Current Debates & Interpretations (Edexcel A Level Politics): Revision Note

Debate: Electoral reform in the US

• There is significant debate over whether the US electoral system should be reformed to improve democratic participation and fairness

Arguments for electoral reform

Arguments against electoral reform

Debate: Campaign finance reform

• Campaign finance reform remains controversial due to tensions between democratic equality and free speech

Arguments for campaign finance reform

• Wealthy donors dominate politics

  • Large donors and Super PACs can exert disproportionate influence 

    • In the 2024 election, Super PACs such as MAGA Inc. and Priorities USA spent hundreds of millions of dollars, meaning an elite shapes political messaging and candidate viability

• Impact of Citizens United v FEC (2010) 

  • The Supreme Court’s ruling allowed unlimited independent expenditures by corporations and unions

    • Corporate lobbying groups spent heavily on advertising during the 2020 and 2024 elections, reinforcing candidates with whom they aligned

• Undermining public trust

  • Polls consistently show that Americans believe money wields too much influence over elections

    • Over 80% of Americans feel that large donors and special interests have too much sway over politics

• Policy bias toward donors

  • Legislation often reflects the interests of major funders

    • Pharmaceutical lobbying played a role in shaping the Inflation Reduction Act (2022)

    • This limited negotiations to lower Medicare drug prices

• Discourages small-donor participation

  • High-cost campaigns discourage grassroots involvement

  • Candidates reliant on small donations struggle to compete against billion-dollar campaigns

    • Bernie Sanders’ 2016 and 2020 campaigns showed that small-donor models can work, but require enormous mobilisation and effort

Arguments against campaign finance reform

• Money as free speech

  • The Supreme Court in Citizens United v FEC (2010) affirmed that spending money on political campaigns is a protected form of free speech

    • Limiting it could infringe constitutional rights

• Limits can disadvantage challengers

  • Caps on campaign spending can make it harder for non-incumbents or outsiders to compete

    • They often rely on Super PAC or outside funding to gain visibility.

• Money does not guarantee success

  • Even candidates with huge resources can fail

    • Michael Bloomberg spent over $1 billion in the 2020 Democratic primary

    • He was eliminated after only winning one state

• Regulatory loopholes

  • Attempts to regulate campaign finance often lead to creative workarounds

    • Examples include funnelling money through 527 organisations, non-profits, and Super PACs

• Grassroots fundraising offsets inequality

  • Small-donor fundraising, used effectively by candidates like Bernie Sanders, shows that dedicated campaigns can compete without reliance on major corporate or elite donations

Debate: The role of incumbency in elections

• Incumbency refers to the advantage held by candidates who already hold a specific political office in which they are running for re-election

• In the US, incumbency is often significant but not decisive

  • It provides structural advantages, but these are conditional on performance, context and voter mood

Debate: The impact of interest groups on government and policy

• Interest groups are a prominent feature of US democracy

  • They are influential, but their power is constrained by public opinion, competition and political context

Arguments that interest groups are influential

• Interest groups provide specialist expertise to lawmakers, shaping policy in complex areas

  • Pharmaceutical lobbying groups were heavily consulted during debates over Medicare drug price negotiations in the Inflation Reduction Act (2022)

• Campaign donations increase access to lawmakers, as groups support sympathetic candidates

  • AIPAC-backed PACs spent millions in the 2022 and 2024 congressional elections to support pro-Israel candidates, helping defeat critics such as Representative Andy Levin in 2022

• Litigation allows groups to directly shape law, particularly through Supreme Court cases

  • The ACLU has repeatedly challenged restrictive voter ID laws, including cases against Texas voting legislation after 2021

• Grassroots mobilisation can pressure politicians

  • The March for Our Lives organised nationwide protests after the 2018 Parkland shooting and helped build support for the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (2022)

• Agenda-setting through media campaigns shapes debate

  • The NRA uses advertising and candidate scorecards to frame gun control as a threat to constitutional rights

Arguments that interest groups are not influential

• Public opinion can limit interest group success

  • Even well-funded and organised groups can fail when public sentiment is strongly opposed to their position

• Many interest groups face direct competition from other organisations with conflicting agendas

  • Environmental groups such as the Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters actively campaigned against fossil fuel industry lobbying during climate policy debates

• Some groups are less influential today because they cannot mobilise large numbers of supporters

  • This is especially true of labour unions, whose membership in the United States fell below 11% in 2023

• Political polarisation restricts compromise, limiting effectiveness as interest groups struggle to achieve legislative goals when partisan gridlock prevents negotiation

  • Healthcare lobbying by groups like the AMA has often failed to lead to legislation in highly polarised sessions

• Government priorities can override group pressure during crises, such as the COVID-19 

  • Congress passed emergency relief legislation and health measures rapidly, including stimulus packages and the American Rescue Plan (2021), with limited time for lobbying input