Democracy & Participation: Election Process 1-2 Flashcards
How often are elections for US presidents?
Every 4 years (article II)
What are the constitutional requirements for a president?
Natural born citizen
Over 35
Resident for 14years
What are the 8 processes for the US election?
- Invisible primaries
- Primaries & Caucuses
- Choose VP/ running mate
- National Party Convention (NPC)
- Campaign
- Election day
- Electoral college vote
- Inauguration
What are invisible primaries?
- Time between declaration and the first caucuses and primaries.
- Sometimes known as a money primary as it is time to find funding and attention.
- Intra party competition.
What are the impacts of invisible primaries?
- Bad polling can lead to withdrawals.
E.g. Jeb Bush withdrew in 2015 after Trump destroyed him on Twitter - TV debates take place.
- Can go into primaries with greater support after raising profile.
What are ways for candidates to gain funding from invisible primaries?
- Grassroots: basic level of an organisation. Way of financing campaigns for candidates who don’t have significant media exposure.
- Political Action Committees (PACs) & Super PACs: typically make up both advertising on behalf of their candidates. Less regulation so more freedom.
How do you win the invisible primaries?
- Raised most money in official campaigns.
- Have sizeable PACs & Super PAC contributions.
- Polling consistently show candidates as ahead.
e.g. 2016 Clinton raised more funding than Trump, though Trump got free media for being so controversial. He got $2 billion through free media.
What was the issue with caucuses in 2020?
- Iowa mishandled the counting process. This led to a delay in release, and a cast of doubt on the accuracy of Iowa’s results in the past.
- Number of caucuses in the Democratic primary has already been reduced from 14 to 7, but now many democrats are calling for them to be abolished all together. Thinking about moving more demographically representative states to the front of the calendar.
What event led Biden to be a clear front runner?
After Super Tuesday both the left and right of the party shown their support, culminating Saunders’ warm endorsement in April.
What billionaire competed in the democratic primaries but dropped out?
Bloomberg
What was the journey of candidate Bloomberg in the 2020 democratic primaries?
- He was a credible contestant as former mayor of NY and a supporter of gun control and climate change campaigns. Had both name recognition and political credibility among democrats.
- He spent over $600 million on TV debates and digital media in all Super Tuesday states, and looked like a convincing rival to Biden.
- Bloomberg’s support declined sharply when he performed poorly the first time he joined a debate in Nevada as he came across as unprepared and arrogant. He only won in one state, and dropped out the next day after the election results on Super Tuesday.
What does Bloombergs failure to win the democratic primaries show?
- Expensive advertising cannot replace candidates ability to connect with voters in person.
- Also suggests the fierce competition between candidates in the early primaries and caucus states still serves as an effective training ground for presidential campaigns.
What’s a presidential primary?
- State based election to choose a party’s candidate for the presidency.
- Shows support for candidates among ordinary voters.
What are presidential caucuses?
State based series of meetings to choose a party’s candidate for the presidency.
What is front loading?
Phenomenon by which a state schedules it’s presidential primaries and caucuses earlier in attempt to increase its importance.
