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Politics C > Elections and Voting > Flashcards

Elections and Voting Flashcards

1
Q

What are the 3 constitutional requirements to be President?

A

Over 35
US citizen for 14 years
Natural born US citizen

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2
Q

What was the 22nd amendment

A

Limited the presidential tenure to 2 terms (8 years)

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3
Q

7 extra constitutional requirements for the Presidency

A 
Oratorical skills
Major party endorsement
Personal characteristics
Sound and relevant policies
Ability to raise large sums of money
Political experience
Effective organisation
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4
Q

How much money did Obama raise in the first three months of 2012?

A

66.4 million

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5
Q

3 factors for choosing a Vice President

A

Balanced ticket
Potential in government
Party unity

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6
Q

How many debates were held during the Republican invisible primary of 2016

A

7

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7
Q

What are the two main functions of the Invisible Primary

A

Fundraise

Raise your profile

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8
Q

What is a Primary?

A

An election to select a party’s candidate for the Presidency.

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9
Q

What is the difference between an open and a closed primary?

A

Anyone can vote in an open primary, only registered party members can vote in a closed primary

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10
Q

How many Winner takes all primaries did the Republicans and Democrats have in 2016?

A

Republicans had 8, Democrats banned them so had 0

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11
Q

What effect does an incumbent tend to have on primaries

A

Turnout is considerably lower due to lack of competition

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12
Q

What total % of votes did Obama recieve in the 2012 Democratic primaries?

A

92

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13
Q

What is front loading

A

Holding a primary early in the season in order to increase the importance and media coverage of the primary

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14
Q

How many states are involved in Super Tuesday

A

14

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15
Q

Are Primaries that important? (2Y/1N)

A

Yes
Allows for huge upsets eg. Clinton vs Obama
Transparency and democracy - takes power away from the party bosses

No
Between 1960 and 2016, 24 of 30 selected candidates were ahead before a vote was cast

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16
Q

Strengths of Primaries (4)

A

Increases participation of ordinary voters
Wide range of candidates
Open to outsiders
Power taken away from party bosses

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17
Q

How many Republican candidates were there in 2016

A

17

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18
Q

What was the participation in primaries in 2016

A

35%

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19
Q

Weaknesses of Primaries (5)

A 
Turnout is low,especially when incumbents run
Process is too long
Very expensive process
Can develop into bitter personal battles
Lack of peer review
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20
Q

How many days before the Iowa Caucus and the General election did Trump announce his candidacy?

A

230 days before Iowa

512 before GE

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21
Q

3 formal functions of the National Party Convention

A

Choose the President
Choose the Vice President
Decide the party platform

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22
Q

2 Informal functions of the National Party Convention

A

Promote party unity

Encourage votes

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23
Q

How did the Democrats promote party unity in 2016?

A

Sanders asked Vermont to pledge for Clinton, despite voting for him in the primary

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24
Q

What poll bounce did Clinton recieve after the DPC in 2016?

A

7 point

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25
Q

Are NPC’s still important?

A

No
Primaries choose the Presidential candidate, not the Convention. Vice President hasnt been chosen at the Convention since 1956.

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26
Q

What steps did the 1974 FECA take?

A

Limited individual contributions to $1000
Limited Corporate contributions to $5000
Forbade donations from foreign donors
Established the FEC

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27
Q

What steps did the 2002 Bipartisan Capaign reform act take?

A

Banned soft money
Unions banned from directly funding issue ads
‘Stand by your ad’ Provision

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28
Q

What did Buckley vs Valeo in 1976 state

A

Limits on spending contributions is unconstitutional

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29
Q

What did Citizens United vs FEC in 2010 do

A

Granted unlimited expenditure rights to corporations, paving the way for the rise of Super PAC’s

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30
Q

What are Super PAC’s?

A

Fundraising committees premitted to recieve unlimited contributions and make unlimited expenditure aimed at either electing or defeating candidates

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31
Q

How much did ‘Restore our Future’ spend in 2012?

A

$88.5 million on defeating Obama

$14 million on electing Romney

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32
Q

Spending figures by Super PACs in 2016

A

Democrats
For - $66 million
Against - $108 million

Republicans
For - $320 million
Against - $280 million

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33
Q

How is TV used in Presidential elections? (4)

A

Chat shows - less politically aware audience
News Coverage - main source of political information
Political programmes - In depth interviews
Political commercials - spots

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34
Q

Two examples of 2016 spots

A

1: ‘Example’
Anti Trump, based on setting an example for the next generation

  1. ‘Unfit’
    Anti- Clinton, alluding to her FBI investigation
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35
Q

What are the 3 types of Presidential debates?

A

Podiums - taking questions from a moderator
Town Hall - taking questions from undecided voters
Round Table - questions from a moderator

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36
Q

What were the formats of the 2016 Presidential debates

A

1 & 3 - Podiums
2 - Town Hall
VP - Round table

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37
Q

What happened in the Reagan vs Mondale debate of 1984?

A

Reagan was questioned about his old age, and pivoted to point out that Mondale was in fact too young and inexperienced

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38
Q

What happened in the Carter vs Reagan debate on 1980?

A

In Reagan’s closing speech, he closed by asking a series of questions about Carters presidency to which he knew the answers would be no

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39
Q

What are the 4 debate rules of thumb

A

Style trumps substance
Verbal gaffes can be costly
Debates are harder for incumbents
Good soundbites help

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40
Q

What did George HW Bush get caught doing in 1992

A

Looking at his watch

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41
Q

How did Obama describe Romney in 2012

A

foreign policy of the 80s, social policy of the 50s, economic policy of the 20s

42
Q

How significant were the 2016 presidential debates

A

Not significant at all, as the polls suggested that Clinton won them all.

43
Q

What are the 9 factors affecting voter behaviour

A 
Party affiliation
Gender
Religion
Geographical region
Wealth
Policies
Race
Age
Population area
44
Q

How many of the last 16 elections have been won by the party who wins the most support from their own supporters?

A

13, Trump won 93% to Clintons 91%

45
Q

Are women more likely to vote Democrat or Republican?

A

Democrat

46
Q

What % of African-American voters voted Democrat in 2016

A

88

47
Q

Typically, who do Catholics vote for?

A

Democrat, but voted Republican by 7 points in 2016

48
Q

What did Romney say was a gift to young voters in 2012

A

Obamas provision in Obamacare to allow under 26 year olds to stay on their parents health insurance

49
Q

How did Wealth affect the 2016 election?

A

Trump won the over $50k by 1-2 points, lost the under $35k by 12 points

50
Q

The Democrats won every state in which region in 2012?

A

Northeast

51
Q

The Republicans won every state in which region in 2016?

A

South

52
Q

The suburbs have predicted the election in how many of the last 12 elections? (Which was the anomaly)

A

11 - Romney won by 50 to 48

53
Q

Who 2 key policy areas voted for Democrat, and which 2 voted for Republican?

A

D
Foreign policy - 60/34
Economy - 52/42

R
Immigration - 64/32
Terrorism - 57/39

54
Q

How many votes are required to win the electoral college?

A

270

55
Q

How are states allocated electoral college votes?

A

Equal to their representation in Congress

56
Q

What are the strengths of the electoral college? (2)

A

Preserves the voice of the smaller states

Tends to promote a two horse race

57
Q

Weaknesses of the electoral college (5)

A 
Small states over represented
Winner takes all system distorts the result
Unfair to 3rd parties
Rogue electors
President & VP of different parties
58
Q

How many people in California equate to one EC vote

A

675,000

59
Q

How many people in Wyoming equate to one EC vote

A

185,000

60
Q

How many rogue electors were there in 2016?

A

7

61
Q

What are the 3 proposed reforms to the electoral college?

A

Direct election
Proportional system
Ban rogue electors

62
Q

Which two states award electoral college states proportionally

A

Maine and Nebraska

63
Q

What are the constitutional requirements to be a House representative?

A

Over 25
US citizen for 7 years
Resident of the state you represent

64
Q

What are the constitutional requirements to be a Senator

A

Over 30
US Citizen for 9 years
Resident of the state you represent

65
Q

How many senators have lost their congressional primaries between 1992 and 2016

A

8

66
Q

What happened to Lisa Murkowski in 2012

A

Lost her congressional primary in Alaska to a tea party candidate but won the election as a write in candidate

67
Q

What is the coat tails effect?

A

The effect of a strong candidate for a party at the top of the ticket helping other candidates of the same party to get elected

68
Q

What coat tails effect did Reagan have in 1980?

A

Won 33 seats in House and 12 on Senate

69
Q

What’s split ticket voting and how prominent was it in 2016?

A

Voting for a Presidential candidate of one party and a senator of the other.
100% STRAIGHT ticket voting in 2016

70
Q

What % of Incumbents seeking reelection in 2016 in the house won?

A

97

71
Q

What is described as a competitive seat

A

A seat won by the incumbent by less than 10 percentage points

72
Q

How many competitive seats in House were there in 2012

A

65

73
Q

Why are there fewer competitive races?

A

Gerrymandering, has led to a lack of bipartisanship

74
Q

What are the 2 key factors in voting in congressional elections

A

Local issues

Record of the incumbent

75
Q

Why was Elizabeth Dole beaten in 2008?

A

She was very ineffective and was heavily criticised for being too supportive of George W Bush. 72 years old

76
Q

How did Mitch McConnell beat Walter Huddleston in 1984?

A

Highlighted the fact that he had missed nearly 25% of all senate roll calls

77
Q

Why are mid term elections different?

A

Presidents party tends to lose on average 23 seats and 2-3 senate seats (since 1962)

78
Q

Why did the Democrats lose in 2010

A

Expressed disappointment with Obamas failure to turn around the economy and their opposition to Obamacare

79
Q

How many seats and Senators did the Democrats lose in 2010?

A

63 in House, 6 in Senate

80
Q

How many McCain democrats lost in 2010?

A

28 of 39. 9 of those that won voted against Obamacare in its final passage

81
Q

How many points did the Republicans increase their share of independents by?

A

14, disappointed having voted for Obama as the agent of change

82
Q

What is a referendum?

A

A device available in all states that allows voters to veto a bill proposed by the state legislature

83
Q

How many states have popular referendums and what are they?

A

24, allow a petition to be started to force a referendum on a particular issue

84
Q

How many referendums were put on the ballot by the state legislatures in 2012

A

115

85
Q

How many recalls of state governors have there been?

A

3

86
Q

What happened with Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin

A

Recalled in 2012 due to implementing changes to state governor pension schemes.

Beat Tom Barrett 53-46 in the election

87
Q

How many recall elections of state legislators were there between 1992 and 2012

A

36

88
Q

Of the 15 recalls between 2011/12, how many were removed from office

A

5

89
Q

Pro and Con of Recall elections

A

Increase democratic accountability at all times rather than elections

Allow voters to ‘change their mind’ after a short period of time

90
Q

What are propositions (initiatives)

A

A chance for citizens to bypass state legislatures by placing proposed laws on the ballot

91
Q

How many states use propositions?

A

24

92
Q

What are direct and indirect proposals?

A

Proposals go directly on the ballot

Proposals are submitted to the state legislature

93
Q

What rules are there surrounding propositions? (3)

A

Conform with state legal requirements
Be given a formal title and brief summary
Gain the necessary number of votes

94
Q

How many votes are required for a proposition in

a) Alaska
b) California

A

a) 10% of total votes cast in the last election

b) 5% of the votes for the current governor

95
Q

How many propositions were there in 2012 and how many were approved?

A

42, 40%

96
Q

Where was same sex marriage approved in 2012?

A

Maryland, Maine, Washington state

97
Q

Which state approved the medical use of marijuana via a proposition?

A

Massachusetts

98
Q

Advantages of propositions? (3)

A

Allows controversial matters to be tackled
Increases accountability of state legislatures
Can help to increase voter turnout

99
Q

Which proposition in 2004 affected the general election and how?

A

Same sex marriage, swung the election in Bush’s favour

100
Q

Disadvantages of propositions (2)

A

Lack flexibility of the legislative process, can’t be amended or changed

Vulnerable to manipulation by special interest groups, eg, NRA

101
Q

When was the electoral college last deadlocked?

A

1824

Politics C (4 decks)

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