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Activity p.
One Big Party?^ Name:
______ 1. political party
______ 2. write-in candidate
______ 3. public policy
______ 4. minority party
______ 5. third party
______ 6. platform
______ 7. political views
______ 8. ballot access
______ 9. candidate
______10. majority party
A. Allowing a political party to put a candidate on the ballot B. A person’s ideas about how government should run and how issues should be solved C. A candidate whose name a voter must hand-write on the ballot D. Political party with the most elected members E. The stand the government takes about how issues should be handled F. A political party other than Republican or Democratic G. An organized group of people who share similar political views and work to influence government H. Set of statements describing a party’s views on major issues I. Political party that does not have a majority of the elected members J. A person running for political office
B. Registered Voter! Read each registered voter’s statement. Then, decide how each voter is probably registered. Be careful—some have more than one correct possibility! Mark all that you think could apply.
A. Vocabulary. Match each key term with its definition.
Independent Third Party Republican/Democrat
Independent Third Party Republican/Democrat
Independent Third Party Republican/Democrat
Independent Third Party Republican/Democrat
Independent Third Party Republican/Democrat
Independent Third Party Republican/Democrat
Worksheet p.
One Big Party?^ Name:
D. A Two-Party System? The U.S. has lots of parties, but it is often considered a two-party system. Below, match the characteristics of a two-party system to the statistics about U.S. voters.
In 2015, 55% of Americans personally identified as either a Republican or a Democrat.
In 2014, 58% of Americans thought a third major party was needed and 35% didn’t.
In July 2012, 7% of Americans planned to vote for a third-party presidential candidate.
C. Five Roles of Political Parties. Read each example of political parties at work. Decide which of the five roles the example best illustrates. Write the underlined letter in the button next to the example. You hay have more than one answer.
- ____ Party leaders meet with a senator who is not supporting the party’s platform on environmental issues.
- ____ A party’s state office asks party members to write their legislators and ask them to vote “no” on a state tax bill.
- ____ A party’s state office runs a phone bank before the election to call party supporters and remind them to support the party’s candidates.
- ____ A party’s state office hosts a conference for state and local officials to discuss the party’s goals for the state.
- ____ A committee of legislators from one party meets to draft a law that will be acceptable to everyone in the party.
- ____ A group of legislators from the minority and majority parties meets to discuss compromise after a failed vote on a budget bill. 7. ____ A political party pays for a series of televised attack ads against a candidate from the other party. 8. ____ A political party holds a huge convention to nominate and celebrate the party’s presidential candidate. 9. ____ A state governor meets with a city mayor and state senator from the same party to discuss the governor’s policy on education. 10. ____ The president refuses to sign a bill passed by the opposing party and meets with legislators to discuss possible changes. 11. ____ Party volunteers spend a Saturday afternoon at the park handing out party- sponsored voting guides. 12. ____ A new law passes the Senate, where one party has a majority, but fails in the House of Representatives, where the other party has a majority.
A
B
C
