Objective 4.01Examine the structure and

organization of political parties.

Questions to answer

1.What factors influence commissioners in the decisions they make?

2.How might a commissioner decide what is best for the county as a whole (“the common good”)?

•Organization of people with common interests who want to influence the government and elect candidates to office.

•How do you become a member of the ____________ party?• Choose one when you register to vote.• No dues to pay, no voting

requirements.

Political Parties

Political Party

•The purpose is to win elections

Functions of Political Parties

•Nominate and select candidates•Act as watchdogs

•When in the minority, keep a watch on the party in power. Make sure they do not abuse their power.

•Inform voters•Give jobs to campaign workers who helped him/her get elected

• Called patronage

•The U.S. has a two-party system

•All national elections have been won by either one of our two major parties- Democrats and Republicans.

Types of Party Systems

• Democrats • Republicans

Two Party System

Democratic Party

•Andrew Jackson

Democratic Party• Oldest Political Party in the US• The Democratic Party is the more

liberal party.• Strong government involvement to

solve social problems.

Republican Party

Republican Party• Referred to as the Grand Old Party • Founded in 1854 by anti-slavery

expansion activists• The Republican Party is the more

conservative party• Emphasize individual freedom and

limiting government

Third Party• Never won a presidential election • Rarely wins other major elections• They influence the outcome of

elections and influence policy.

Why Third Parties Form

• Support a single issue• Prohibition Party

Why Third Parties Form?

• Support Political Beliefs• The Populists, Progressives, & the Reform

Party

Why Third Parties Form?

• Support a single candidate

• Ross Perot won 20% of the popular vote in the 1992 election.

Problems facing Third Parties

•Hard to get on the ballot= must get enough signatures on a petition to appear on the ballot.

•Difficult to raise money•Wasting their vote

One-Party System• A single political party forms the

government • No other parties

are permitted to run candidates for election

Communist Party of China

China would be

an example of a one-

party system.

Multi-party System

• Most Democracies use multi-party systems.• Germany• Israel• Canada• England• Japan• Australia. You get the idea, right?

• Use coalitions to get majorities.

The Platform

• A list of the principles which a political party supports in order to appeal to the general public. This often takes the form of a list of support for, or opposition to, controversial topics.

• Individual topics are often called planks of the platform.