Selecting Presidential Candidates
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Transcript of Selecting Presidential Candidates
Selecting Presidential Candidates
Caucuses
• Private meeting of party leaders in which individuals are nominated by party members to be selected as the Presidential Candidate
• To make it more democratic caucuses now start at the local level and work up to the state level
Direct Primary Elections• A state general election to
select a party candidate.– Closed Primary: Held for only
Party Members– Open Primary: Held for anyone
• A Candidate only needs a plurality of votes to win: more than any other candidate– Runoff elections decide a close
primary
Petition• A Petition is signed by the candidates
supporters. There is a required number of signatures needed to become a candidate.
• Often used by Third Party Candidates
National Conventions• Each party will hold a National
Convention a few months before the November General Election
• A Convention is a Meeting of Party Delegates that will select a Party Candidate and develop a Party Platform
Party Delegates
• A Delegate is a person that acts as a Representative
• A Party Delegate is sent to the Convention to represent each voting district or county.
Selection of Delegates
• Delegates are selected in the Caucuses and Primaries and they must vote in accordance with the district the Delegate Represents
• Delegates vote in two ways according to their State– Proportional Voting: Each Delegate votes
according to their district– Winner-takes-all Voting: Each Delegate votes
according to who won the State