Roles of Political Parties and Candidates Characteristics in Election
Participating in the electoral process does not necessarily mean voting, but more activities are involved in the electoral processes. This is why political parties, candidates, and individual characteristics voter have different roles to make sure the electoral process is successful. Political parties have the responsibility to control political communication during an election. In the contemporary society, there is a division of government where individual candidates are grouped according to the political party they are part of. However, in the United States, the two-party system is maintained where we have democratic and Republican political parties. During 2016 elections, the two political parties could overlap either in their conservative form or not. This did not hinder their differences that were evident through the partisan division. The difference in the political parties was facilitated by the differences in the partisan groups which is larger than gender or minority differences. The 2016 United States election was characterized by partisan groups who participate in the election and voice their opinions to the government. The candidates during that period relied on the political parties for their nomination, for electoral support, financial assistance, campaigning and other activities throughout the election process.
Political parties have a great role in the selection of citizens who would stand as presidential candidates. When the candidate is selected, the party takes the role of campaigning for the candidate and assuring them of their votes. Political parties have the right to exercise their legal rights by having similar opinions and political aims different from the other political parties. They influence public policy by getting their candidates selected in the public offices. Nevertheless, political parties in the United States despite their different agendas act as institutionalized mediators between the elected candidates and the civil society (Module 5, lecture 2, p3). The support given by the political parties is adequate to maintain their candidates in position and ensure they maintain election rules according to the ideas and opinions of the civil society.
Political parties affect women’s political participation in spite of their crucial roles in supporting election candidates to the offices. This is where they determine who should be nominated and elected and describe the issues that can achieve national prominence. Comparing this to the United States 2016 election, it is clear that the party that supported Donald Trump to the election was stronger and individuals in the United States were not ready to be led by a woman as their president. During that election, Donald Trump was with the Republican Party while Hillary Clinton was with the Democratic Party. The parties allowed each of them to proceed to the main election. They participated fully to ensure that the citizens were involved in a free and fair election. The president was determined by the number of votes cast during the voting session. The parties during the election period activated about the voting through media and mobilized citizens towards political participation and demonstrated on how the could change public opinion to usable policies (Module 5, lecture 3, p1).
Political parties have great influence on women who seek political entrée into the politics. It is the political parties that work hard to promote women into politics and ensure that they succeed to the end. The Democratic party of the United States endorsed Hillary Clinton and supported her despite her gender differences. Being supported by a common and well -established party made Hillary among the best candidates in the 2016 presidential election. Political parties are important, but in the United States, there are two functional parties (Module 6, lecture 3, 2). Establishing a new party is hard which made the United States have two common political parties where each candidate should be expected to form part of. Barrack Obama during his tenure was with the Democratic Party which is the same party that supported Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election. Even though Hillary did not win the presidential position, emerging the second from the first was a great achievement bearing in mind she was a female. This was possible because of the Democratic Party that expressed full support towards her.
Political parties in the United States prove to embrace human rights where women are allowed to vie for big positions in the government. Referring to the 2016 presidential election, the Democratic party of the United States stood with Hilary Clinton, campaigned for her, financed the campaigns and mobilized people to vote for her. This led to higher voter turnout though not all people among the population participated in the voting process. The political parties in the 2016 election process ensured increased participation of citizens in the voting process as a way to promote freedom exercising their human right. More so, women were encouraged to vote, unlike previous years where women were denied their rights to vote. This indicated that future election ought to embrace individuals with different characteristics, and the electoral process will be more reliable.
Individual characteristics of voters determine their voter turnout. This is evident from the United States 2016 election where the voter turnout was affected by the campaigns and mobilization by the political parties. Although voting was made necessary in the United States, individual characteristics made part of the population not to vote. Political parties reached most of the population, but that did not mean that people engaged in the voting process. The voting process during that period used the electronic machine, and the socioeconomic status of some of the individuals denied them their right to vote. Allowing people to raise their opinions encouraged voters to vote during that election. The election law was clear that the winner of the election was to be determined by the number of votes and not the political party. This increased transparency in that election which can determine the future of elections in the United States.
Lack of knowledge on the use of the internet is another reason that affected the 2016 election in the United States. Since internet penetration in some counties of the United States, increased voter turnout was experienced. This is an indication that access to voting regions determines the number of voters expected in any election. The personality of individual candidates also determined the number of votes that were cast during the election. Hillary was more open which made it possible for her to convince more voters to come out during that election. The qualification of voters is also used by voters to decide who to win the election. In the 2016 election, despite the different strategies used by individual candidates to win more votes, Donald Trump won due to his qualification in the post.
Political socialization affected the voter’s turnout during the 2016 United States election. Political parties ensured the regular formation of values and beliefs that were followed by their partisan (Module 5, Lecture2, p1). The values and beliefs are customarily based on what the population wants which is enabled by a group of elites and direct influence. The use of technology in campaigning provided insight into what politics is and enabled most of those who never understood the purpose of voting to embrace it. Also, the use of public ideas to form political policies encouraged voters to embrace the process which increased voter turnout. Asking people to vote was also another strategy used during that election which increased voters turnout (Module 6 lecture 2, p3). This can be used in the future United States where individuals should be encouraged to vote by candidates as a way to express their human rights.
Presidential candidate direct connection with the people had great influence on the voting participation during 2016 United States elections. The power of the Individual candidates over the population was preferred over the power of the presidential office (Module 8, Lecture 3, p4). This was evident where Donald Trump won the election despite being a republican which was an opposing party during the previous tenure. The electoral process used during that period allowed the population to practice their democratic right and choose the leader of their choice. The aggressiveness of the individual candidates encouraged the individual political parties to campaign for the candidates. This explains the future of elections in the United States where individual candidates have to connect directly with the population to win their votes. The use of electoral laws increased voters turnout because the law encouraged people to vote for their best candidates.
In conclusion, the voting strategy used during the 2016 United States election was more effective compared to previous elections. However, the determination and aggressiveness of the candidates determined their success, unlike the position they held in the offices. This justifies the viability of America’s electoral process in future elections.