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A Level Government and Politics (Edexcel) > 21.1 - Electoral Systems in the USA > Flashcards

21.1 - Electoral Systems in the USA Flashcards

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1
Q

What is the electoral college?

A

A body of people who cast votes on behalf of their states to formally elect the president and VP of the USA.

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2
Q

Give a rough timeline of the presidential election of the USA.

A
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3
Q

What is a primary?

A

An intraparty election to determine who will compete on the ballot for that party in the presidential election.

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4
Q

What is a caucus?

A

An intraparty town-hall-style meeting in which voters physically exercise their preferences in order to decide who will represent their party on the ballot in the presidential election.

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5
Q

What is the difference between a primary and caucus?

A

Primaries
* Secret ballot
* Often conducted state-wide
* Used by 36 states

Caucuses
* Often public voting
* Often conducted in small areas in a state
* Used by 14 states

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6
Q

What is an invisible primary?

A

The time between a candidate formally announcing their intention to run for presidential office and the first official primary or caucus.

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7
Q

Why is the invisible primary more important now than it was before?

A

The evolution and growth of the media in the digital age, alongside the greater importance of money in elections has made this an increasingly important part of the presidential campaign.

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8
Q

What do candidates use the invisible primary for?

A

To attract public attention by gaining name recognition.

This will allow more voters to recognise you as a viable candidate.

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9
Q

How do candidates judge their progress in the invisible and official primaries?

A

Polling stats.

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10
Q

What do the televised party debates do?

A

Allow candidates to advance their own views and policies while highlighting flaws in other candidates.

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11
Q

How is financing done for political candidates?

A

Increasingly done via PACs or Super-PACs.

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12
Q

What is a PAC?

A

A Political Action Committee.

A group that raises money to support a candidate in an election, with a spending limit of $5,000 to their campaign directly.

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13
Q

What is a Super-PAC?

A

A group which can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money to support or oppose a candidate, but which is not allowed to donate directly to a campaign or coordinate with a campaign.

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14
Q

What is the traditional thought of money spent to votes gained?

A

The person who spends more money is most likely to win an election.

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15
Q

What is a primary?

A

A state-wide election in which people cast a ballot for their candidate of choice.

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16
Q

What is a caucus?

A

A public meeting in which people vote by either moving to part of a room for a certain candidate or via a show of hands.

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17
Q

What is an open primary?

A

A primary in which all voters can take part, regardless of party membership or registration.

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18
Q

What is a closed primary?

A

A primary in which only registered voters can take part.

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19
Q

What is a semi-closed primary?

A

A primary in which only party members and unregistered voters can take part.

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20
Q

How are delegates allocated?

A
  • Proportionally
  • Winner-takes-all
  • Proportional unless a threshold is reached
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21
Q

Which party uses proportional delegation?

A

All Democratic primaries/caucuses.

Some Republican primaries/caucuses.

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22
Q

Which party uses winner-takes-all delegation?

A

Some Republican primaries/caucuses.

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23
Q

Which party uses proportional unless a threshold is reached delegation?

A

Some Republican primaries/caucuses.

24
Q

How do primaries work?

A

The entire state goes to the polls, results counted and delegates allocated accordingly.

25
Q

When do primaries take place?

A

Across a number of months in the election year.

New Hampshire (primary) and Iowa (caucus) are first to happen.

26
Q

What is the trend with primaries?

A

They are moving earlier and earlier (frontloading)

27
Q

What has the process of frontloading led to?

A

‘Super Tuesday’

Many primaries and caucuses are held on the same day.

28
Q

What is a National Party Convention?

A

A national convention of the Republican and Democratic parties in which they formally nominate their presidential candidate and affirm their party platform for the upcoming election.

28
Q

What is the role of the National Party Convention?

A
  • Selecting the party candidates for presidency (although this is almost a given at this point)
  • Adopting the party platform and policies (theoretically allows for discussions on the manifesto, but this rarely happens and a ‘rubber stamp’ is placed on the manifesto)
  • Selling the candidate
  • Demonstrate party unity
29
Q

What is a battleground state?

A

A state in which the candidate it will support is uncertain and therefore has a lot of campaign activity.

aka swing state

30
Q

What is a bellwether state?

A

A state which has historically voted for the winning presidential candidate.

31
Q

Where did election campaigning take place in 2016?

A

94% of events by Trump, Pence, Clinton or Kaine took place in only 12 states.

32
Q

Why are televised debates not that useful?

A

In 2016, Clinton appeared to have ‘won’ each debate based on polling afterwards yet went on to lose the election.

33
Q

What actually happens in an election?

A

50 state-wide elections, all run with different rules and processes.

34
Q

How are state-wide elections run?

A

Varies by state.

You vote for how your state’s ECVs will be allocated.

35
Q

How are ECVs allocated?

A

48 states have a winner-takes-all basis with the candidate who has a plurality of the vote gets all of that state’s ECVs.

36
Q

Why was the EC created?

A

As a compromise to prevent a direct election by the population, which the Founding Fathers feared.

Served federalism, as both low- and high-population states would have a voice at the national level.

37
Q

What is an ECV?

A

A vote allocated to a state, based on its population, which cast by an elector to elect the president and VP.

38
Q

What is an elector?

A

A person who is nominated to cast an ECV on behalf of their state.

39
Q

What is a faithless elector?

A

A person who was nominated to cast an ECV on behalf of their state but who cast their ballot for someone other than whom their state voted for.

40
Q

How is the number of electoral college votes determined?

A

Each state would be given the same number of people as that state had representing it in Congress (i.e. at least 3 because each state has at least one House Rep and two Senators)

41
Q

Should the EC be reformed? (Yes)

A
  • In two of the last six elections, the winner of the popular vote has lost in the EC.
  • It effectively excludes third-parties as ECVs are almost always not elected proportionally.
  • Small states are overrepresented in the EC.
  • Bellwether states are overrepresented as their votes can change the election.
  • The fact faithless electors can exist undermines democracy.
42
Q

Should the EC be reformed? (No)

A
  • The EC ensures small states remain represented.
  • The EC guards against national tyranny of the majority.
  • There is no consensus on the replacement of the EC.
  • Broadly, the EC has produced a clear winner. FPTP in US elections leads to a two-party state, so a clear winner is almost always produced.
43
Q

What is the party system?

A

The number of parties which have a realistic chance of forming government.

44
Q

How is the two-party system created in the USA?

A
  • Use of FPTP
  • Winner-takes-all in the ECV
  • The nature of America
  • Party ideology
  • The expense of US politics
  • Electoral rules
45
Q

How does FPTP create a two-party system in the USA?

A

Ensures that smaller parties are not given representation due to plurality rules.

46
Q

How does the use of winner-takes-all create a two-party system in the USA?

A

Significantly disadvantages third parties as they are awarded nothing for coming anything other than first in a state.

There was a jump in third-party votes in 2016 but gained nothing.

47
Q

How does the nature of America create a two-party system in the USA?

A

The federal nature of the US and a state’s right to run its own election makes every election a small, single-seat election. This further exacerbates the issues of FPTP.

48
Q

How does party ideology create a two-party system in the USA?

A

The two main US parties are ‘big-tent’, so there isn’t a distinct area for a third party to carve out to increase electoral success.

Even if they did find a small policy area to take, there would be nothing stopping either of the big parties from taking that policy (known as co-optation) if it is popular.

49
Q

How does the expense of politics create a two-party system in the USA?

A

The elections in the US are so expensive with the 2020 election costing $14.4 billion. It is highly unlikely a third party could garner enough money to truly compete.

50
Q

How do the electoral rules create a two-party system in the USA?

A

The rules of presidential debates serve to exclude third parties which cannot get 10% of support in the polls. This restricts third party access to ‘free’ media and undermines their legitimacy as serious parties.

51
Q

How has campaign finance been reformed? (hmm…)

A
  • 1971 FECA - must disclose donations of over $100, spending limits set for candidates ($50,000 in a Presidential election).
  • 1974 FECA reform - creation of the Federal Elections Commission (FEC), individual donation limits to a campaign at $1,000.
  • 1976 Buckley v Valeo - ruling upholds donation limits but rules that spending caps violate free speech.
  • 1979 FECA Amendment - allows for soft money
  • 2002 McCain-Feingold - ban on soft money to national parties, raises hard money limits to $2,000 from an individual per candidate per election, ban on corporations and unions from funding issue ads, ‘stand by your ad’ requires candidates to endorse campaign ads
  • 2010 Citizens Utd. v FEC - money is free speech and therefore campaign limits placed on corps is unconstitutional (gives rise to super-PACs)
  • 2014 McCutcheon v FEC - aggregate cap limit on individuals is unconstitutional
52
Q

What is soft money?

A

Money donated to a party, rather than a candidate, used for ‘party-building activities’ rather than direct candidate endorsement. Subject to few limits.

53
Q

What is hard money?

A

Donations directly to a campaign and subject to strict limits.

54
Q

Why has campaign reform proved difficult?

A

Those in power have benefited from the system, so have no reason to change it.

Even when legislation has been made, groups have found methods around it. (PACs, 527s, super-PACs etc.)

55
Q

Is the presidential process effective? (Yes)

A
  • The EC has given a clear winner able to effectively govern.
  • The primary calendar ensures smaller states are not ignored.
  • The highly publicised debate cycle ensures the candidate will have good public speaking skills.
  • Primaries allow voters a genuine choice.
  • Third parties can have a role (Ross Perot 1992)
56
Q

Is the presidential process effective? (No)

A
  • The EC is out of touch with popular sovereignty and therefore needs reform.
  • The primary calendar overrepresents some states (Iowa/New Hampshire), creating an uneven form of federalism.
  • The volume of money required for election gives undue influence to interest groups and corporations over the population.
  • The lengthy process may create voter apathy, depressing turnout.
  • Third parties are pretty much excluded from any real power.

A Level Government and Politics (Edexcel) (74 decks)

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