Chapter 14Part One

Electing the President

Instructor: Kevin SextonCourse: U.S. Political SystemsSoutheast Missouri State University

Electing a President

The process of electing a president is a two

step process:

1. The Parties nominate their candidate

through a CAUCUS or PRIMARY.

&

2. The nominees of each party face-off in

the GENERAL ELECTION.

Party Nominations: Party Rules

The race to receive your party’s nomination for President of the United States is a party contest. Democrats are facing Democrats and Republicans are facing

Republicans. For this reason, it is important to realize that the rules by which each party nominates it’s Presidential candidate are established by each individual party.

Winning The Nomination = Winning Delegates

The candidate that wins their party nomination will be the candidate that wins a majority of their party’s delegates.

Each PARTY decides how many total delegates there will be:

In the 2008 Presidential Election there will be:

4,207 Democratic Delegates & 2,380 Republican Delegates

Each PARTY also decides how many delegates each State will have.

State By State Process

Each STATE decides how they will decide how the delegates that they are allocated will be contested.

In essence the presidential nomination process is a series of fifty (50) different elections. Each STATE holds a presidential primary election (caucus or direct primary).

It is the individual STATE that decides which process their state is going to use.

75% Of The States Use Direct Primary25% Of The States Use The Caucus Method

Caucus

This system used to nominate a presidential candidate is only used in about 25% of the 50 states.

Local party meetings at the precinct level. This group decides which candidate will be supported by the precinct.

If more than one candidate has support, each candidate is given representation at the COUNTY caucus/convention based on the proportion of people at the meeting.

The same process is followed at the COUNTY caucus/convention to decide which candidate(s) will be supported at STATE caucus/convention.

It is at the STATE caucus/convention that the state decides which candidate they will support as their parties nominee for president.

Caucus (cont.)

This process is dominated by the party faithful or party elite.

• Because it is very time consuming and most “average” voters will not take the time to take part in the process.

• In fact, in caucus states it is estimated that only 6% of eligible voters take part in the caucus process.

MISSOURI has used the caucus in the past,but have recently begun using the PRIMARYas their methods of selecting their presidential

nominee.

Primary ElectionAn election by which each party selects the ONE candidate that will

Represent their party in the general election.

The winner of this election simply gets to represent their party in theGeneral election, they DO NOT win the right to hold any elected office.

Three types of primaries

1. Closed2. Semi-closed3. Open

Closed Primaries

Primaries in which members must declare a party (be a registered member of that party) , and by doing so they are limited to voting

ONLY in their party’s primary

This type of primary prevents independents from voting.

New York, Florida and Pennsylvania are some of the states thatuse this type of primary.

Semi-Closed Primaries

These are primaries in which independents can vote in either (but notboth) party’s primary. They simply ask for which ballot they want.

Massachusetts, New Jersey and Oregon are some states that useprimary method.

Open Primaries

In these primaries individuals may request a ballot for either party.Individuals no not register as a member of any party.

Missouri uses the OPEN PRIMARY method.

The type of primary that is used can greatly influence the outcomeof some primary contests.

Example:2000 Primaries and Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

Funding PrimariesThe Federal Election Commission distributes public finds to major candidates

to conduct primary elections. There are a number of requirements that thecandidates must meet in order receive and continue receiving these funds.

These requirements are discussed on page 259 of your textbook. (hint, hint, hint)

In addition to requirements to receive these funds, there are limitations placed onwhat candidates can spend if they accept these funds. In 2000, George Bush

turned down these public funds because he had raised moremoney than would have been allowed had they accepted the funds.

The spending limit was $40.5 million, and by the time he was eligible for any fundshe had raised $70 million.

General ElectionOnce each party has identified the person that will be their nominee

the general election campaign begins.

It is the winner of this election that will become the President of the United States.

The general election is always held on thefirst Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

Originally, the President would be the person that won the majorityof the votes in the ELECTORAL COLLEGE, and the Vice-President

would be the person that won the second most.(This was changed with the passage of the 12th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1804)

Electoral CollegeThe electoral college is a method of indirectly electing the President

And Vice-President of the United States.

It is based on the idea that

the registered voters of each

state willelect

ELECTORS (members of the Electoral

College).

Electoral College (Cont.)Those electors then meet in their respective State Capitals in early December to

cast their Vote in two separate elections for President & Vice-President.

The Certificate of

Votes for PresidentAnd Vice-President

Is signed by theState Sec. of Stateand it is sent to the

U.S. Senate.

The individual receiving the absolute majority of the electoral votes,currently 270 of 538, for president becomes president and the individual receiving the absolute majority of the electoral votes

For vice-resident becomes vice president.

On January 6th, the President of the Senate opens each of the “CERTIFICATES” from each state, reads and counts the votes.

Electoral College (Cont.)

Current Electoral Vote Distribution

The number of electoral votes each state has is based on the numberof members of Congress that they have.

For example:Missouri has 9 members of the U.S. House of

Representatives and Two (2) members of the U.S. Senate.

Therefore, the State of Missouri has a total of eleven (11) ELECTORAL VOTES.CAN THE NUMBER OF ELECTORAL VOTES A STATE HAS CHANGE?

YES.

It can change every 10 years when Congress reapportions the seatsbased on the U.S. Census.

California gained 8 electoral votes between 1981 and 2001New York lost 5 electoral votes between 1981 and 2001

The +/- of the Electoral College(1981 – 2001)

+8

+3

+6

+3+5

-4

-5-3

-3 -3

Notice where the gains andLosses have been:

Losses – The old Steel Belt -- “Rust Belt”

-- “Old” Country -- Democratic Areas

Gaines – The Sun Belt

-- Border States -- “New” Country -- Republican Areas