US Political System: Parties, Elections, Congress, Presidency
Political Parties and the Two-Party System
Political Parties: Swing states are states in which both major parties receive significant support; they typically determine the outcome of an election, along with independent voters. National political parties write and distribute a party platform—a document or statement developed by a political party to include its official positions on issues of public concern. Platforms should both satisfy party loyalists (sometimes called “the base,”) who can usually be counted on to vote for candidates from the party they support AND try to attract new voters.
America has a two-party system, which is different from most other democracies that have parliamentary systems featuring multi-party elections and legislative bodies. Because party loyalty is so strong, independent voters (those who decline to be members of either party) now have a bigger say in who becomes president than they’ve had at any other time. In recent years, the number of independents has grown dramatically.
Advantages of a Two-Party System
- Simplifies the political process for voters.
- Promotes stability in democratic politics.
- Guarantees a clear winner.
Disadvantages of a Two-Party System
- Slow to change.
- Restricts voter choice.
- Discourages coalition building.
- May encourage polarization.
Problems with Democrats
- Dismissive of conservative viewpoints and arguments.
- Make generalizations about race and identity politics.
- Tendency to disregard men’s opinions on gender issues.
- Accuse heterosexuals of having “straight privilege.”
- Use labels ending in “phobia” to dismiss opposing views.
- Rely on emotional outbursts and “cancel culture” to silence dissent.
- Overly focused on identity-based issues.
Voting and Elections
Voting and Elections: College graduates tend to vote at higher rates than those with just a high school education. Voter registration is highest among those who make over $150,000 or more. Only 60% of those between 18-24 vote, versus over 79% of those over 65. Women tend to turn out to vote more than men.
Voter turnout is lower in the U.S. than in many other industrialized nations. The loss of social capital (the degree to which we are connected) has been cited as a culprit for low voter turnout. Key factors for successful social movements include:
- Organization: When protestors are organized in a way that lets them keep pushing for the movement’s goals.
- Messaging: Does the message resonate with more people than just the core supporters of the movement?
- Nonviolence: Non-violent movements are twice as effective as violent ones.
House of Representative elections occur every 2 years (435 members), Senate elections every 6 years (100 members), and Presidential elections every 4 years. In 2020, the average House member had to raise about $2.7 million in campaign funds to get re-elected. Over 90% of incumbents (previous winners) in the House retained their seats.
Ranked Choice Voting (RCV)
Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) is proposed as a solution to our voting woes. Our “choose-one” elections deprive voters of meaningful choices, create increasingly toxic campaign cycles, advance candidates who lack broad support, and leave voters feeling like our voices are not heard. RCV is straightforward: Voters have the option to rank candidates in order of preference: first, second, third, and so forth. If your first choice doesn’t have a chance to win, your ballot counts for your next choice.
RCV works in all types of elections and supports more representative outcomes. It means better choices, better campaigns, and better representation. RCV is already being used all across the country in a wide range of jurisdictions. As of the 2022 elections, RCV has been adopted in 62 jurisdictions, including Alaska, Maine, New York City, Cambridge, MA, Minneapolis, MN, and San Francisco, CA. RCV has also been used to nominate candidates for a general election, such as by 2020 Democratic primary voters in Alaska, Hawaii, Kansas, and Wyoming, and by the Virginia Republican Party in 2021.
Congress
Congress: The structure and function of Congress embody democratic ideals. The legislative process is lengthy and complex. Parties and committees control the flow of legislation in Congress. Members of Congress must consider multiple influences when making decisions.
The House of Representatives has approximately 700,000 people per district. The population they represent is drawn through redistricting. Representatives must be 25 years old, a citizen for 7 years, and a resident of the state they represent. The Senate has 100 members, with 2 per state. They have the power to impeach cases, ratify treaties, and approve major presidential appointments. Any bill may be debated endlessly to prevent it from passing (filibuster).
A member of Congress not only represents the people in his or her district but also represents the people of his or her district or state. In the House, the institutional leader is the Speaker, who is typically a member of the majority party. The Speaker presides over the sessions, serves as the chamber’s spokesperson, tries to influence committee membership, manages which bills go to which committee, and is second in line after the vice president to assume the presidency upon the death or disability of the President.
The daily work of being a legislator means engaging in both casework (services provided by members of Congress and their staff to assist constituents in dealing with bureaucratic agencies) and logrolling (exchanging political favors, such as votes, to achieve mutually beneficial legislative outcomes). A constituent is a citizen who lives within the district.
Congress members represent their constituents using either a delegate or a trustee model of representation. A delegate is a model of representation calling for members of Congress to serve as the mouthpiece of their constituents in the legislative process, to directly reflect constituent sentiment. A trustee is a model of representation calling for members of Congress to protect the interests of their constituents and to use his or her best judgment in making legislative decisions. Most constituents want their Congressional members to be a delegate. A true leader knows they must be both a delegate and a trustee.
Presidency
The federal bureaucracy is the president’s tool to implement law. The president can establish federal departments in the executive branch; appoint organization heads, known as secretaries, to implement the law; and reorganize the government to best meet management styles and achieve policy goals.
The President has a number of responsibilities. Some are specifically granted to them by the Constitution (expressed powers), and some have been interpreted by presidents as necessary to faithfully execute the laws and protect and defend the Constitution (implied powers). Some powers are delegated to the president by Congress in order to implement legislation (delegated powers).
Some of the president’s expressed powers are to execute laws, appoint department heads, veto legislation, deliver a State of the Union, make policy recommendations, convene and adjourn Congress, appoint justices to the Supreme Court, appoint judges to federal courts, grant pardons (the exoneration of both the crime and the associated penalty), amnesty (a pardon that is issued to a group of people who are not in compliance with the law) and reprieves (the exoneration of the penalty associated with a crime).
Each state gets as many electors as it has members of Congress (House and Senate). Including Washington, D.C.’s three electors, there are currently 538 electors in all.
Bureaucracy
The federal bureaucracy enables the president to implement laws passed by Congress. The federal bureaucracy can be a powerful force, but its powers are limited. Americans continually seek ways to reform the bureaucracy.
Iron Triangle: A term describing the coordination among congressional committees, bureaucratic agencies, and interest groups.
Devolution is the delegation of power by the federal government to state and local governments. It is a strategy for reducing the size of the federal bureaucracy.
Privatization: A shift in responsibility for service provision from the public sector to the private sector. These services are supported through federal funds, and private service providers must operate under a certain degree of federal oversight.