Political Parties

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Define “political party”

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Identify America’s two major political parties

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Describe the roles of political parties

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Explain what third parties are and issues around ballot access
for third parties

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Identify ways that political parties influence public opinion

Lesson Objectives:

Many political parties exist in the United States. Candidates for political office can represent any party, but that doesn't mean you'll see everyone's names on the ballot. Each state has rules about ballot access- allowing a political party to put a candidate on the ballot. Usually the rules involve getting a certain number of signatures from registered voters. Theses rules keep most third parties from even offering a candidate for voters to choose from. The Democratic and Republican parties have ballot access in all the states. The Libertarian Party is the largest third party, with ballot access for the presidential election in more than 30 states. As of 2015, the Green Party had ballot access in over 20 states, and the Constitution Party had access in over 10 states

​Write-In Candidates

Most ballots include a place to write the name of a candidate who is not on the ballot. This is one way you can vote for third-party candidates who don't ballot access. You can also vote for Mickey Mouse or even yourself- but it might be a wasted vote!

Take a Minute to
Explore!

Click the link to
explore the major
parties’ platforms.