One Big Party?

Name:

It’s a Party...
...but not the kind with ice cream and cake. A political party is an
organized group of people who share similar political views and work
to influence the government in support of those views. Political views
are a person’s ideas about how the government should run and how
the issues facing our country should be solved. Political parties fight to
gain political power by having candidates elected to office. They exist
at every level of government, from the national level to your very own
neighborhood. By organizing into political parties, people have more
power to influence government than if they acted alone.
The Big Two
In the United States, the Republican Party and the Democratic Party are
the two main political parties. Are there other parties? Sure. The U.S.
technically has a multi-party system. But these two parties have gained
so much power that almost every person elected to government
office belongs to one of them. Most Americans identify with one of
these two parties, but about 40% of Americans identify as politically The donkey The elephant
independent, meaning they don’t want to identify with any party. Most represents the represents the
Democratic Republican
independents end up voting for either a Democrat or a Republican, and
Party Party
many “lean” toward one party of the other. Independents may be more
open to supporting candidates from either party, and some independents are elected to office.

Third Parties

Write-In Candidates Many political parties exist in the United States. Candidates for
political office can represent any party, but that doesn’t mean you’ll
Most ballots include a place to
see everyone’s name on the ballot. Each state has rules about ballot
write in the name of a candidate
who is not on the ballot. This access—allowing a political party to put a candidate on the ballot.
is one way you can vote for Usually the rules involve getting a certain number of signatures from
third-party candidates who registered voters. These rules keep most third parties from even
don’t have ballot access. You can offering a candidate for voters to choose from. The Democratic and
also vote for Mickey Mouse or
Republican parties have ballot access in all the states. The Libertarian
even yourself—but it might be a
wasted vote! Party is the largest third party, with ballot access for the presidential
election in more than 30 states. As of 2015, the Green Party had
ballot access in over 20 states, and the Constitution Party had access
in over 10 states.
The Party Platform
One thing political parties have in common is that they stand for something. If you
want to know what a party believes, its platform is a document that describes
the party’s views on all the major issues facing the nation. This set of
statements is called a “platform” because it is the set of beliefs the political
party stands on. The Democratic Party and the Republican Party keep their
platforms broad and simple to attract as many supporters as possible. At
first, it can be hard to tell the difference on some issues. Both parties might
say they want better education or more jobs, but what does that mean? The
party’s platform explains what that party thinks “better” education looks like
and how the jobs should be created. You can find a political party’s platform
by going to the party’s website.
© 2018 iCivics, Inc. Reading ̶ Side A
One Big Party? Name:

Political Parties Support Candidates

In the U.S., you’ll be most aware of political parties during an election
season. Candidates who are running for political office almost always
declare themselves a member of a political party. By doing this, a
candidate gains support from the political party and makes it easier
for voters to figure out what the candidate believes in and where they
stand on the issues. At the same time, political parties fight hard to get
candidates from their party elected. Party committees at the local, state,
and national level work to support their candidates by raising money,
campaigning, educating voters, and urging people to vote on election day.

Political Parties Work Inside Government

Candidates who are elected to office work to pass laws and solve problems. While
each government official has his or her own views, the laws and solutions they
Majority support usually align with their political party’s platform. In the U.S. Congress and
in state legislatures, the balance of power between Republicans and Democrats
can determine which laws get passed. The majority party—the one with the
most elected members—can most easily influence laws by getting all its members
to vote the same way on a bill. This isn’t always easy, because members of one
political party don’t necessarily agree on all the issues. But in American politics,
it’s common for most lawmakers from one party to vote the same way. Meanwhile,
the minority party works to promote the views of its supporters by forcing
compromise with the majority party. If the minority party is successful, this can
Minority create laws that are balanced between the two parties’ viewpoints.
In the executive branch, the president and state governors almost always
belong to a political party. Like lawmakers, their views usually align with their
political party’s platform. A president or governor works for the people, not a
party, but he or she may be very committed to advancing the party’s goals. He
or she does not make laws, but is key in developing public policy—the stand
the government takes about how issues should be handled. A president or
governor’s policies are usually in line with their political party’s platform. A president or governor who
belongs to the same party as the minority in the legislature may also disagree with many laws passed
by the majority and may veto those laws.

Political Parties and You  Democratic?

You’ve probably already seen political parties in action. During elections, political  Republican?
parties work to influence voters by distributing information about candidates and  Independent?
issues. Next time you see a campaign ad on television, look closely at the fine  Libertarian?
print at the bottom and you might see that a political party has funded the ad.
 Green?
But beware: All the information a political party distributes is biased toward its
own views. That means information from political parties should not be your only  Constitution?
source of information about candidates and issues.  Other?
When you register or preregister to vote, the application will probably let you
check a box to join a political party. Joining a political party isn’t a requirement, and even if you check
a box you can still vote for anyone you want. During a presidential election, in many states party
membership lets you participate in that state’s primary election or caucus to help decide who your party’s
presidential candidate will be. Some states let you participate even if you don’t belong to a party.

© 2018 iCivics, Inc. Reading ̶ Side B

One Big Party? Name:

A. Vocabulary. Match each key term with its definition.

______ 1. political party A. Allowing a political party to put a candidate on the

ballot
______ 2. write-in candidate B. A person’s ideas about how government should run
and how issues should be solved
______ 3. public policy C. A candidate whose name a voter must hand-write on
the ballot
______ 4. minority party D. Political party with the most elected members
______ 5. third party E. The stand the government takes about how issues
should be handled
______ 6. platform F. A political party other than Republican or Democratic
G. An organized group of people who share similar
______ 7. political views political views and work to influence government
H. Set of statements describing a party’s views on major
______ 8. ballot access issues
______ 9. candidate I. Political party that does not have a majority of the
elected members
______10. majority party 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.

1) 2) I don’t agree with 3) Seeing my party

either the Republicans candidates win
I am committed to or Democrats all of elections is less
my political party. the time, so I don’t important than
want to commit to supporting a party
either one. I truly believe in.

 Independent  Independent  Independent

 Third Party  Third Party  Third Party
 Republican/Democrat  Republican/Democrat  Republican/Democrat
4) 5) 6) My party may
I don’t like America’s I don’t fully agree with
my party’s platform, not be powerful
two-party system. right now, but if
More parties should but I want to support
a party that has nobody joins, it
have a chance to be will never gain
heard. power and influence.
influence.

 Independent  Independent  Independent

 Third Party  Third Party  Third Party
 Republican/Democrat  Republican/Democrat  Republican/Democrat
© 2018 iCivics, Inc. Activity ̶ Side A
One Big Party? Name:
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.

W
LA

Support Influence Laws & Unite Levels of Create Balance Influence Voters
Candidates Policy Government

c Party leaders meet with a senator who

1. ____ 7. ____ A political party pays for a series of
is not supporting the party’s platform on televised attack ads against a candidate from
environmental issues. the other party.
p A party’s state office asks party
2. ____ 8. ____ A political party holds a huge
members to write their legislators and ask convention to nominate and celebrate the
them to vote “no” on a state tax bill. party’s presidential candidate.

c A party’s state office runs a phone bank

3. ____ 9. ____ A state governor meets with a city
before the election to call party supporters mayor and state senator from the same
and remind them to support the party’s party to discuss the governor’s policy on
candidates. education.

4. ____ A party’s state office hosts a conference 10. ____ The president refuses to sign a bill
for state and local officials to discuss the passed by the opposing party and meets
party’s goals for the state. with legislators to discuss possible changes.

5. ____ A committee of legislators from one 11. ____ Party volunteers spend a Saturday
party meets to draft a law that will be afternoon at the park handing out party-
acceptable to everyone in the party. sponsored voting guides.

6. ____ A group of legislators from the minority 12. ____ A new law passes the Senate, where
and majority parties meets to discuss one party has a majority, but fails in the
compromise after a failed vote on a budget House of Representatives, where the other
bill. party has a majority.

D. A Two-Party System? The U.S. has lots of parties, but it is often considered a two-party system.
Draw lines to match the characteristics of a two-party system to the statistics about U.S. voters.
In two party systems... In the United States...

Citizens may be frustrated or dissatisfied with the In 2015, 55% of Americans personally identified as
two major parties.. either a Republican or a Democrat.

Third parties rarely gain enough support to win In 2014, 58% of Americans thought a third major
elections. party was needed and 35% didn’t.

Most citizens identify with one of the two major In July 2012, 7% of Americans planned to vote for a
parties. third-party presidential candidate.

© 2018 iCivics, Inc. Activity ̶ Side B