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Party competition
Battle of political parties for control of offices
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Political parties
A group of people seeking to control the govt offices
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Linkage institutions
- The means used to change people's concerns to political issues
- Elections, political parties, interest groups and the media
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Rational-choice theory
- Explains actions of voters
- Individuals act in their best interests
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Party image
Voters' perception of what republicans or democrats stand for
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Party identification
Self-proclaimed preference for one party or the other
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Ticket splitting
- Voting for one party for one office and another party for the other offices
- Norm for American voters
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Party machines
Relies heavily on material inducements like patronage to win votes to govern
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Patronage
A promotion or contract given for political reasons rather than for merit alone
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Closed primaries
- Party nominee elections are voted on only by registered party members
- Encourage party loyalty
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Open primaries
In elections for party nominees people can decide the day of if they want to participate
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Blanket primaries
Voters are presented with a list of republican nominees and democratic nominees and can bot for a mix of candidates for primaries
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National convention
Party delegates' meeting every 4 years to write party platform and choose presidential candidates
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National committee
- Keeps the party operating between conventions
- Composed of representatives from states and territories
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National chairperson
- Responsible for day-to-day activities
- Usually hand picked by presidential nominee
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Coalition
- Group of individuals with a common interest
- Every party depends on them
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Party eras
- A majority of voters cling to party in power
- Wins majority of elections
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Critical election
New issues emerge, new coalitions develop and the majority party is often displaced
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Party realignment
Displacement of the majority party
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New Deal coalition
- Dominated politics 1930-1960
- Urban working class, ethnic groups, Catholics and Jews, the poor, southerners, African Americans and intellectuals
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Party dealignment
Gradual disengagement of people and politicians from the parties
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Third parties
- Contenders not in the 2 main parties
- Rarely win elections
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Winner-take-all system
Legislative seats are awarded to the candidate who takes first
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Proportional representation
Awards legislative seats in proportion to the number of votes won in an election
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Coalition government
- 2+ parties join to form a majority
- Common in multiparty systems
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Responsible party model
- How parties should work
- Clear choices to voters
- Use these as cues for candidate preferences
- Parties carry out campaign promises once in office
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