Campaigning Flashcards
Battleground states
A state where the polls show a close contest between the Republican and Democratic candidate
- most competitive
Swing states
Where levels of support for the parties are similar and elections usually swing back and forth between Democrats and Republicans
Electoral College
Pledged slates of voters chosen in each state
primary elections
Elections in which candidates compete for a general election nominee position in their political party
Winner takes all
A system used by nearly all states (except for Maine and Nebraska) where the candidate who wins plurality of votes takes all EC votes
What happens when a candidate doesn’t win the majority electoral votes?
Goes to the congress, HOR choose among the top three electoral vote winners. Each state gets one vote, and the candidate with a majority votes wins. Senate chooses Vice President
Retrospective voting:
voting based on incumbents past performance/ track record
Prospective voting
Voting based on predictions of how a candidate will preform in the future, by looking at campaign promises or policy initiatives
Party-line voting
Voting based on your associated party
+: political parties are associated with a person’s identity; in group bias
-: you dont individually seek a candidate, or research them
15 amendment
- recognized the right of black men to vote ; cannot discriminate voting rights on the basis of race
17th amendment
Granted the people the right to vote senators into office
19th amendment
Cannot discriminate voting rights on the basis of race; women get the vote
24th amendment
- poll taxes abolished
26th amendment
- raised the voting age to 18
What are other ways states draw barriers for voting
- prohibit convicted felons of voting
- require identification such as a formal ID and document that proofs that you’re a resident of that state
Rational choice voting
- person votes based on their individual self-interest; carefully study issues and platforms
Four reasons that effect voters
- structural voting
-political efficacy - candidate performance in office; people who I elected turned out to be shit
- demographics
Political Efficacy
citizen’s belief about whether their vote matters
What are the four linkage institutions
- Political parties
- Interest Groups
- Elections
- Media
Re-alignment
major shift in allegiance to the political parties that is often driven by changes in the issues that unite or divide voters.
Open primaries
Any registered voter can vote in any president’s primary but not both
Closed primaries
have to be registered to a specific party in order to vote in a party
Electoral college is good because
- it pushes candidates to explore more states, not just the highly populated states and cities
Electoral college is bad because
- it only makes presidents spend time and money in states that are swing states
FECA
Federal election commission act
- regulate and oversee money being spent in campaigns
FECA established
Limits on how much money could be given to a political candidate
And how much money a candidate could spend on their campaigns
Buckley v Valeo
Spending money on political campaigns is tightly tied to first amendment free speech
- If I want to share my endorsement with the people of America, then I have to reasonably buy many of advertisements to do so
- created the issue of whoever has the most money, has the loudest voice
Hard money
Contributions given directly to a candidate (what was being restricted)
Soft money
Money not directly donated to a candidate, but to a party or interest group who can buy advertising on candidates behalf
- IE: SOCIAL WELFARE GROUPS (dark money)
BCRA
Made it illegal for corporations to engage in electioneering communications for 60 days before an election or 30 days before primary
Citizens united
Facts:BCRA was a violation of 1st amendment
Decision: yes, limitations put on corporations engagement is a violation of speech
Why it matters: money= speech; court is saying that those with the most money are in their fair ground to have more speech. Unlimited spending is thus allowed here.
