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Voting - Civic Responsibilities and Duties Vocabulary Civic Duties – things you are legally required to do Civic Responsibilities – things you should do but are not required to do Political Party – association of voters who want to influence government by getting their candidates elected to office Apathy – general feeling of not caring Electorate – people eligible to vote Incumbent – person who already holds the office they are running for Canvassing – going door to door to get voters Civic Duties Obey the law Pay taxes Defend the nation – Selective Service Jury Duty Attend school Civic Responsibilities Be informed Vote Respect others Tolerate diversity Contribute to the common good Volunteering Government doesn’t have time or money to cover everything that everyone needs so people must volunteer Helps reduce the cost of government Volunteers can give time or money Benefits o Community is uplifted o Deductions from taxes o Intrinsic value Eligibility to Vote 18 years old Resident of the state for a specific time Citizen of the U.S. No felonies Voting Process Gather information o Newspapers, magazines, radio, TV o Websites of candidates & political parties o Political parties Go to polling place & receive a ballot Cast your ballot – fill out your choices Wait for returns – reporting of election results Absentee Ballot – a way to vote if you will be unable to vote on election day Exit Poll – way of predicting the winner before all of the votes are counted by asking people as they leave who they voted for Not Voting Apathy - #1 reason why people don’t vote Following can’t vote o Felons o Those in mental hospitals o People who do not meet state requirements Registration is not a problem Presidential elections – 50% of electorate vote Elections without Presidential candidates – between 7% and 20% vote Special Elections Initiative – a petition is signed with enough signatures to put an issue on the ballot Proposition – once an initiative is on the ballot Referendum – people can gather signatures to review a law passed by the state legislatures o Usually with very controversial issues Recall – special election where voters can vote an official out of office before their term is up Campaigning Creation of a positive image for a candidate Television is the most common means of campaigning 2 types o Mass Campaigning – TV, Rally & Mail – less time consuming but more expensive o Grass Roots – small level – Canvassing or making phone calls – cheap but time consuming – the voters get to personally know the candidate and the candidate gets to know the voters Incumbents – win 80% of the time o Name recognition o Franking privilege Endorsements – a famous or popular person supports a candidate Financing Campaigns The Federal Election & Campaign Finance Act of 1971 o Established rules for campaign finance o Public disclosure of spending o Established federal funding of presidential elections o Limits how much individuals & groups could spend o Created the FEC (Federal Election Committee) Private Funding Soft Money Donations o Donations given to political parties & not designated for a particular candidate o Most goes to TV ads for the parties’ candidates o Elaborate dinners with individual donations Political Action Committees (PACs) o Organized by special interest groups o Funds candidates who favor their position on issues Public Funding Presidential Election Campaign Fund o Taxpayers check a box on their federal income tax returns to designate $3 of their taxes to the fund o Candidates can get the money for primary elections if they have raised $100,000 on their own Public Opinion - Chapter 11 Public Opinion The ideas & attitudes people have about candidates Influenced by age, gender, income, hobbies, race, religion & occupation Mass media is a strong influence Politicians must be responsive to public opinion if they are going to get reelected Determining Public Opinion Public Opinion Polls – survey – most accurate way to determine public opinion Pollsters – people trained to take polls & measure public opinion Public Opinion Poll – use random samples Push Polls – used to push public opinion one way or another o Have loaded questions – biased to get a certain response Presidential Approval Rating Gallup Poll Media Print – newspapers, mailings, magazines Electronic – TV, radio, internet Main purpose – to keep us informed Independent media is most desirable Literacy is important Bias – one-sided point of view Biased Media Fox – Republican biased news MSNBC – Democratic biased news Interest Groups People attempting to influence government with their shared views Pressure groups Functions: o Bring issues to the public & lawmakers o Support candidates who favor their goals Types of Interest Groups Economic – most common o Business organizations – interested in trade o Industrial & Trade – represent certain types of business o Labor Unions – rights of workers o Professional Associations – represent different professions Group o Ethnicity (NAACP) o Age (AARP) o Gender (NOW) Public – focus on specific causes (PETA) Can form PACs also Ways Special Interest Groups Influence Politics Election Activities – backing a candidate Lobbying – persuading officials Provide expert testimony or help write laws in committees Go to court to fight a cause Fund elections Lobbyists Lobby – try to get officials to support a group’s goals Responsible for getting PAC money to the right politicians Speak in congressional committees Regulation Lobbyists can’t pay a candidates living expenses Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act (1946) o All lobbies must register with federal & state governments & report all expenditures Propaganda Attempt to influence people with biased information Always get both sides of a story from reliable sources Good way to determine what a candidate really supports is to see which PAC gives them money for campaigning Types of Propaganda Endorsements – famous or admirable person supports a candidate Stacked Cards – presenting only 1 side of the issue – distorting the facts Name-Calling – turning people against an opponent by giving them an unpleasant label or description Glittering Generality – statement that sounds good but is meaningless Symbols – use and misuse of symbols Just Plain Folks – make people think that the candidate is just like them Bandwagon – convincing people that everyone else agrees with a certain candidate Voting - Civic Responsibilities and Duties Vocabulary _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Civic Responsibilities – things you should do but are not required to do _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________ – general feeling of not caring ___________________________________________________ – people eligible to vote _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ – going door to door to get voters Civic Duties ______________________________________________________________________________________ Pay ______________________________ Defend the nation – __________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ Civic Responsibilities ______________________________________________________________________________________ Vote ______________________________________________________________________________________ Tolerate diversity ______________________________________________________________________________________ Volunteering _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Helps reduce the cost of government ______________________________________________________________________________________ Benefits o ______________________________________________________________________________ o Deductions from taxes o Intrinsic value Eligibility to Vote _______________ years old ______________________________________________________________________________________ Citizen of the U.S. ______________________________________________________________________________________ Voting Process Gather information o Newspapers, magazines, radio, ____________________________________________________________ o _______________________________________________________________________________ o Political parties Go to polling place & receive a ballot ______________________________________________________________________________________ Wait for returns – reporting of election results _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________ – way of predicting the winner before all of the votes are counted by asking people as they leave who they voted for Not Voting ______________________________________________________________________________________ Following can’t vote o _________________________________________________________________________ o Those in mental hospitals o People who do not meet state requirements Registration is not a problem Presidential elections – 50% of electorate vote _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Special Elections _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________ – once an initiative is on the ballot ____________________________________ – people can gather signatures to review a law passed by the state legislatures o Usually with very controversial issues _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ Campaigning Creation of a positive image for a candidate _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2 types o Mass Campaigning – TV, Rally & Mail – less time consuming but more expensive o _____________________________________ – small level – Canvassing or making phone calls – cheap but time consuming – __________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ o Name recognition o Franking privilege __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Financing Campaigns The Federal Election & Campaign Finance Act of _____________________________________________ o ______________________________________________________________________________________________ o o o Public disclosure of spending Established federal funding of presidential elections Limits how much individuals & groups could spend o ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Private Funding Soft Money Donations o ______________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ o Most goes to TV ads for the parties’ candidates o _______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ o Organized by special interest groups o ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Hard money vs. Soft money o ______________________________________________________________________________________________ o ____________________________________________________________________________________ o McCain - __________________________________________ Public Funding ______________________________________________________________________________________ o Taxpayers check a box on their federal income tax returns to designate $3 of their taxes to the fund o ______________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Public Opinion - Chapter 11 Public Opinion ______________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ is a strong influence Politicians must be responsive to public opinion if they are going to get reelected Determining Public Opinion __________________________________________ Polls – _________________________ – most accurate way to determine public opinion ______________________________________ – people trained to take polls & measure public opinion Public Opinion Poll – use _____________________________________________________ ___________________________________ – used to push public opinion one way or another Have loaded questions – _________________________________________________________________________________ Presidential Approval Rating __________________________________________________ Media _______________________________________– newspapers, mailings, magazines Electronic – ____________________________________________________________________________ Main purpose – to keep us ________________________________________ Independent media is most desirable _______________________________ is important _______________________ – ______________________________________________________________ Biased Media ________________________ – Republican biased news MSNBC – _____________________________________________________________________________ Interest Groups People attempting to influence government with _______________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Functions: o Bring issues to the public & ________________________________________________ Support candidates who favor their goals Types of Interest Groups Economic – _______________________________________________________ o Business organizations – __________________________________________________________ o _____________________________________________________________ – represent certain types of business o o Group o _______________________________________________________________________________ Professional Associations – represent different professions _____________________________________________________________________________ o _____________________________________________________________________________ o Gender (NOW) Public – _______________________________________________________________________________ Can form PACs also Ways Special Interest Groups Influence Politics Election Activities – ___________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________ – persuading officials Provide _________________________________________________________________ or help write laws in committees Go to court to fight a cause ___________________________________________________________ Lobbyists ______________________________________________________________________________________ Responsible for getting PAC money to the right politicians ______________________________________________________________________________________ Regulation ______________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ (1946) o All lobbies must register with federal & state governments & report all _____________________ Propaganda ______________________________________________________________________________________ Always get ___________________________________________________ of a story from reliable sources Good way to determine what a candidate really supports is to see which PAC gives them money for campaigning Types of Propaganda ______________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________ – presenting only 1 side of the issue – distorting the facts _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ – statement that sounds good but is meaningless ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ o Examples