Elections Flashcards

1
Q

what are the 4 features of US election laws?

A
  1. Who?
  2. How?
  3. Where?
  4. What it takes to win.
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2
Q

4 main features of election laws

who?

A

The US provides for universal adult suffrage: all citizens above the age of 18 have the right to vote.

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3
Q

4 main features of election laws

how?

A

Americans vote in secret and choose among candidates for office using a form of ballot called the Australian ballot.

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4
Q

4 main features of election laws

where?

A

The US selects almost all elected officals through single-member districts that have equal populations.

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5
Q

4 main features of election laws

what it takes to win

A

the candidate that wins a plurality wins the election, whether or not that person wins a majority of the votes

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6
Q

turnout rate

A

number of people who vote in a given election divided by the number of people who would have been allowed to vote in it

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7
Q

past methods to limit voter participation

A
  • property ownership and literacy requirements
  • poll taxes
  • race and gender restrictions
  • placement of polls and scheduling of polling hours
  • voter registration rules
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8
Q

current limits on participation

A
  • restrictions for convicted felons, vary from state to state
  • some restrictions on voter registration
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9
Q

what do limits on voter registration do

A

they tend to depress participation of the poor and uneducated

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10
Q

australian ballot

A

an electoral format that presents the names of all the candidates for any given office on the same ballot, kept secret

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11
Q

single-member districts

A

an electoral district that elects only one representative- the typical method of representation in the US

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12
Q

electoral college

A

institution established by the constitution for the election of the president and vice president. Every 4 years, voters in each state and DC elect electors who cast votes for the president and vice president. The candidate that recieves the majority of the electoral vote is elected, favors smaller states, would have to amend constitution to get rid of it

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13
Q

gerrymandering

A

the drawing of electoral districts in such a way as to give advantage to one political party

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14
Q

plurality rule

A

type of electoral system in which victory in an election goes to the individual that gets the most votes, but not necessarily a majority of the votes cast

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15
Q

majority rule

A

type of electoral system, in which to win an office, a candidate must receive a majority of all the votes cast in a relevant district

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16
Q

proportional representation (PR)

A

multiple-member district system that awards seats to political parties in proportion to the percentage of the vote that each party won

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17
Q

referendum

A

direct vote by the electorate on a proposed law that has been placed by the legislative or on a specific governmental action

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18
Q

initiative

A

a process by which citizens may petition to place a policy proposal on the ballot for a public vote

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19
Q

recall

A

removal of a public offical by popular vote

20
Q

party identification

A

an individual’s attachment to a particular political party, which may be based on issues, ideology, past experience, upbringing, or a combination of these elements

21
Q

issue voting

A

an individual’s tendency to base the decision of which candidate/ party to vote for on the candidate/ party’s position on specific issues

22
Q

prospective voting

A

voting based on the imagined future of a candidate/party

23
Q

retrospective voting

A

voting based on the past performance of a candidate/party

24
Q

how voters decide:

partisan loyalty

A

most amerticans identify with either the democratic or republican party, and party loyalty rarely changes

25
# how voters decide: issues
voters may choose a candidate that has views they agree with on a particular issue, even if they disagree on other ones
26
# how voters decide: candidate characteristics
voters are more likely to support a candidate with similar backgrounds, views, and perspectives (race, ethnicity, religon, gender, geography, social background, etc.), as well as personality charecteristics
27
political action committee
a private group that raises and distributes funds for use in election campaigns, individuals can only give $3,000, PAC's allow people to bundle money
28
office-block ballot
every candidate for a particular office are grouped together, harder to vote straight ticket NC's ballot type
29
indiana ballot
offices are presented in rows, parties are listed in rows, easier to vote straight ticket
30
split ticket voting
voting for members of both parties on one ticket
31
hanging chads
issue in the 2000 election
32
2000 election and Florida
florida had to do a recount, hanging chads made it hard for decide who got the vote, lead to the Bush v Gore case
33
Open Primary
doesn't matter which party you're registered with, you get to pick your ballot
34
Closed Primary
can only vote in the the primary for whatever party you're registered with, independents can't participate
35
Semi-Open Primary
if you are registered with a particular party, you can only vote in that party's primary, independents get to choose
36
Caucuses
1 evening with a set time, everyone assigned to a location shows up at the starting time talk to neighbors, they tell each other who they support and why and vise versa they separate, go to opposite sides of the room, and count how many people support each candidate process is repeated until there is a majority supporting one candidate
37
Conventions
convention for the delegates who get voted to vote in the election parties also hammer out political platforms more than anything it's a giant pep rally for the party
38
General Election Campaign
When they start fighting against representatives when you vote, you vote for the representatives, not the president
39
Electoral College Representatives
number of representatives + number of senators all but 2 states use a winner takes all method when choosing the representatives Maine and Nebraska use a proportional choosing systyem
40
What happens if there's a tie in the electoral college?
1. House votes by state (50 votes) 2. senate votes for the vice president
41
Federal Election Campaign Act
initiated fundamental changes in Federal campaign finance laws. The FECA, effective April 7, 1972, not only required full reporting of campaign contributions and expenditures, but also limited spending on media advertisements.
42
Buckley v. Valeo
SCOTUS said that money is speech, and political speech is protected they did enact a limit of $3,000
43
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)
corporations are people and have free speech, so they should be allowed to give money to campaigns corporations can now donate unlimited amounts of money to political campaigns this created super PACs
44
super PACs
PACs that corporations can participate in why political spending has increased so much
45
McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission
got rid of the 20,000 dollar cap individuals can give $3,000 dollars to as many candidates as you want