5.1 Electoral systems in the USA

Question 1

electoral systems in the USA

Electoral College in the constitution?

Answer 1

• not explicitly named
• but the constitution odes establish a method for electing the president every 4 years
• states were to appoint electors who would vote for the president and the president would be whoever gained a majority of their votes.

Question 2

electoral systems in the USA

what did the constitution leave congress and the states to?

Answer 2

• to decide how these elections would work

Question 3

electoral systems in the USA

1845

Answer 3

• congress allocated the National ELection Day as the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November

Question 4

the process for presidential election

electoral college definition

Answer 4

a body of people who cast votes on behalf of their states to formally elect the president and vice president of the USA

Question 5

the process for presidential election

primaries: ballot? type of ballot? conducted how? used by how many states?

Answer 5

• intraparty ballot to nominae the candidate for a party
• secret ballot
• often conducted on a state-wide basis
• used by 46 states

Question 6

the process for presidential election

caucuses: no ballot? when does voting take place? used by how many states?

Answer 6

• intraparty town hall meeting to nominate the candidate for a party
• voting often takes place in public
• often conducted in a small local areas within a state
• used by a 4 states

Question 7

the process for presidential election: the invisible primary

when does it start? what happens? what type of competition is it?

Answer 7

• there is no official start
• potential candidates for a party compete with eachother to attract attention, money, and endorsements for their campaign
• intraparty competition

Question 8

the process for presidential election: the invisible primary

Eg. 2016: how many candidates aimed to be the presidential nominee? how many withdrew during the invisible primary? how many withdrew following the first pimary on 1 feb 2016?

Answer 8

• 17 candidates aimed to be the presidential nominee (repubs)
• 5 withdrew during the invisible primary
• 7 withdrew following the first primary

Question 9

the process for presidential election: the invisible primary

2020: democratic invisible primary

Answer 9

• record of 29 candidates ran to be the democratic nominee, with 11 dropping out before the primaries and not appearing on the ballot, 10 withdrawing during the primaries, and 7 withdrawing before the primaries before the primaries but appearing on the ballot

Question 10

the process for presidential election: the invisible primary

how do candidates use the invisible primary? what does this mean for the candidates? role of the polls?

Answer 10

• they must use the invisible primary to attract attention
• this means gaining ‘name recognition’ being a candidate whose name is recognised by voters as a viable candidate.
• lack of good polling can lead to a candidate withdrawing

Question 11

the process for presidential election: the invisible primary

how do candidates raise their profile?

Answer 11

• range o fevents
• ## the announcement of thier candidacy

Question 12

the process for presidential election: the invisible primary

Jeb Bush 2015

Answer 12

• announced candidacy to great fanfare in 2015
• he suffered bruising criticism from Donald Trump during the invisible primary
• he was attacked by Trump more on twitter than any other Republican candidates are combined
• He withdrew from the race on 20 February 2016

Question 13

the process for presidential election: the invisible primary

televised debates: Republican party in 2016?

Answer 13

• there would be 12 debates
• first debate in August saw ten candidates competing
• in the debate before the first primary there were seven candidates and by the final debate the following March, just 4 remained.

Question 14

the process for presidential election: the invisible primary

2020 Democrats and tv debates

Answer 14

• first debate had 20 Candidates
• democrats had to be split into two debates of ten
• by the final debate, just 2 candidates remained, Bernie and Sanders

Question 15

the process for presidential election: the invisible primary

the invisible primary allows candidates to…?

Answer 15

• raise money
• this might be donations directly from voters, which candidates call targetting the ‘grassroots’

Question 16

the process for presidential election: the invisible primary

BErnie Sanders: When did he enter the presidential race? when did he withdraw? why did he withdraw?

Answer 16

• he entered on 19 Feb 2019
• he withdrew 8 April 2020
• because had acknowledged he had no parth to victory

Question 17

the process for presidential election: the invisible primary

where does funding come from?

Answer 17

• Political Action Committees (PACs) or Super-PACs

Question 18

the process for presidential election: the invisible primary

PACs donations

Answer 18

• can donate directly but only to a limit of $5000

Question 19

the process for presidential election: the invisible primary

Super-PACs

-

Answer 19

• can spend unlimited amounts of money for or against candidates, but they cannot coordinate directly with a candidate
• they’re important for a candidate to be able to survive the long presidential campaign

Question 20

the process for presidential election: the invisible primary

2020 election cost

Answer 20

• almost $6b

highlihgts the importance of the invisible primary in surviving.

Question 21

the process for presidential election: the invisible primary

however, is money everything? Clinton vs Trump 2016

Answer 21

• Clinton gained $746m
• Trump benefitted from nearly $2b worth of ‘free’ media attention due to his controversial comments
• clinton ultimately lost.

Question 22

the process for presidential election: the invisible primary

is money everything? 2020 Michael Bloomberg v. Joe Biden

Answer 22

• Joe Biden spent just $1096m
• Micahel Bloomberg spent more, but he failed to have significant success in the primaries
• Biden also outspent trump

Question 23

the importance of incumbency in a presidential election

whyare incumbents more appealing than a non-incumbent?

NR, PS, FA, MC

Answer 23

1. Name recognition: easier to attract funding?
2. policy successes: presidents can demonstrate their policy successes during their first term
3. Fundraising advantage (2012) incumbent Obamas ability to raise funding gave him a notable financial advantage ove Romney (republican)
4. media coverage: other candidates cannot dominate and take advantage of the media. Eg. 2012 Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast a few weeks of the election. Obama could act presidneitally
5. no primary challenger: probs, meaning they dont have to spend time exposing divisions within their party to win the nomination

Question 24

the importance of incumbency in a presidential election

are there downsides to being an incumbent?

Answer 24

• they may find themselves judged for their failures during their time in office (2020 Trump economic waknesses)
• ## they may be held to higher standards (2012, Obama criticised for appearing tired)

Question 25

# primaries and caucuses how are primaries and caucuses organised?

Answer 25

- 50 republican and 50 democrat cacuses/primaries across the country

Question 26

# primaries and caucuses what are people actually voting for in primaries/caucuses?

Answer 26

- who the delegates that go to the National Party Convention from their state wil vote for .

Question 27

# primaries and caucuses caucus

Answer 27

- public meeting in which people vote either by moving to a part of the room for a certain candidate or through a show of hands

Question 28

# primaries and caucuses primary

Answer 28

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

Question 29

# primaries and caucuses open primaries

Answer 29

allows all voters in a state to take part - voters can take part in only one primary - therefore they would have to decide whether to vote in the Democratic or Republican (or third party) primary or caucus - a democratic voter could choose to vote in the republican primary and vice versa

Question 30

# primaries and caucuses closed primaries

Answer 30

- only allow voters registered as a party member to take part - registered democrats would only be able to take part in democratic primary/caucus - unregistered voters are not sent a ballot

Question 31

# primaries and caucuses semi-closed primaries

Answer 31

- hybrid of open and closed - registered party members have to vote in their party's primary or caucus - unregistered voters can choose whcih partyprimary or caucus they want to vote in

Question 32

# primaries and caucuses differences in how the delegates are allocated? | proportionally

Answer 32

- in all democratic primaries and caucuses and some republican ones, the delegates are allocated proportionally to what a candidate recieves

Question 33

# primaries and caucuses differences in how the delegates are allocated | winner takes all

Answer 33

- the candidate with the biggest share of the vote is allocated all of the delegates for that state

Question 34

# primaries and caucuses differences in how the delegates are allocated | proportional unless a threshold is reached

Answer 34

- some republican primaries and caucuses, the delegates are allocated proportionally ubless one candidate reaches the 'threshold' or 50%. - in this case, they are allocated all of the state's delegates.

Question 35

# why do primaries and caucses happen? what is 'frontloading'

Answer 35

- traditionally, NH primary and IA caucus are the frist to happen - but increasingly, primaries and caucuses have been moved earlier, which is known as 'frontloading'

Question 36

# why do primaries and caucses happen? why does frontloading happen

Answer 36

- for the later primaries, the decision for each party's candidate has often been finalised, meaning the results of their primaries are insignificant.

Question 37

# why do primaries and caucses happen? example of later primaries being insignificant | TRUMP 2020

Answer 37

- 17 March **2020**: Trump had gained a majority of delegates - but 25 states had not held their primaries, including california which is highly populated.

Question 38

# why do primaries and caucses happen? as a result of frontloading, what is 'super tuesday' | largest example?

Answer 38

- lots of primaries/caucuses happening on the same day - largest was **eg. 2008**, when 47% of delegates for the Democrats decided in 24 primaries and caucuses on this day.

Question 39

# ineffectiveness of the caucus? IOWA caucus in **2020**? | use of technology + questioning the role of the caucus?

Answer 39

- 3 feb **2020** - new electronic system introduced to report the results failed - 16 days after the caucus, the results were still being awaited. - final result wasn't certified until **29 February** - raised questions over the continued effectiveness

Question 40

# National Party Conventions what are the National Party Conventions?

Answer 40

- formally nominate the presidential and vice presidential candiate for their party and hold discussions on the party policy

Question 41

# National Party Conventions **1968** National Party Convention

Answer 41

- disastrous - Democrats established the McGovern-Fraser Commission to review the nomination process -