elections Flashcards
mainly presidential
1
Q
when do presidential elections occur?
A
every 4 years - fixed term elections
2
Q
where can the election time be for presidents be found in the constitution?
A
article 2
3
Q
when does federal law say the presidential election will be?
A
1st Tuesday after the 1st of November
4
Q
when will the 2024 presidential election be?
A
5th of November
5
Q
what is the invisible primary?
A
announcement of candidacy. increases name recognition, raising money, intra-party tv debates
6
Q
when is the invisible primary?
A
calendar year before the election
7
Q
what is the primary and caucuses stage?
A
show popular support for candidates, chooses delegates to send to national party conventions
8
Q
when is the primary and caucuses stage?
A
January to early June of election year
9
Q
what is the choosing VP candidate stage?
A
presidential candidate announces running mate
10
Q
when does the Presidential candidate announce their running mate?
A
some days/weeks before the national party convention (July/august)
11
Q
what is the national party convention stage?
A
confirms presidential and VP candidates, approve the party platform, acceptance speech by candidate
12
Q
when is the national party convention stage?
A
August - early September (lasts 3-4 days)
13
Q
what is the general election campaign stage?
A
the campaign between candidates of various parties
14
Q
when is the general election campaign stage?
A
September, October, and first week of November
15
Q
what is the election day stage?
A
registered voters go to the polls
16
Q
what is the electoral college stage?
A
electors vote in their state capitals to choose president and vice president
17
Q
when is the electoral college stage?
A
Monday after the second Wednesday in Decemberh
18
Q
how many stages are there in a presidential election?
A
seven
19
Q
what are the stages in a presidential election?
A
- invisible primary
- primaries and caucuses
- choosing VP candidate
- national party conventions
- general election campaign
- election day
- electoral college
20
Q
what are the constitutional requirements for being presidential candidate?
A
- ‘natural-born’ American
- at least 35
- resident in us 14 years
- limited to two terms
21
Q
what is the invisible primary critical important for?
A
gaining name recognition and money
22
Q
where is the invisible primary mainly played out?
A
in the media
23
Q
what have intra-party debates been criticised for?
A
soundbites and a lack of policy discussion
24
Q
what will candidates spend a great amount of time doing?
A
fundraising
25
how much did Bloomberg raise in 2016?
over $400 million but didn't reach final two
26
in 2023, what did Trump use to fundraise for his war chest?
the legal cases against him. he used his mugshot to sell mugs with the photo on
27
in 2023, how much did Trump raise by selling mugs with his mugshot on?
$7.1 million
28
in the most recent presidential elections, has the front runner at the end of the invisible primary become their party's nominee?
no, Trump, Romney, Obama, McCain were all behind at this stage but ended up winning the nomination
29
what is a presidential primary?
state based election to choose a party candidate for nominee
30
do the majority of states use primaries or caucuses?
primaries
31
what are presidential caucuses?
state based series of meetings for the selection of a party candidate for presidency
32
where are caucuses used?
Iowa, North Dakota, and Nevada
33
is turnout lower in caucuses or primaries?
caucuses
34
what are voters who attend caucuses disproportionately more than voters who attend primaries?
ideological
35
what % did Sanders win in 2020 Iowa caucus?
26.1%
36
what % did Biden win in 2020 Iowa caucus?
15%
37
what % did Sanders win in Nevada caucus?
46%
38
who decides when primaries and caucuses are held?
the states = upholding federalism
39
why have a number of states tried to hold their primaries earlier?
to have greater influence on candidate selection
40
instead of holding primaries early, what do some states do?
hold the primaries on the same day to increase their significance
41
what is super Tuesday?
in 2020, 14 states held their primaries on the same day
42
what are the types of primaries?
- closed primary
- open primary
- modified primaries
43
what is a closed primary?
a primary where only registered party members can vote for that parties nominee
44
what is an open primary?
where any registered voters can vote in any parties primary
45
what is a modified primary?
registered party members vote for that party, but independents can vote in any party primary
46
what state holds the first caucus?
Iowa
47
what state holds the first primary?
New Hampshire
48
traditionally what was believed about the significant of the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary?
that early victories were vital in securing the nomination
49
how many of the last three president nominees won the New Hampshire primary?
none - Clinton lost to sanders in 2016, and sanders won in 2020
50
what type of primary has higher turnout?
open primary
51
what was the turnout of the 2024 Iowa caucus?
14%
52
what was the turnout of the 2020 Iowa caucus?
9.1%
53
what was the highest primary turnout in 2020?
montana 45.7%
54
what % did Trump win the Iowa caucus by?
51%
55
what % did Trump win the New Hampshire primary by?
54%
56
what % did Biden win the South Carolina primary by?
96%
57
what % did Biden win the Nevada primary by?
89%
58
in terms of choosing a VP candidate, what does the presidential candidate look for?
balances ticket
59
why did Biden choose Harris as VP?
balanced ticket in race, age, and gender
60
why did Trump choose Pence as his VP?
evangelical christian and social conservative
61
why did Obama choose Biden as his VP?
very experience = 35 years as a senator
62
why did national party conventions used to hold particular significance?
this was where democrats and republicans used to choose presidential and VP nominee, now done in caucus and primary stage
63
traditionally, what are the three formal functions of national party conventions?
- choosing parts presidential candidate
- choosing VP candidate
- decides party platform
64
what are the informal functions of party conventions?
- promoting party unity
- enthusing the party faithful
- enthusing ordinary voters
65
in 2016 why did many high profile republicans choose to stay away from the party convention?
preferred this to endorsing trump
66
in 2016, which republicans didn't attend the convention?
Mitt Romney and John Kasich
67
in 2020, what did Biden and Harris take part in during the primaries and then changed to what in the convention?
- heated debates including Harris grilling Biden about his votes against busing
- strong united front in convention, speeches involved lots of praise for each other
68
how can the post convention bounce be over exaggerated?
only signals the outcome of election 50% of the time
69
after the 2020 convention, what did Biden and Trumps ratings change by?
- Bidens rose by 1%
- Trumps fell by 3%
70
what can national party conventions serve to identify?
future stars of the party. Obama made a speech in 2004 convention going audiences and secure nominee 4 years later
71
what did the Federal Election Campaign Act 1974 (FECA) hope to reduce?
candidates reliance on a few, very wealthy donors and equalise the amount of money spent by both the major parties
72
what did FECA limit hard money to?
$1000
73
what did FECA limit corporation donations to?
$5000
74
what did FECA provide from the federal government?
matching funds up to $250
75
what was wrong with FECA?
had far too many loopholes and was weakened by SCOTUS and congress
76
what did SCOTUS rule in Buckley v Valeo 1976?
that limits on what individuals or PACs could spend was an infringement of first amendment right
77
what did congress allow parties to raise in 1979 which weakened FECA?
allowed parties to raise soft money
78
what was soft money spent on?
not directly spent on a candidates campaign, but was spent on things like voter registration drives and 'party building' activities
79
what reform to party finance was introduced in 2002?
bipartisan campaign reform act (BCFA)
80
what did the bipartisan campaign reform act do?
attempt to limit and control spending on political campaigning. attempted to ban soft money
81
how did the BCFA attempt to deal with attack ads?
made candidates verbally endorse their broadcasts
82
after the BCFA, what started to emerge?
527 groups
83
what were 527 groups?
groups that spent millions, mostly donated by super rich and largely unknown peoples. named after us tax code
84
in 2008, did Obama use federal matching funds?
no, raised huge amounts thorough the internet from small donors
85
how did Obama rejecting federal matching funds benefit him?
as he wasn't capped by a spending limit on campaign spending, unlike his opponent John McCain who was
86
did Romney or Obama use federal matching funds in 2012?
no
87
in 2020, were federal matching funds used?
no
88
how much can PACs raise?
$5000 per campaign
89
can PACs donate directly to the campaign?
yes
90
how much can 527s raise?
unlimited
91
what can't 527s call for?
cannot call for election or defeat of a candidate
92
how much can super PACs raise?
unlimited
93
what can super PACs call for?
election of a candidate but cannot coordinate with the campaign
94
what followed the supreme courts ruling in Citizens United v Federal Election Commission 2010?
corporate and labour organisations have been able to raise unlimited amount of political expenditure. the court ruled that these groups have the same political free speech as individuals
95
what are super PACs forbidden from making any direct contributions to?
federal candidates or parties
96
how much did super PACs raise in the 2016 election?
almost $300 million
97
how much did super PACs raise in 2020 election?
over $2 billion
98
how much did the NRA spend to support Trump in 2016?
over $50 million
99
where do most Americans gain knowledge of the election campaign?
news coverage such as 'meet the press' and 'the news hour'
100
how many debates happen between the two main presidential candidates?
three x 90 minute debates
101
how many debates happen between the two main VP candidates?
one x 90 minute debate
102
have tv debates been significant in shaping the outcome of the race?
no
103
in Obama and Romneys debate how many people felt that Romney was the winner?
72%
104
where is the result of the presidential election mainly decided by?
swing states
105
what states almost always vote democrat?
Massachusetts, new York, California, Illinois
106
what states are solidly republican?
texas, kansas, South Carolina
107
what are some examples of swing states?
florida, virginia, iowa
108
is how many prudential elections has Iowa voted for the winner?
the last 14, dating back to 1964
109
did Iowa break their streak of voting for the winner in 2020?
yes - they voted for Trump
110
how many times did Obama and Romney visit Ohio?
35
111
in 2016, where did 2/3s of the general election campaign events take place?
six states - Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, and Michigan
112
what did Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin say in 2015 about the outcome of the election?
'the nation as a whole is not going to elect the next president'
113
in 2020, how many states held 96% of campaign events?
12
114
why did the founding fathers establish the institution of the electoral college?
to elect the president indirectly, potentially due to a fear of popular vote and tyranny
115
how is each states number of electors decided?
the number of senators plus the number of representatives
116
in 2020, how many electors did California have?
55 (53+2)
117
in 2020, how many electors did Wyoming have?
3 (1+2)
118
how many electoral college votes are there in total?
538
119
what must the candidate win to win the presidency?
an absolute majority - 270
120
what states use proportional systems to decide how many electors each candidate has?
Maine and Nebraska
121
who announces the result of the presidential election?
the vice president
122
what happened to Mike Pence when he was announcing the results in 2020?
he was being pressured not to certify the results of the electoral college votes by then president Trump. Pence refused and certified Biden as President-elect.
123
if no candidate wins an absolute majority, who elects the president?
the house
124
if no candidate wins an absolute majority, who elects the VP?
the senate
125
how many times has the electoral college failed to elect a president?
twice
126
in what years did the electoral college fail to elect a president?
1800 and 1824
127
what states won the general election for Biden in 2020?
Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Georgia
128
what does the electoral college protect?
the voice of smaller states and upholds federalism
129
in 2012, how much of the popular vote did Obama win?
51%
130
in 2012, two much of the electoral college vote did Obama win?
61.7%
131
in 2016, how much of the popular vote did Trump win?
46.1%
132
in 2016, how much of the electoral college vote did Trump win?
57%
133
how many presidential elections since 1960 have seen faithless electors?
8 out of 14
134
how many attempts has there been to amend the electoral college?
more than 700
135
what would the only real hope for sensible reform to the electoral college be?
for more states to follow Maine and Nebraska to award electors on a proportional basis
135
how many electors are given to the district of columbia?
3
136
what amendment gave the District of Columbia electors?
23rd
137
in how many states are there no laws for electors to follow the popular vote?
24
138
how many presidents have won election for a second term?
69% of all presidents
139
why did Trump face little in-party opposition in 2020?
due to his controversial style and persona, attacking opponents with personal insults
140
what did Trump call William Weld (his challenger in 2020)?
'a man who couldn't stand up straight while receiving an award'
141
what were the four most recent presidents who didnt benefit from incumbency in times of?
economic crisis
142
how many jobs has covid cost under Trump?
40 million
143
what was Carter marred by in the final year of his presidency?
Iran scandal where 52 Americans were being held hostage
144
what is the incumbency re-election rates in congress?
very high, around 80%
145
how many members of the house were defeated as incumbents in 2020?
20
146
how many senators were defeated as incumbents in 2020?
5
147
how much more did incumbents raise then their challenger opponents for congress in 2020?
5x more
148
what can incumbents benefit from which their challenger opponents can't?
franking privileges
149
what is franking privileges?
incumbents can write to their constituents on tax payer money
150
what is the coattails effect?
when candidates of the same party as a popular candidate do well because they run in the same year, benefiting from their popularity
151
how many house members and senators did Reagan's coattails help him gain?
33 house and 12 senators
