Elections

States control election procedures (reserved power)

Help America Vote Act (2002): requires states to update the election process

States control elections

Tuesday after the 1st Monday in November during even # years.

Midterm elections occur during years when the president isn’t elected ◦ Governors, House, Senate ◦ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFqln0eyyHM

When are elections held?

House – 2 year terms Senate – 6 year terms continuous body,

which means 1/3 up for election every 2 years

Congressional Elections

Primaries: contest between candidates within a party

Types of Elections

Closed – only those registered with the party can vote

Open – anyone can vote for either party, no affiliation necessary; must choose which party ballot at the poll

Blanket – choose candidates from any party, don’t have to choose one party (Alaska and Washington only)

Types of Primaries

If no candidate gets majority in the primary, then the top 2 face off in another primary. ◦ Example: 2014 GA Senatorial Race; David Perdue

and Jack Kingston were top 2 Republican candidates from primary Perdue won runoff election, so he went up against Michelle Nunn in general election)

Runoffs

Georgia has open primaries, but you can only vote in a runoff for the party you originally voted for.

How do primaries work in GA?

Contests between candidates of opposing parties

Once a party chooses the candidate in a primary, each state holds a general election

General Elections

ONLY AT STATE/LOCAL LEVEL: ◦ Recall – citizens can remove a corrupt official◦ Referendum – people vote on a measure passed

by legislature◦ Initiative – people can get proposed legislation

directly on the ballot

Other Components in an election