ELECTIONS - Eval the view that the process for electing the American President is no longer fit for purpose Flashcards
IT IS FIT FOR PURPOSE
Electoral College
It preserves the voices of the smaller states. The fear in 1787 was that if the Electoral College was to be abolished, the votes of their inhabitants would be worthless. In the first presidential election held in 1788, of the 13 states that took part, the smallest had 3 ECVs whilst Virginia had 12 - this ensured federalism and checks the power of the delegates whilst preventing mobocracy.
Further, the winner-takes-all system is used in all but Maine and Nebraska, so whichever candidate receives the most popular votes gets ALL the Electoral College votes of the state
IT IS NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE
Electoral College
Small states are far too over-represented:
By 2020, California had 55 ECVs representing 39.2 million people. Wyoming had 3 ECVs representing its 500,000+ population. California essentially gets one ECV for every 195,000 people.
This disadvantages the Democrats - Wyoming is a small state, so the is more Republican-leaning. Trump needed under 120,000 votes to secure the ECVs. Biden needed around 300,000 votes to secure California because it is a larger state.
The possibility of rogue electors also consolidates the undemocratic nature of the Electoral College – faithless electors are people who cast their ballot for a candidate other than the one who won the popular vote in their state. In 2016, we saw 5 Clinton and 2 Trump rogue electors. This is because the winner-takes-all system is not enshrined in the constitution.
2000 + 2016 saw the popular vote lose to the electors. In 2016, Clinton received near 3 million more votes than Trump
IT IS FIT FOR PURPOSE
Primaries and caucuses
There were seven Democrat candidates in the 2020 primaries:
70% of the voters who done a survey in March 2020 stated that Sanders was liberal, and only 31% believed Biden was.
An example of their policy difference can be seen in healthcare:
Sanders proposed a Medicare-for-all program which would nationalise the health insurance industry, which would mean most of the money individuals and employers currently pay through insurers would be paid by the federal government.
Biden focused on consolidating the current healthcare system and investing more to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
IT IS NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE
Primaries and caucuses
Open primaries facilitate cross voting - an example of primary/caucus crashing can be seen in 2008 when some Republicans took part in Operation Chaos, where Republicans supported Clinton in open primaries as they believed she was more easily defeatable than Obama.
Another example of sabotage can be seen in 2012 when some Democrats took part in Operation Hilarity, where they voted for Rick Santorum in open primaries in the effort of prolonging the Republican primaries – they believed he was a liability.
Frontloading is also a significant issue as this is the process of moving primaries to an earlier point to give greater significance to them… in 2020, Super Tuesday had 14 Primaries on the same day.
IT IS FIT FOR PURPOSE
National Party Convention
It fulfils one out of its three formal functions - choosing the presidential candidate? NO.
Choosing the V.P? NO.
Choosing the Party Platform? YES
- This is the document containing what the candidate intends to pursue if elected president - the convention offers space for debates on various aspects of these, known as ‘planks’
2020 Democratic Party Platform -
- Put together by both moderate and progressive wings of the party.
- Increase the funding for Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Avoided Medicare for all, like Sanders proposed, but promised to ‘protect, strengthen, and build upon our bedrock healthcare system’
This washed over intra-party disagreements and painted party unity.
- Offers an opportunity to engage ordinary voters with the speeches - Biden’s message was how he would be ‘an ally of the light and not the darkness’
Trump’s speech reflected on ‘whether {they} allowed a socialist agenda to demolish {their} cherished destiny’
Also great for upcoming politicians - 2004, Illinois senator Barack Obama gave a great keynote address… little did he know 2008…
IT IS NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE
National Party Convention
‘Planks’ very rarely happen because they portray a divided party.
Doesn’t fulfil the function of ‘selecing the presidential candidate’ or ‘selecting the V.P’ -
- ‘committed delegates’ are established and known before the convention itself ruin this.
- The selection of V.P at the convention hasn’t happened since the 1988 Republican convention. Kamala Harris was announced days before the Democratic convention in 2020.
Could also be an opportunity to highlight the hypocrisy in unifying the party - Harris repeatedly criticised Biden’s views from the 1970s against busing and diversifying children’s transport to school… she then said on the penultimate night of the convention, that ‘Biden spent decades promoting American values and interests around the world’
How many ECVs does a candidate need to win?
270 out of 530.
2020 Republican Convention controversy
In the 2020 Republican National Convention, took place at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington D.C – this is a violation of the Hatch Act, but Trump and V.P Mike Pence are exempt from the violations. The Act was passed in 1939, and limits political activities of federal employees while on duty or in the workplace. Many of the Republican federal employees were there, raising questions over the legality of the event.
Caucuses - what happened in 2020?
What is the recurring trend?
They take place in geographically large but thinly populated areas.
In 2020, Dems held caucuses in only four states compared to the 14 states in 2016 - Nevada, Iowa, North Dakota, and Wyoming.
More states are switching the primaries
Caucuses - Bernie’s successes and why
Bernie Sanders (independent with Dem affiliation) won 2/4 caucus states and finished above Biden in 3/4.
Why? Because caucuses have a high turnout of ideological candidates.
