Political parties
Parties are not in the Constitution, yet they organise nearly all of American politics.
What parties do
Parties recruit candidates, organise elections, mobilise voters, offer platforms of policy positions, and organise government once in office. Party leaders in Congress, such as the Speaker of the House and the Senate majority leader, come from the majority party. Parties help voters by providing a simple cue about candidates' likely views.
The two-party system
The United States has been dominated by two major parties, today the Democrats and Republicans. A major reason is the single-member district, winner-take-all system: only the candidate with the most votes wins, so smaller parties rarely win seats, an effect known as Duverger's law. Third parties can still influence elections and push issues onto the agenda.
Polarisation and divided government
Divided government occurs when one party controls the presidency and another controls at least one chamber of Congress. In recent decades the parties have become more ideologically polarised, with fewer moderates, making compromise harder. Many voters have also sorted themselves more consistently into parties by ideology.
Flashcard
A system dominated by two major parties
Check your understanding
The presidency is held by one party while the other party controls the House. This is: