Chapters 9 and 10 Nominations, Campaigns, Elections and Voting.

Chapters 9 and 10Nominations, Campaigns, Elections and Voting

So, You Want to Run for POTUS?

Nomination First step is to

seek official endorsement of a party

Campaign against other candidates for the votes of convention delegates

Lets Get Ready to Rumble!

Compete for the votes of convention delegates The campaigning is on now!

Caucuses- first is in Iowa The first primary is normally New Hampshire

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-H_ki8UPd3M

Primary v. Caucus ElectionsCaucus Primary

Voting Method Voting is conducted at local party meetings and is done by raising hands or breaking up into groups.

An election is held/ secret ballot

Who Can Vote?

Only members registered with the political party can participate (if closed system)

Depends upon the state. Some states allow only registered party members to vote; some allow party registrations on the same day; some are completely open to all residents of the state.

States States that use the caucus system are Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, North Dakota, Wyoming and Iowa

All other states

Congrats You’re the Nominee!

Each party will send the winning (primary/caucus) candidate to the general elections

Campaigns Regulations

Federal Election Campaign Act Created the Federal Election

Commission (FEC)

Limit influence of wealthy and special interest groups

Regulate spending in campaigns

Deter abuses by mandating public disclosure of campaign finances

Federal Election Campaign Act (1972-74)

Provided public financing for presidential primaries and general elections Rules:

Candidates who raise $5,000 in at least 20 states can get individual contributions of up to $250 matched by the federal treasury

Each major party gets a fixed amount of money to cover all campaign expenses


Limited presidential campaign spending (Optional)

If candidates accept federal support, they agree to: Limit campaign expenditures

General Election Limit: $91.2 million

Overall Primary Limit: $45.6 million


Required disclosure Candidates must file

periodic reports with the FEC, listing who contributed and total spent

Campaigning Campaigns normally reinforce and activate, rarely

convert

Campaigning

Selective perception Process people only perceive what they

desire to and ignores other viewpoints

Campaigning Party identification

Split ticket and straight ticket voting

Campaigning

Incumbents Overwhelming

advantage in funding and name recognition

Over 90% of incumbents get re-elected in the US

https://www.opensecrets.org/overview/incumbs.php

Senate

Type of Candidate

Total Raised

Numberof Cands Avg Raised

Incumbent $352,187,503

29 $12,144,397

Challenger $168,573,106

138 $1,221,544

Open Seat $151,512,638

65 $2,330,964

Grand Total $672,273,247

232 $2,897,730

House

Type of Candidate

Total Raised

Numberof Cands Avg Raised

Incumbent $661,948,352

425 $1,557,526

Challenger $172,734,534

669 $258,198

Open Seat $205,157,975

348 $589,534

Grand Total $1,039,840,862

1,442 $721,110

Other Decisions

No constitutional provision provide elections for policy questions Referendum

Voters are given a chance to vote on an act proposed by the legislature

Initiative petition Requires signatures to show

support

Election History 1786-1820

Primaries, conventions, or speeches were nonexistent Little campaigning, it was considered below the dignity of the President

Elections focused on the state legislatures desires


Elections began to focus on issues

National nominating conventions became the norm Campaigning increased as a

result, spending began to increase


Campaigns become increasingly more elaborate More focus on “grass

roots” campaigning and addressing the needs of groups within mass society

Large amounts of money spent on media, travel… etc

Election History 2000

2000 Presidential election First, Gore announced as the

winner in Florida (polls weren’t closed yet, so FL recanted)

Hours later, nearly all results were in and Bush was declared the winner

As Gore prepared to concede, networks reported it was too close to call

Bush’s lead was less than 1/10th of 1%, FL law mandated an automatic recount

Election History 2000

FL Supreme Court ordered a by hand recount of 62,000 “undervotes” Votes undetected by machine

“Hanging chads” became an issue

US Supreme Court overrulled the decision and ended the election with Bush the winner

Bush declared winner with 537 votes more than Gore

2000 Presidential Election Map

Voting (Suffrage)

US gradually introduced universal suffrage for numerous reasons African Americans: 15th Amendment, 1870

Women: 19th Amendment, 1920

Native Americans: Indian Citizen Act, 1924

18 year-olds: 26th Amendment, 1971

Voting Registration

Some states allow voters to register on election day

1993 Motor Voter Act

Voting

By demographics Mandate theory of elections

Party identification

How we see the candidates

Policy voting

The Electoral College

Presidential election isn’t based on the popular vote

The founders wanted the nation’s elite to decide, created the electoral college Left the decision to the states to determine electors

The Electoral College

Each state has as many electoral votes as it has US senators and representatives Parties select these electors as rewards for faithful service

The Electoral College Electors vote as a bloc for the winner, regardless of the popular

vote State electors meet in December and mail their votes to the vice

president

The votes are counted when the new congress session opens in January

Why the Electoral College?

Since every state has 2 senators, less populated states are over-represented

The winner takes all rule encourages candidates to focus on competitive states

Group conversation on the 2000 election

Self Assessment

Chapters 9 and 10 Nominations, Campaigns, Elections and Voting.

Documents

Transcript of Chapters 9 and 10 Nominations, Campaigns, Elections and Voting.