money donated to an individual campaign, regulated by state and federal laws
Soft money: given to party rather than specific candidate
Money and Campaigns

74. Where do candidates get the funds to pay for their campaigns?
Summarizing
Where do candidates get the funds to pay for their campaigns?
Answer(s): political action committees, the candidate’s party, individuals, personal funds, and public funds

75. Choosing Candidates
How does a person get his or her name on the ballot as a candidate? Nomination is the first step. This is one of the functions of a political party. Candidates are selected by primary elections or caucuses. Nomination processes vary from state to state, but involve one or more of the following:
Self-announcement
First step, announce you are running.
Seek party’s nomination, or run as independent candidate
Register and pay filing fee; sometimes must circulate petition to get on ballot
Avoiding petition process
Write-in candidates announce they are running as independent, ask voters to write name in on ballot; almost always lose
If they had more support they would not run as write-in

76. Choosing Candidates Caucuses
Caucus: meeting of party members who select candidates to run for election
Began in early 1800s; state leaders would meet, select all candidates
1831, 1832: first national party conventions held; state party leader met in state-level caucuses to select delegates to national conventions
Party leaders controlled who went to convention, how they voted
1890s: reformers began to take nominating power out of the hands of party leaders, let party members vote for candidate of choice
Caucuses still used in states like Iowa; precinct caucuses open to all party members in precinct
Precinct caucuses endorse candidates for local offices, select delegates to caucus of next level, such as county, district
Candidate with most votes at precinct generally has most delegates at next level

77. Choosing Candidates Conventions
Similar to, yet different from, caucuses
Only party members take part, in both; both are ways to nominate candidates.
Convention open to public; delegates represent party members not present
Local convention delegates choose delegates to state convention and nominate candidates for local office.
State conventions choose candidates for statewide office.
In presidential election years, state conventions select delegates to party’s national nominating convention, which chooses party’s candidates for president and vice president.

78. Choosing Candidates Primary Elections
If more than one member of same political party seeks same office, direct primary election held
Direct primary: party’s candidate for office chosen directly by voters
Two types of direct primary: closed, open
Closed primary: only voters registered as party members can vote
Open primary: any registered voter may vote in either party’s primary
Most states hold primary elections.
Each party’s presidential candidate is chosen after all states have held primary elections.
2008 primary season ran from January to June 2008, a long process in which each state had own rules for selecting delegates
Primaries play greatest role in determining candidates for president

80. Why are primary elections an important part of the electoral process?
Summarizing
Why are primary elections an important part of the electoral process?
Answer(s): They decide a party’s candidate for presidency and state and local office.