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US Politics > elections > Flashcards

elections Flashcards

mainly presidential

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1
Q

when do presidential elections occur?

A

every 4 years - fixed term elections

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2
Q

where can the election time be for presidents be found in the constitution?

A

article 2

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3
Q

when does federal law say the presidential election will be?

A

1st Tuesday after the 1st of November

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4
Q

when will the 2024 presidential election be?

A

5th of November

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5
Q

what is the invisible primary?

A

announcement of candidacy. increases name recognition, raising money, intra-party tv debates

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6
Q

when is the invisible primary?

A

calendar year before the election

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7
Q

what is the primary and caucuses stage?

A

show popular support for candidates, chooses delegates to send to national party conventions

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8
Q

when is the primary and caucuses stage?

A

January to early June of election year

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9
Q

what is the choosing VP candidate stage?

A

presidential candidate announces running mate

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10
Q

when does the Presidential candidate announce their running mate?

A

some days/weeks before the national party convention (July/august)

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11
Q

what is the national party convention stage?

A

confirms presidential and VP candidates, approve the party platform, acceptance speech by candidate

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12
Q

when is the national party convention stage?

A

August - early September (lasts 3-4 days)

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13
Q

what is the general election campaign stage?

A

the campaign between candidates of various parties

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14
Q

when is the general election campaign stage?

A

September, October, and first week of November

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15
Q

what is the election day stage?

A

registered voters go to the polls

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16
Q

what is the electoral college stage?

A

electors vote in their state capitals to choose president and vice president

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17
Q

when is the electoral college stage?

A

Monday after the second Wednesday in Decemberh

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18
Q

how many stages are there in a presidential election?

A

seven

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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
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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
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21
Q

what is the invisible primary critical important for?

A

gaining name recognition and money

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22
Q

where is the invisible primary mainly played out?

A

in the media

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23
Q

what have intra-party debates been criticised for?

A

soundbites and a lack of policy discussion

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24
Q

what will candidates spend a great amount of time doing?

A

fundraising

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25
Q

how much did Bloomberg raise in 2016?

A

over $400 million but didn’t reach final two

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26
Q

in 2023, what did Trump use to fundraise for his war chest?

A

the legal cases against him. he used his mugshot to sell mugs with the photo on

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27
Q

in 2023, how much did Trump raise by selling mugs with his mugshot on?

A

$7.1 million

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28
Q

in the most recent presidential elections, has the front runner at the end of the invisible primary become their party’s nominee?

A

no, Trump, Romney, Obama, McCain were all behind at this stage but ended up winning the nomination

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29
Q

what is a presidential primary?

A

state based election to choose a party candidate for nominee

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30
Q

do the majority of states use primaries or caucuses?

A

primaries

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31
Q

what are presidential caucuses?

A

state based series of meetings for the selection of a party candidate for presidency

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32
Q

where are caucuses used?

A

Iowa, North Dakota, and Nevada

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33
Q

is turnout lower in caucuses or primaries?

A

caucuses

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34
Q

what are voters who attend caucuses disproportionately more than voters who attend primaries?

A

ideological

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35
Q

what % did Sanders win in 2020 Iowa caucus?

A

26.1%

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36
Q

what % did Biden win in 2020 Iowa caucus?

A

15%

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37
Q

what % did Sanders win in Nevada caucus?

A

46%

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38
Q

who decides when primaries and caucuses are held?

A

the states = upholding federalism

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39
Q

why have a number of states tried to hold their primaries earlier?

A

to have greater influence on candidate selection

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40
Q

instead of holding primaries early, what do some states do?

A

hold the primaries on the same day to increase their significance

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41
Q

what is super Tuesday?

A

in 2020, 14 states held their primaries on the same day

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42
Q

what are the types of primaries?

A
  • closed primary
  • open primary
  • modified primaries
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43
Q

what is a closed primary?

A

a primary where only registered party members can vote for that parties nominee

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44
Q

what is an open primary?

A

where any registered voters can vote in any parties primary

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45
Q

what is a modified primary?

A

registered party members vote for that party, but independents can vote in any party primary

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46
Q

what state holds the first caucus?

A

Iowa

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47
Q

what state holds the first primary?

A

New Hampshire

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48
Q

traditionally what was believed about the significant of the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary?

A

that early victories were vital in securing the nomination

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49
Q

how many of the last three president nominees won the New Hampshire primary?

A

none - Clinton lost to sanders in 2016, and sanders won in 2020

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50
Q

what type of primary has higher turnout?

A

open primary

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51
Q

what was the turnout of the 2024 Iowa caucus?

A

14%

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52
Q

what was the turnout of the 2020 Iowa caucus?

A

9.1%

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53
Q

what was the highest primary turnout in 2020?

A

montana 45.7%

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54
Q

what % did Trump win the Iowa caucus by?

A

51%

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55
Q

what % did Trump win the New Hampshire primary by?

A

54%

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56
Q

what % did Biden win the South Carolina primary by?

A

96%

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57
Q

what % did Biden win the Nevada primary by?

A

89%

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58
Q

in terms of choosing a VP candidate, what does the presidential candidate look for?

A

balances ticket

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59
Q

why did Biden choose Harris as VP?

A

balanced ticket in race, age, and gender

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60
Q

why did Trump choose Pence as his VP?

A

evangelical christian and social conservative

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61
Q

why did Obama choose Biden as his VP?

A

very experience = 35 years as a senator

62
Q

why did national party conventions used to hold particular significance?

A

this was where democrats and republicans used to choose presidential and VP nominee, now done in caucus and primary stage

63
Q

traditionally, what are the three formal functions of national party conventions?

A
  • choosing parts presidential candidate
  • choosing VP candidate
  • decides party platform
64
Q

what are the informal functions of party conventions?

A
  • promoting party unity
  • enthusing the party faithful
  • enthusing ordinary voters
65
Q

in 2016 why did many high profile republicans choose to stay away from the party convention?

A

preferred this to endorsing trump

66
Q

in 2016, which republicans didn’t attend the convention?

A

Mitt Romney and John Kasich

67
Q

in 2020, what did Biden and Harris take part in during the primaries and then changed to what in the convention?

A
  • 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
Q

how can the post convention bounce be over exaggerated?

A

only signals the outcome of election 50% of the time

69
Q

after the 2020 convention, what did Biden and Trumps ratings change by?

A
  • Bidens rose by 1%
  • Trumps fell by 3%
70
Q

what can national party conventions serve to identify?

A

future stars of the party. Obama made a speech in 2004 convention going audiences and secure nominee 4 years later

71
Q

what did the Federal Election Campaign Act 1974 (FECA) hope to reduce?

A

candidates reliance on a few, very wealthy donors and equalise the amount of money spent by both the major parties

72
Q

what did FECA limit hard money to?

A

$1000

73
Q

what did FECA limit corporation donations to?

A

$5000

74
Q

what did FECA provide from the federal government?

A

matching funds up to $250

75
Q

what was wrong with FECA?

A

had far too many loopholes and was weakened by SCOTUS and congress

76
Q

what did SCOTUS rule in Buckley v Valeo 1976?

A

that limits on what individuals or PACs could spend was an infringement of first amendment right

77
Q

what did congress allow parties to raise in 1979 which weakened FECA?

A

allowed parties to raise soft money

78
Q

what was soft money spent on?

A

not directly spent on a candidates campaign, but was spent on things like voter registration drives and ‘party building’ activities

79
Q

what reform to party finance was introduced in 2002?

A

bipartisan campaign reform act (BCFA)

80
Q

what did the bipartisan campaign reform act do?

A

attempt to limit and control spending on political campaigning. attempted to ban soft money

81
Q

how did the BCFA attempt to deal with attack ads?

A

made candidates verbally endorse their broadcasts

82
Q

after the BCFA, what started to emerge?

A

527 groups

83
Q

what were 527 groups?

A

groups that spent millions, mostly donated by super rich and largely unknown peoples. named after us tax code

84
Q

in 2008, did Obama use federal matching funds?

A

no, raised huge amounts thorough the internet from small donors

85
Q

how did Obama rejecting federal matching funds benefit him?

A

as he wasn’t capped by a spending limit on campaign spending, unlike his opponent John McCain who was

86
Q

did Romney or Obama use federal matching funds in 2012?

A

no

87
Q

in 2020, were federal matching funds used?

A

no

88
Q

how much can PACs raise?

A

$5000 per campaign

89
Q

can PACs donate directly to the campaign?

A

yes

90
Q

how much can 527s raise?

A

unlimited

91
Q

what can’t 527s call for?

A

cannot call for election or defeat of a candidate

92
Q

how much can super PACs raise?

A

unlimited

93
Q

what can super PACs call for?

A

election of a candidate but cannot coordinate with the campaign

94
Q

what followed the supreme courts ruling in Citizens United v Federal Election Commission 2010?

A

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
Q

what are super PACs forbidden from making any direct contributions to?

A

federal candidates or parties

96
Q

how much did super PACs raise in the 2016 election?

A

almost $300 million

97
Q

how much did super PACs raise in 2020 election?

A

over $2 billion

98
Q

how much did the NRA spend to support Trump in 2016?

A

over $50 million

99
Q

where do most Americans gain knowledge of the election campaign?

A

news coverage such as ‘meet the press’ and ‘the news hour’

100
Q

how many debates happen between the two main presidential candidates?

A

three x 90 minute debates

101
Q

how many debates happen between the two main VP candidates?

A

one x 90 minute debate

102
Q

have tv debates been significant in shaping the outcome of the race?

A

no

103
Q

in Obama and Romneys debate how many people felt that Romney was the winner?

A

72%

104
Q

where is the result of the presidential election mainly decided by?

A

swing states

105
Q

what states almost always vote democrat?

A

Massachusetts, new York, California, Illinois

106
Q

what states are solidly republican?

A

texas, kansas, South Carolina

107
Q

what are some examples of swing states?

A

florida, virginia, iowa

108
Q

is how many prudential elections has Iowa voted for the winner?

A

the last 14, dating back to 1964

109
Q

did Iowa break their streak of voting for the winner in 2020?

A

yes - they voted for Trump

110
Q

how many times did Obama and Romney visit Ohio?

A

35

111
Q

in 2016, where did 2/3s of the general election campaign events take place?

A

six states - Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, and Michigan

112
Q

what did Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin say in 2015 about the outcome of the election?

A

‘the nation as a whole is not going to elect the next president’

113
Q

in 2020, how many states held 96% of campaign events?

A

12

114
Q

why did the founding fathers establish the institution of the electoral college?

A

to elect the president indirectly, potentially due to a fear of popular vote and tyranny

115
Q

how is each states number of electors decided?

A

the number of senators plus the number of representatives

116
Q

in 2020, how many electors did California have?

A

55 (53+2)

117
Q

in 2020, how many electors did Wyoming have?

A

3 (1+2)

118
Q

how many electoral college votes are there in total?

A

538

119
Q

what must the candidate win to win the presidency?

A

an absolute majority - 270

120
Q

what states use proportional systems to decide how many electors each candidate has?

A

Maine and Nebraska

121
Q

who announces the result of the presidential election?

A

the vice president

122
Q

what happened to Mike Pence when he was announcing the results in 2020?

A

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
Q

if no candidate wins an absolute majority, who elects the president?

A

the house

124
Q

if no candidate wins an absolute majority, who elects the VP?

A

the senate

125
Q

how many times has the electoral college failed to elect a president?

A

twice

126
Q

in what years did the electoral college fail to elect a president?

A

1800 and 1824

127
Q

what states won the general election for Biden in 2020?

A

Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Georgia

128
Q

what does the electoral college protect?

A

the voice of smaller states and upholds federalism

129
Q

in 2012, how much of the popular vote did Obama win?

A

51%

130
Q

in 2012, two much of the electoral college vote did Obama win?

A

61.7%

131
Q

in 2016, how much of the popular vote did Trump win?

A

46.1%

132
Q

in 2016, how much of the electoral college vote did Trump win?

A

57%

133
Q

how many presidential elections since 1960 have seen faithless electors?

A

8 out of 14

134
Q

how many attempts has there been to amend the electoral college?

A

more than 700

135
Q

what would the only real hope for sensible reform to the electoral college be?

A

for more states to follow Maine and Nebraska to award electors on a proportional basis

135
Q

how many electors are given to the district of columbia?

A

3

136
Q

what amendment gave the District of Columbia electors?

A

23rd

137
Q

in how many states are there no laws for electors to follow the popular vote?

A

24

138
Q

how many presidents have won election for a second term?

A

69% of all presidents

139
Q

why did Trump face little in-party opposition in 2020?

A

due to his controversial style and persona, attacking opponents with personal insults

140
Q

what did Trump call William Weld (his challenger in 2020)?

A

‘a man who couldn’t stand up straight while receiving an award’

141
Q

what were the four most recent presidents who didnt benefit from incumbency in times of?

A

economic crisis

142
Q

how many jobs has covid cost under Trump?

A

40 million

143
Q

what was Carter marred by in the final year of his presidency?

A

Iran scandal where 52 Americans were being held hostage

144
Q

what is the incumbency re-election rates in congress?

A

very high, around 80%

145
Q

how many members of the house were defeated as incumbents in 2020?

A

20

146
Q

how many senators were defeated as incumbents in 2020?

A

5

147
Q

how much more did incumbents raise then their challenger opponents for congress in 2020?

A

5x more

148
Q

what can incumbents benefit from which their challenger opponents can’t?

A

franking privileges

149
Q

what is franking privileges?

A

incumbents can write to their constituents on tax payer money

150
Q

what is the coattails effect?

A

when candidates of the same party as a popular candidate do well because they run in the same year, benefiting from their popularity

151
Q

how many house members and senators did Reagan’s coattails help him gain?

A

33 house and 12 senators

US Politics (9 decks)

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