Analysis of the US Electoral System: Parties, Campaigns, Elections

This presentation provides a comprehensive overview of the US electoral system, delving into the purpose and functions of political parties, the various ways US citizens participate in campaigns and elections, and the role of caucuses and primary elections. It further examines the significance of national political party conventions in the presidential election process, the general election campaign, and the factors influencing it, such as ethnicity, age, and gender. The presentation also highlights the increasing role of media, including television, radio, and social media, in modern political campaigns, as well as the controversial influence of money. The analysis includes references to academic research and news sources to support its claims about the US political landscape. Desklib provides more resources for students.

THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM
OF THE UNITED STATES

PURPOSE AND FUNCTIONS OF
POLITICAL PARTIES IN THE UNITED
STATES
 Political parties are indispensable for the efficient working of the
governments of the contemporary States of the world.
 The main function of political parties is to represent the voices of the
people.
 They have the duty to ensure that all the people that are being represented
by them, have access to a dignified standard of living.

 Each political party has their own philosophical ideology which shapes their
election manifesto. This political ideology is what attracts people to vote for
them.
 They main function of political parties is to contest elections. In these
elections, the common people who are eligible to vote, elect their preferred
representative.
 This representative usually belongs to one political party or the other.
 The political parties cater to the needs and wants of their representatives
following their political ideologies.

 There are two main political parties in the United States – the Democratic
Party and the Republican Party
 The Democratic Party follows a left aligned ideology whereby its policies
and programs are more liberal in nature.
 The Republican Party follows a right aligned ideology, meaning that its
programs and policies are conservative in their outlook.
 Other parties existing in the United States are the Green Party, Libertarian
Party and the Communitarian Party.

PARTICIPATION OF THE US PEOPLE IN CAMPAIGNING AND
ELECTION PROCESS
 One of the most important responsibility of the citizens of the United States is to
take an active role in the voting process. The power to decide on the future
course of the State lies with the people.
 There are various ways by which a citizen can ensure its participation in the
campaigning and electoral process.
 First, they should be aware about the issues affecting them by reading the
different sources of information such as newspapers, magazines and social
media.

 It is imperative that the citizens must play an active role in the political discussions that
occur during the campaigning process.
 Another important way by which the citizens can ensure their participation is by posting
letters to the potential representatives, communicating their needs and wants. Since it is the
obligation of the representatives to fulfill the wishes of the people, they are required to take
action for the welfare of the society.
 The citizens can also play their part by influencing other people on the directives of a
concerned party. Thus, if the Party directives are good, it will attract more voters.

 Another important way in which the citizens can make significant contributions to the
electoral process is by the process of campaigning itself.
 Within the US politics, campaigning affects the individuals to a large extent. They
individuals can be asked to hand out the party’s election manifesto to the common
masses.
 It is only by becoming more involved in the democratic process that an individual can
hope to change his or her country for the better in the future.

IMPORTANCE OF CAUCUSES AND
PRIMARIES
 The main function of the Caucuses and the Primaries is to determine the number of
delegates needed by each candidate to represent themselves in the national
convention.
 The voting in a caucus election is generally conducted in a church or school or
similar social gathering. From here, the delegates are elected.
 Caucus voting is usually only for the party members and hence, closed to the
outside public.

 The voting for a Primary election is for determining the candidate
suitable for Presidential election.
 Whoever wins the Primary Election of the Party, is nominated to
represent that respective party at the national convention.
 The Primary Elections can be of various types such as open primary,
close primary, semi close primary and run-off primary.
 The purpose of Caucus and Primary Elections is to select the potential
candidates for the Presidential election at a preliminary stage.

 The elections to the Presidential office of the United States is a two
stage process.
 In the first stage, the respective parties decide who are the potential
candidates who would be the delegates of the party forming the
national convention.
 This group of delegates at the national convention will then elect the
most suitable candidate to run for the presidential election. In this
election, even the common people are allowed to vote.

NATIONAL CONVENTION AND
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Political conventions of various parties are held at different levels – local, state,
national.
The main purpose of political conventions is to decide the policies of the
parties and to select the party members who would be representing various
offices.
The first political convention in the United States was held by Andrew Jackson
in Baltimore in 1882.

• National Conventions have an important role to play in the Presidential Elections of the
United States.
• The main purpose of National Conventions is to elect the party nominees of the respective
parties for the office of the president.
• Another important role of National Convention is that it provides a platform to the Parties
to make a comprehensive statement about the main aims and objectives of the Party and
how they will help to transform United States into a welfare state.
• Adopts the campaigning procedure to be followed by the Party during the Presidential
campaign.

THE PRESIDENTIAL GENERAL
ELECTION CAMPAIGN PROCESS
• The campaigning for Presidential Elections in the United States begin when the Primary
Elections come to an end.
• After all the Party nominees have been elected by around the month of June, the
respective Parties begin the campaigning process for the General Elections scheduled to
be held in the month of November.
• The campaigns for General Elections are held mostly in the States where neither the
Democratic Part or the Republican Party has a clear majority.

• Focusing of the campaigns in such States is necessary in order to sway the
voters to the interest of the concerned Party.
• These States are known as the ‘Swing States’.
• In order to win the votes of the ‘Swing States’ particular attention needs to
be paid to them, along with the usage of a lot of resources such as
promising them of several welfare activities of providing better transport
and clean water sources.
• The General Elections are usually held in the month of November where
the final Presidential candidate is elected.

FACTORS INFLUENCING GENERAL
ELECTIONS
 One of the most important factors influencing the general elections is the
ethnicity of the voters.
 The race diversity of the voters plays a significant role in the Presidential
elections.
 Age diversity also influences the participation of the voters.
 The gender gap has a significant contribution in the Presidential elections.

ROLE OF MEDIA IN POLITICAL
CAMPAIGNS
The role of social media is
increasingly becoming
important in the
contemporary world.
This is done in the wake of
appealing to the maximum number
of voters to cast their vote,
especially the young generation
The various platforms such as
television, radio and social media
like Facebook and Twitter are being
used to their optimum level by the
various political parties.

ROLE AND INFLUENCE OF MONEY
IN POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS Money has been the most controversial issue in political campaigns (Smulders & Maddens,
2018). All political parties need funds for successful campaigning in the various States. This money is usually provided in lump sum by private businesses who usually have some
selfish motive which can be fulfilled by the concerned political party This leads to corruption.

REFERENCES
 Abramowitz, A. I., & Webster, S. (2016). The rise of negative partisanship
and the nationalization of US elections in the 21st century. Electoral
Studies, 41, 12-22.
 Chadwick, A., & Stromer-Galley, J. (2016). Digital media, power, and
democracy in parties and election campaigns: Party decline or party
renewal?.
 De Leon, C., Desai, M., & Tuğal, C. (Eds.). (2015). Building blocs: How
parties organize society. Stanford University Press.

 Gilens, M., & Page, B. I. (2014). Testing theories of American
politics: Elites, interest groups, and average citizens. Perspectives on
politics, 12(3), 564-581.
 Leeper, T. J., & Slothuus, R. (2014). Leeper, T. J., & Slothuus, R.
(2014). Political parties, motivated reasoning, and public opinion
formation. Political Psychology, 35, 129-156.
 Noel, H. (2014). Political ideologies and political parties in America.
Cambridge University Press.

 'Political Polarization In The American Public' (Pew Research Center
for the People and the Press, 2018)
<http://www.people-press.org/2014/06/12/political-polarization-in-the-
american-public/> accessed 28 November 2018.
 Reich, M. (2017). Racial inequality: A political-economic
analysis (Vol. 4883). Princeton University Press.
 Smulders, J., & Maddens, B. (2018). How and why do political parties
differ in their spending patterns? An empirical analysis of expenditure
on party payroll staff. International Political Science Review,
0192512117744677.

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