POLS 125 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2 and 3: Party Politics, Hershey: Two-Round System, Gerrymandering, Nonpartisanism
19 Jan 2020
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Document Summary
American parties are close competitors at the national level: majority of presidential elections since 1868 have been decided by less than 10% of the vote, from 1932 to 1980 democrats dominated both chambers of congress. Since 1980 parties have exchanged control frequently. Both major parties have shown resilience over time: whenever one party has a string of wins, the other party is able to restore balance at some point. Gerrymandering also limits competition at the state level and in house races. Increase in single party control has allowed the dominant party (typically republicans) to draw district boundaries that favor them. Another factor is that people have become more mobile and able to move to places where likeminded individuals live, making districts become more homogenous and less competitive. Systems with a single executive also weaken minor parties, because they don"t have a realistic chance of competing for election, denying them the national attention that major parties get.
