Credit Sprint / Study guides / U.S. Government Unit 5

Credit Sprint's Guide to AP® U.S. Government and Politics, Unit 5: Political Participation

Unit 5 covers how citizens take part in politics: voting, campaigns, parties, interest groups and the media. It also covers how elections are run and why turnout, party competition and money matter. The unit is the second-largest on the exam and is rich in data analysis.

What you need to know

• Voting rights expanded through the Fifteenth Amendment (race), the Nineteenth (women), the Twenty-fourth (poll tax), the Twenty-sixth (age 18) and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Voter turnout is higher among older, more educated and wealthier citizens and in presidential elections than in midterms. Barriers include registration rules, ID laws and access to polling places.
• Models of voting: rational choice (voting based on self-interest), retrospective voting (judging past performance), prospective voting (judging future promises), party-line voting and candidate-based voting. Party identification is the most reliable predictor of how someone will vote.
• Elections: primaries (open, closed, semi-closed), caucuses, general elections and the Electoral College. The Electoral College has 538 electors and a candidate needs 270. Most states use winner-take-all rules, which favors a two-party system. Plurality, winner-take-all elections discourage third parties, a pattern known as Duverger's law.
• Political parties recruit candidates, organize campaigns, mobilize voters, develop platforms and organize government. Third parties influence policy by raising issues that major parties adopt. Realignments are shifts in party coalitions, and dealignment is a decline in party loyalty.
• Campaign finance: the Federal Election Campaign Act and the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act regulate money. Buckley v. Valeo (1976) treated spending as speech, and Citizens United v. FEC (2010) held that the government may not limit independent political expenditures by corporations and unions. Super PACs can raise unlimited sums but cannot coordinate with candidates. PACs, party committees and individuals have contribution limits.
• Interest groups: they lobby, litigate, and mobilize members. Types include economic, public, single-issue and ideological groups. Free riders, collective action problems and selective benefits explain why groups form and what they offer. Iron triangles link agencies, committees and groups.
• Mass media and the campaign: the media shape agendas, cover the horse race, create images and fact-check candidates. Campaign tools include advertising, debates, social media, fundraising, polling and get-out-the-vote efforts.
• Incumbency advantage: incumbents win re-election at high rates because of name recognition, fundraising, franking privileges, casework and gerrymandered districts. Presidential coattails and midterm losses for the president's party are common patterns.
• Linkage institutions: elections, parties, interest groups and the media connect citizens to government. Participation can be conventional (voting, donating) or unconventional (protest, boycotts, civil disobedience). Political efficacy influences participation.
• Data skills: students must read tables, bar charts, line graphs and maps on turnout, polling and election results, identify patterns, and draw cautious conclusions that stay within the data.

Exam traps

Key terms

• Electoral College: The system in which electors chosen by states cast the votes that formally elect the president.
• Winner-take-all: An election rule in which the candidate with the most votes in a state wins all of its electoral votes.
• Primary election: An election in which voters choose a party's nominees for the general election.
• Closed primary: A primary in which only voters registered with the party can vote.
• Open primary: A primary in which any registered voter may choose a party's ballot.
• Caucus: A meeting where party members gather to discuss candidates and choose delegates.
• National convention: A party meeting where delegates formally nominate the presidential candidate and adopt a platform.
• Party platform: A statement of a party's positions and goals adopted at its national convention.
• Realigning election: An election that produces a lasting change in party coalitions.
• Two-party system: A system in which two major parties dominate elections, as in the United States.
• Duverger's law: The idea that single-member, winner-take-all districts tend to produce two major parties.
• Proportional representation: A system that gives parties seats in proportion to their share of votes.
• Voter turnout: The percentage of eligible voters who actually vote in an election.
• Voter registration: The process of enrolling to vote, handled mainly by states.
• Interest group: An organized group of people with shared goals who try to influence government policy.
• Lobbying: Attempts by groups or individuals to persuade officials to take action on policy.

Practice questions

Five of the 70 Unit 5 questions in Credit Sprint. Every choice is explained in the app.