Chapter 5 - 1/5 - Electoral systems Flashcards
How often is a presidential election?
Every 4 years.
When was the first presidential election?
1788
Why is a presidential election held every 4 years?
It is laid down in Article II of the Constitution.
What are the 7 stages of the presidential election?
- Invisible primary
- Primaries and caucuses
- Choosing the VP candidate
- National party conventions
- General election campaign
- Election day
- Electoral college voting
What are the 4 functions of the invisible primaries?
- Candidate’s announce their intention to run.
- Generate name recognition.
- Raise funds.
- Gauge public support.
When do the invisible primaries occur?
A year before the election.
What happens at the National Party conventions?
Confirm presidential and vice presidential candidates.
What must you be in order to run for president?
You must be a natural-born US citizen.
How old must you be in order to be president?
35
Who was the youngest ever elected president?
John F. Kennedy, who was 43.
How long must you have lived in the US in order to run for president?
14 years
What Amendment limited the president to two terms in office?
Twenty-second Amendment
When was the Twenty-second Amendment passed?
1951
Who chooses presidential candidates in the USA?
Ordinary voters, not parties.
What is the invisible primary?
The time between candidates declaring their intention to run and the first primaries and caucuses.
What media event is a key part of the invisible primary?
Televised intra-party debates between the candidates.
What did Ben Carson, Republican candidate in 2016, say about the media debates of the invisible primaries?
He criticised them for not “being able to explain something in depth”, being more of a media circus.
What did Donald Trump do to fund his campaign?
He largely self-financed it.
How much did Joe Biden spend in the 2020 primaries?
$116 million
What usually happens to the person leading at the end of the invisible primaries?
More often than not they are confirmed as the nominee.
Where did Trump stand at the end of the invisible primaries?
He was in the lead, 16-points ahead of Ted Cruz.
What is the invisible primary sometimes dubbed?
The money primary
What is the presidential primary?
A state-based election to choose a party’s candidate for the presidency.
What are presidential caucuses?
A series of state-based meetings to choose a party’s candidate for the presidency.
What is the difference between a presidential primary and a presidential caucus?
A primary is an election whereas a caucus is a meeting.
What sort of states hold caucuses?
Ones that are geographically large but thinly populated, such as Iowa and Nevada.
What sort of people go to caucuses?
Passionate and ideologically driven.
How many caucuses did the Democrats hold in the 2020 election?
Just 4, showing they are being used less and less.
Why did Bernie Sanders do well in the caucuses?
Because those who attended were more ideologically driven.
Who regulates the running of the state primaries?
Each state regulates its own primaries, meaning there are variations in how they are run.
What are the two functions of primaries?
- Show the popularity of presidential candidates
- Choose delegates to go to national party conventions
Who decides when to hold a primary?
Each state decides when to hold their own primaries.
What is Super Tuesday?
A day in February or early March when multiple states hold their primaries and caucuses at the same time to try and gain influence and attention.
What is front loading?
When a state schedules its presidential primaries or caucuses early on in the election cycle to try and gain importance and attention.
What is a closed primary?
A primary in which only registered Democrats and Republicans can vote in their respective party’s primary - if you are not registered for a party then you have no say in this stage of the election process.
What is an open primary?
A primary in which any registered voter can vote in either party’s primary.
What is a modified primary?
A state which allows voters registered as ‘independent’ to vote in the primary for either party.
What is a proportional primary?
A primary in which candidates win delegates in proportion to the votes they get.
What happens to primaries when an incumbent is running for the presidency again?
They get next to no coverage and are sometimes even cancelled entirely.
Which two states did not even bother holding Republican Party primaries in 2020?
- Arizona
- South Carolina
What is the 3 formal functions of the national party convention?
- Select the presidential candidate
- Select the vice presidential candidate
- Decide on a party platform
Why is the result of the presidential candidate virtually a foregone conclusion nowadays?
Because most delegates arrive as ‘committed delegates’, pledged to vote for the candidate decided on in their state’s primary or caucus.
What must a presidential candidate receive in order to be officially nominated for president?
An absolute majority of delegate votes.
What is it more accurate to say about the role of national party conventions choosing a candidate?
National party conventions just confirm - rather than choose - the presidential candidate.
What is a brokered convention?
A national party convention in which no candidate receives an absolute majority on the first ballot, and voting continues until a candidate does.
How do delegates operate in a brokered convention?
They are no longer bound to vote for the candidate decided on in primaries or caucuses, and can vote for whomever they wish - party leaders dread this happening.
Do national party conventions still perform the function of selecting the vice presidential candidate?
No - they used to, but nowadays the presidential candidates are announced before party conventions are even held.
What is the party platform?
A document containing policies that the presidential candidate intends to pursue if elected.
Who puts together the party platform?
The Party Committee
How does the Platform Committee put together the party platform?
They hold hearings around the country in the first 6 months of the year; they then put a draft platform together and submit it to delegates at the convention to vote on.
What has happened to all three formal functions of the national party convention?
All three are now just formalities, with presidential and vice presidential candidates already decided on and party platforms not being referred to much at all after the convention ends.
What are the informal functions of national party conventions?
- Promote party unity
- Enthusing voters - both faithful and ordinary
What is the most important function of national party conventions?
Promoting party unity.
Why is it important to enthuse ordinary voters at the national party convention?
Most voters will not have paid any attention to the primaries, so the televised coverage of the conventions will be the first time they take a serious look at who they might vote for.
What day does federal law fix the date of the presidential election?
The Tuesday after the first Monday in November every 4 years.
How is the president elected?
Not by the popular vote but by the Electoral College.
Who won the popular vote in 2016?
Hillary Clinton, by 3 million votes.
How are the amount of Electoral College votes for each state allocated?
Each state receives Electoral College votes equal to its representation in both houses of Congress.
How many Electoral College votes are there in total?
538
How many Electoral College votes must a candidate win to get the presidency?
An absolute majority - 270
How do 48 of the 50 states allocate their Electoral College votes?
Winner-takes-all
Which 2 states do not use the ‘winner-takes-all’ way of allocating Electoral College votes?
- Maine
- Nebraska
How do Maine and Nebraska allocate their Electoral College votes?
Each candidate receives an Electoral College vote for each congressional district they win, and the overall winner of the state gets an extra 2 votes.
Does the Electoral College ever meet?
No, they cast their votes in their state capitals which then get sent to the vice president in Washington DC to count in a joint session of Congress in early January.
What happens if no candidate receives an absolute majority of Electoral College votes?
- The House elects the president, with each state having 1 vote and an absolute majority required.
- The Senate elects the vice president, with each senator having 1 vote and the winner must get an absolute majority again.
When has the Electoral College failed to elect a president?
- 1800
- 1824
When was the Federal Election Campaign Act?
1974
What did the Federal Election Campaign Act do?
Limited direct contributions (hard money) from individuals, unions, and corporations to political campaigns.
What was the Federal Election Campaign Act passed in response to?
Watergate scandal
What is hard money?
Money donated directly to a political party or an individual candidate’s campaign - this money is capped by federal law.
What is soft money?
Money donated indirectly to political parties and political action committees and is not tightly regulated.
When was Buckley v Valeo?
1976
What was the result of Buckley v Valeo?
The Supreme Court ruled that limitations on what an individual or PAC could spend supporting or opposing a candidate breached the First Amendment, and was therefore unconstitutional.
When was the McCain-Feingold Act?
2002
What is the formal name of the McCain-Feingold Act?
Campaign Reform Act
Who are the two senators that give their name to the Campaign Reform Act?
- Republican John McCain
- Democrat Russell Feingold
Give 3 provisions of the McCain-Feingold Act.
- Contributions from foreign nationals were forbidden.
- Individuals limited to contributions of $2,300 to an individual candidate.
- Broadcasts that mentioned a presidential candidate prohibited within 30 days of a primary.
What happened as a result of the limits placed on contributions to candidates and political parties?
New organisations were formed that made independent expenditures on their own - political action committees (PACs).
What is a political action committee (PAC)?
A political committee that raises money and spends these contributions to get a candidate elected or defeated.
What do most PACs represent?
Businesses, labour groups, ideological groups, or single-issue groups.
Which ruling reversed part of the McCain-Feingold Act?
Citizens United v Federal Election Commission 2010
What was the ruling on the Citizens United v Federal Election Commission?
The Supreme Court ruled that the Campaign Reform Act breached the First Amendment by prohibiting broadcasts mentioning a presidential candidate within 30 days of a primary.
When was the Citizens United v Federal Election Commission?
2010
How did the ruling on the Citizens United case affect campaign finance?
- Organisations and individuals could now make unlimited independent political expenditure.
- Led to the creation of Super PACs.
What are Super PACs?
Organisations that can accept unlimited contributions and make independent ‘expenditure only’ meaning they do not make any direct contributions to candidates.
When was the McCutcheon v Federal Election Commission?
2014
What was the result of McCutcheon v FEC?
Any individual was free to donate the capped amount ($2,800) to as many candidates as they like - before this there was an overall limit of donations.
What is the difference between PACs and Super PACs?
PACs make direct contributions to candidates whereas Super PACs spend their money independently (indirect contributions).
What is a Carey committee?
A hybrid PAC - one that maintains one account for direct contributions like a normal PAC and another account for independent expenditure like a Super PAC.
Give an example of a Super PAC that operated in the 2020 election.
Future Forward USA
Who did the Super PAC Future Forward USA support and how?
Pro Biden - it spent $67 million attacking Republican candidates but just $47 million promoting Democrats.
Which is the most expensive set of elections in US history?
The 2020 elections.
How much was spent in the 2020 elections?
$14 billion
Put the $14 billion election bill in perspective.
It is more than the entire GDP of Armenia.
Who was a large contributor to the pro-Biden Super PAC Future Forward USA?
Former CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt
Across all of the Super PACs in the 2020 elections, how much of the expenditure came from donors that did not remain anonymous?
Just 30% - the rest is ‘dark money’
What is ‘dark money’?
Donations made by donors who remain anonymous - a growing cause for concern.
How much did the Biden campaign raise for their 2020 ‘war chest’?
$1.6 billion
How much did the Trump campaign raise for their 2020 ‘war chest’?
$1.1 billion
Does money influence election outcomes? - YES
- In 2020 Biden outraised Trump and won.
- More funds means more TV ads and activists which maximises their vote.
Does money influence election outcomes? - NO
- Clinton raised more money than Trump in 2016 and lost.
- Money follows strong candidates rather than creates them.
How much did Hillary Clinton raise in the 2016 presidential election?
$581 million
How much did Trump raise in the 2016 residential election?
$340 million
What three broad areas do candidates spend their money on?
- Organisation
- Campaigning
- Media
What organisation expenditure do candidates have?
- Administrative staff
- Political consultants
- Campaign managers
- Strategists
Where does the bulk of campaign money go?
Media - TV ads, online ads, billboards.
How much of Biden’s campaign expenditure went on media in 2020?
over 80%
How much of Trump’s campaign expenditure went on media in 2020?
67%
What are the 5 advantages of incumbency when running for re-election as president?
- Name recognition
- Fundraising
- Single candidate - they do not have to fight for their party’s nomination like a challenger from the opposing party does.
- Executive position - incumbent presidents can enact favourable policies to swing states to win support.
- Risk aversion - the electorate traditionally favours what they know, and will only change in exceptional circumstances (COVID for Trump).
What is the reason most members of Congress leave their positions?
By voluntary retirement, not electoral defeat.
What was the lowest re-election rate in the Senate since 2000, demonstrating the advantages of incumbency?
79.3% in 2006
What are the advantages of incumbency for members of Congress?
- They can provide services to their constituents.
- Name recognition.
- Prestigious positions in committees - maybe even the chair, and maybe a committee that is related to constituency interests.
- Incumbents far out-fundraise their challengers.
How much more did incumbent Senate candidates raise over their challengers in the 2020 election cycle?
Over 5 times as much.
How much more did incumbent House candidates raise than their challengers?
6 times more.
Why is the lack of term limit a big advantage to incumbent members of Congress?
They can build up many years of experience and seniority which will be lost.
What is the coattails effect?
When a party has a strong candidate for president or state governor, other party candidates can get elected off the back of their popularity.
What happens of no candidate receives an absolute majority of Electoral College votes?
- The House elects the president, with each state having 1 vote and an absolute majority required.
- The Senate elects the vice president, with each senator having 1 vote and the winner must get an absolute majority again.
