Elections and Voting Flashcards
(101 cards)
1
Q
What are the 3 constitutional requirements to be President?
A
Over 35
US citizen for 14 years
Natural born US citizen
2
Q
What was the 22nd amendment
A
Limited the presidential tenure to 2 terms (8 years)
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
4
Q
How much money did Obama raise in the first three months of 2012?
A
66.4 million
5
Q
3 factors for choosing a Vice President
A
Balanced ticket
Potential in government
Party unity
6
Q
How many debates were held during the Republican invisible primary of 2016
A
7
7
Q
What are the two main functions of the Invisible Primary
A
Fundraise
Raise your profile
8
Q
What is a Primary?
A
An election to select a party’s candidate for the Presidency.
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
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
11
Q
What effect does an incumbent tend to have on primaries
A
Turnout is considerably lower due to lack of competition
12
Q
What total % of votes did Obama recieve in the 2012 Democratic primaries?
A
92
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
14
Q
How many states are involved in Super Tuesday
A
14
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
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
17
Q
How many Republican candidates were there in 2016
A
17
18
Q
What was the participation in primaries in 2016
A
35%
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
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
21
Q
3 formal functions of the National Party Convention
A
Choose the President
Choose the Vice President
Decide the party platform
22
Q
2 Informal functions of the National Party Convention
A
Promote party unity
Encourage votes
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
24
Q
What poll bounce did Clinton recieve after the DPC in 2016?
A
7 point
25
Are NPC's still important?
No
Primaries choose the Presidential candidate, not the Convention. Vice President hasnt been chosen at the Convention since 1956.
26
What steps did the 1974 FECA take?
Limited individual contributions to $1000
Limited Corporate contributions to $5000
Forbade donations from foreign donors
Established the FEC
27
What steps did the 2002 Bipartisan Capaign reform act take?
Banned soft money
Unions banned from directly funding issue ads
'Stand by your ad' Provision
28
What did Buckley vs Valeo in 1976 state
Limits on spending contributions is unconstitutional
29
What did Citizens United vs FEC in 2010 do
Granted unlimited expenditure rights to corporations, paving the way for the rise of Super PAC's
30
What are Super PAC's?
Fundraising committees premitted to recieve unlimited contributions and make unlimited expenditure aimed at either electing or defeating candidates
31
How much did 'Restore our Future' spend in 2012?
$88.5 million on defeating Obama
| $14 million on electing Romney
32
Spending figures by Super PACs in 2016
Democrats
For - $66 million
Against - $108 million
Republicans
For - $320 million
Against - $280 million
33
How is TV used in Presidential elections? (4)
Chat shows - less politically aware audience
News Coverage - main source of political information
Political programmes - In depth interviews
Political commercials - spots
34
Two examples of 2016 spots
1: 'Example'
Anti Trump, based on setting an example for the next generation
2. 'Unfit'
Anti- Clinton, alluding to her FBI investigation
35
What are the 3 types of Presidential debates?
Podiums - taking questions from a moderator
Town Hall - taking questions from undecided voters
Round Table - questions from a moderator
36
What were the formats of the 2016 Presidential debates
1 & 3 - Podiums
2 - Town Hall
VP - Round table
37
What happened in the Reagan vs Mondale debate of 1984?
Reagan was questioned about his old age, and pivoted to point out that Mondale was in fact too young and inexperienced
38
What happened in the Carter vs Reagan debate on 1980?
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
39
What are the 4 debate rules of thumb
Style trumps substance
Verbal gaffes can be costly
Debates are harder for incumbents
Good soundbites help
40
What did George HW Bush get caught doing in 1992
Looking at his watch
41
How did Obama describe Romney in 2012
foreign policy of the 80s, social policy of the 50s, economic policy of the 20s
42
How significant were the 2016 presidential debates
Not significant at all, as the polls suggested that Clinton won them all.
43
What are the 9 factors affecting voter behaviour
```
Party affiliation
Gender
Religion
Geographical region
Wealth
Policies
Race
Age
Population area
```
44
How many of the last 16 elections have been won by the party who wins the most support from their own supporters?
13, Trump won 93% to Clintons 91%
45
Are women more likely to vote Democrat or Republican?
Democrat
46
What % of African-American voters voted Democrat in 2016
88
47
Typically, who do Catholics vote for?
Democrat, but voted Republican by 7 points in 2016
48
What did Romney say was a gift to young voters in 2012
Obamas provision in Obamacare to allow under 26 year olds to stay on their parents health insurance
49
How did Wealth affect the 2016 election?
Trump won the over $50k by 1-2 points, lost the under $35k by 12 points
50
The Democrats won every state in which region in 2012?
Northeast
51
The Republicans won every state in which region in 2016?
South
52
The suburbs have predicted the election in how many of the last 12 elections? (Which was the anomaly)
11 - Romney won by 50 to 48
53
Who 2 key policy areas voted for Democrat, and which 2 voted for Republican?
D
Foreign policy - 60/34
Economy - 52/42
R
Immigration - 64/32
Terrorism - 57/39
54
How many votes are required to win the electoral college?
270
55
How are states allocated electoral college votes?
Equal to their representation in Congress
56
What are the strengths of the electoral college? (2)
Preserves the voice of the smaller states
| Tends to promote a two horse race
57
Weaknesses of the electoral college (5)
```
Small states over represented
Winner takes all system distorts the result
Unfair to 3rd parties
Rogue electors
President & VP of different parties
```
58
How many people in California equate to one EC vote
675,000
59
How many people in Wyoming equate to one EC vote
185,000
60
How many rogue electors were there in 2016?
7
61
What are the 3 proposed reforms to the electoral college?
Direct election
Proportional system
Ban rogue electors
62
Which two states award electoral college states proportionally
Maine and Nebraska
63
What are the constitutional requirements to be a House representative?
Over 25
US citizen for 7 years
Resident of the state you represent
64
What are the constitutional requirements to be a Senator
Over 30
US Citizen for 9 years
Resident of the state you represent
65
How many senators have lost their congressional primaries between 1992 and 2016
8
66
What happened to Lisa Murkowski in 2012
Lost her congressional primary in Alaska to a tea party candidate but won the election as a write in candidate
67
What is the coat tails effect?
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
What coat tails effect did Reagan have in 1980?
Won 33 seats in House and 12 on Senate
69
What's split ticket voting and how prominent was it in 2016?
Voting for a Presidential candidate of one party and a senator of the other.
100% STRAIGHT ticket voting in 2016
70
What % of Incumbents seeking reelection in 2016 in the house won?
97
71
What is described as a competitive seat
A seat won by the incumbent by less than 10 percentage points
72
How many competitive seats in House were there in 2012
65
73
Why are there fewer competitive races?
Gerrymandering, has led to a lack of bipartisanship
74
What are the 2 key factors in voting in congressional elections
Local issues
| Record of the incumbent
75
Why was Elizabeth Dole beaten in 2008?
She was very ineffective and was heavily criticised for being too supportive of George W Bush. 72 years old
76
How did Mitch McConnell beat Walter Huddleston in 1984?
Highlighted the fact that he had missed nearly 25% of all senate roll calls
77
Why are mid term elections different?
Presidents party tends to lose on average 23 seats and 2-3 senate seats (since 1962)
78
Why did the Democrats lose in 2010
Expressed disappointment with Obamas failure to turn around the economy and their opposition to Obamacare
79
How many seats and Senators did the Democrats lose in 2010?
63 in House, 6 in Senate
80
How many McCain democrats lost in 2010?
28 of 39. 9 of those that won voted against Obamacare in its final passage
81
How many points did the Republicans increase their share of independents by?
14, disappointed having voted for Obama as the agent of change
82
What is a referendum?
A device available in all states that allows voters to veto a bill proposed by the state legislature
83
How many states have popular referendums and what are they?
24, allow a petition to be started to force a referendum on a particular issue
84
How many referendums were put on the ballot by the state legislatures in 2012
115
85
How many recalls of state governors have there been?
3
86
What happened with Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin
Recalled in 2012 due to implementing changes to state governor pension schemes.
Beat Tom Barrett 53-46 in the election
87
How many recall elections of state legislators were there between 1992 and 2012
36
88
Of the 15 recalls between 2011/12, how many were removed from office
5
89
Pro and Con of Recall elections
Increase democratic accountability at all times rather than elections
Allow voters to 'change their mind' after a short period of time
90
What are propositions (initiatives)
A chance for citizens to bypass state legislatures by placing proposed laws on the ballot
91
How many states use propositions?
24
92
What are direct and indirect proposals?
Proposals go directly on the ballot
Proposals are submitted to the state legislature
93
What rules are there surrounding propositions? (3)
Conform with state legal requirements
Be given a formal title and brief summary
Gain the necessary number of votes
94
How many votes are required for a proposition in
a) Alaska
b) California
a) 10% of total votes cast in the last election
| b) 5% of the votes for the current governor
95
How many propositions were there in 2012 and how many were approved?
42, 40%
96
Where was same sex marriage approved in 2012?
Maryland, Maine, Washington state
97
Which state approved the medical use of marijuana via a proposition?
Massachusetts
98
Advantages of propositions? (3)
Allows controversial matters to be tackled
Increases accountability of state legislatures
Can help to increase voter turnout
99
Which proposition in 2004 affected the general election and how?
Same sex marriage, swung the election in Bush's favour
100
Disadvantages of propositions (2)
Lack flexibility of the legislative process, can't be amended or changed
Vulnerable to manipulation by special interest groups, eg, NRA
101
When was the electoral college last deadlocked?
1824
