Chapter 9: Nominations and Campaigns Flashcards
Nomination
Official endorsement of a candidate by a party.
Success requires money, medium, and momentum.
Goal of nomination
Win a majority of delegates at national convention
Delegate selection
State parties choose delegates from Jan. to June through caucuses or primaries
McGovern/Fraser Commision
Democratic party convention changed delegate selection procedures to include minority voice
Democrats still gave a portion of its seats to superdelegates
Superdelegates
(Some democratic peer review)
Similar to Republican’s Unpledged Delegates
Frontloading
Primaries moves up the calendar for media attention
Criticisms if Primaries/Caucuses
- too much attention pid to early ones
- participation is low
- some politicians can’t cover all states
- money too big of a role
- media too much power
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974
To tighten reporting requirements for contributions and limiting overall spending
- FEC set up to enforce/administer
- contributions limited, disclosure required
McCain-Feingold Act if 2002
Soft money ends
Increased individual contributions to $2,000
PACs
Created so groups of like-minded people could donate to campaigns
Interest groups form PACs - up to $5,000 donation
Super PACs
Citizens United v FEC decision allows corporations/union to spend with no limits on elections
(No direct contributions)
Congressional Incumbents
Get most money
Win more then challengers
Election types
1) party nominations (primaries/caucuses)
2) Select Office Holders (general elections)
3) making or ratifying legislation
Referendum
Voters speak on some bond, legislative act, amendment proposal
Initiative
Gaining signatures for a law
Political efficacy
Voting makes a difference
Civic duty
Voting should occur in democracy
Retrospective Voters
“Help me lately?”
Pocketbook Voters
“Help me financially?”
1993 Motor Voter Act
Register to vote when applying for a driver’s license
No visible increase of voter participation
Class-based voting
Higher education, higher incomes, older, whites, married, union members, women all vote more
Electoral College
Popular votes don’t directly elect president
(Protects from masses, allows elite to choose)
Electoral Votes = States Congressional seats (winner take all except Maine and Nevraska
Meet in December, mail voted to senate
If no majority, HoR decides, with each state having one vote
Where is the first presidential caucus traditionally held?
Iowa
Today, most delegates to each major party’s national convention are chosen by?
State presidential primaries
The McGovern Fraser Commission?
Had a mandate to make the democratic party conventions more democratic.
The initiative is put on the ballot as a result of?
A petition signed by a certain percentage of the voters in the previous election
What is a requirement of the federal election campaign act?
All candidates for federal office must disclose who contributed money to their campaigns
