Congressional Elections Flashcards
Primary Elections
Spring of an election year
General Elections
1st Tuesday following the first Monday in November
Midterm
Halfway into a president’s term, all members of the House and 1/3 of Senators and State and Local positions get elected
Congressional Elections
Electing members of Congress
Initiative
People have the right to propose a new law
Referendum
A law passed by the legislature can be reference to the people for approval/veto
Recall
Votes can remove an incumbent from office by popular vote - very rare
Why is there a ower voter turnout in midterm years than presidential elections years
Lesser known candidates, more difficult getting media attention, weak political parties / fed up with Congress, state and local positions are less visible
Incumbency Advantages
Name recognition, loyal staff members, local media attention, paid travel expenses, franking privilege, experience running a successful campaign
What is apportionment?
The process of counting how many seats each state gets in the House of Representatives.
How many seats does the house have?
435
How many people does each representative actually represent?
700
Baker v. Carr
Districts must be equal in proportion
Shaw v. Reno
Cannot gerrymander districts based on race
