Demonstrating a wide range of concepts, this slideshow describes the structure of political parties from the national organization down to the grassroots, as well as explaining the primary process

1. F O R U S E W I T H S E C T I O N 9 . 2
ORGANIZATION OF
AMERICAN POLITICAL
PARTIES

2. NATIONAL PARTY ORGANIZATION
National
Committee
State
Committees
County Committees
Wards
Precincts

3. NATIONAL PARTY ORGANIZATION
• Democrat and Republican parties have local, state, and
national organizations
• each level is only loosely tied together
• each level shares nearly the same political beliefs
• all levels have the same goal: win as many offices as
possible

4. NATIONAL COMMITTEE
Role
• consists of representatives from every state
• helps raise funds for presidential elections
• organizes the national convention

5. NATIONAL COMMITTEE
1) National Party Chairperson
• runs the committee
• main job is to manage the office, direct the committee
staff, lead fund raising efforts
Reince Priebus –
Republican
National
Chairperson
Debbie
Wasserman
Schultz (D-FL):
Democratic
National
Chairperson

6. NATIONAL CONVENTION
• the committee holds a national convention every four
years
a) Nominating Presidential Candidate
• historically the convention is where the party’s candidate was
decided
• today, states choose their favorite candidate via primary
elections and caucuses before the convention
• the convention is mostly used to kick off the candidate’s
campaign for the presidency

7. NATIONAL CONVENTION
• the committee holds a national convention every four
years
b) Campaign Committees
• work to elect party members and raise money for candidates
running for political office on all levels

8. NATIONAL CONVENTION
• the committee holds a national convention every four
years
c) Platform Writing
• A committee is selected to write the party’s platform

9. NATIONAL CONVENTION

10. STATE AND LOCAL ORGANIZATION
Role of the State Committee
• focus on electing candidates to state offices
• work toward getting the party’s candidates elected to
national offices

11. STATE AND LOCAL ORGANIZATION
Role of the County Committee
• organizes precincts and ward leaders to get the people
to vote for their party’s candidate(s)
• may advise the governor or US Senators to what their
constituents want
• local and county levels are important to the party
because they are most in touch with the voters –
involvement at the most basic level is called “grassroots”

12. WHAT IS A PRECINCT?
• A geographic area that contains a specific number of voters
 It is the smallest geographic area
 all voters in a precinct vote at the same location

13. PRECINCTS
What does a precinct captain do?
• organizes other party members during campaigns
• encourages voters to vote on Election Day
• organizes volunteers to register voters, support
candidates, and distribute leaflets

14. PRECINCTS
A ward?
• consists of several adjacent precincts

15. NORTH CAROLINA’S VOTING
DISTRICTS
• Currently, North Carolina has 13
Congressional (Voting) Districts

16. NORTH CAROLINA’S VOTING
DISTRICTS
• Each color represents a voting precinct
• Everyone who lives in a precinct votes at the same
location

17. NORTH CAROLINA’S VOTING
DISTRICTS
• Here is the
Leesville voting
precinct 08-10
• It is located in
the 8th Ward, 10th
precinct

18. PRECINCTS
What Is a Political Machine?
• a strong political organization that consistently win every
election
• although not considered a positive political phenomena,
political machines have been able to provide important
services locally as long as their candidates continue to
be elected

19. POLITICAL PARTY FAQ
Do I have to join a political party?
• No
If I join a political party, what are my duties?
• None, it is all volunteer work
How can I join a political party?
• When registering to vote or drive

20. SIX FUNCTIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES
1. Inform Citizens
2. Carry the message of the people to government
3. Operate the government
4. Act as a watchdog
5. Link different branches and levels of government
6. Select and support candidates

21. SIX FUNCTIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES
1. Inform Citizens
• lets citizens know about public issues and the way
government works via speeches, pamphlets, and
advertisements

22. SIX FUNCTIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES
2. Carry the message of the people to government
• parties listen to the ideas of the people
• elected party members try to get these ideas onto the
policy agenda

23. SIX FUNCTIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES
3. Operate the government
• when elected, party members work in government
• elected officials appoint party members to high offices

24. SIX FUNCTIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES
4. Act as a watchdog
• each political party is quick to point out the failures of
the other
• keeps each party “on point”

25. SIX FUNCTIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES
5. Link different branches and levels of government
• political parties get members elected to all levels of
government
• with party member at all levels of government, they are
all linked and know the needs/desires of the people at
each level

26. SIX FUNCTIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES
6. Select and support candidates
• at conventions and through primaries, the party
members select who will represent then in the
upcoming election
• parties raise money for the campaign and do the
campaigning
• helps inform voters on how candidates fell about about
the issues