Electoral Processes Flashcards
When is the US presidential election held and why?
Tuesday following the first Monday of November every four years
What is the invisible primary?
the period of time between the primary elections and when the candidates actually vote
What are the official qualifications needed to run for president?
be 35 years of age
have not already served 2 terms in office
What are the unofficial qualifications?
political experience
personal qualifications
being an effective fundraiser
media savvy
How do opinion polls shape the invisible primary? How often do they predict the eventual nominee?
most media attention already- media continues to focus on them- outsiders struggle to rise up these polls without much coverage
How have presidential candidates been officially nominated since the 1830s?
by a national nominating convention
Why was the process used to select delegates for the national conventions criticised by the turn of the 20th Century?
Was done by a caucus in district party
choice of delegates and hence their choices was designed by party bosses
needed to become more open and more inclusive
What were the limitations of the earliest primary elections?
Oregon
primary votes were non binding preference votes so delegates can decide who to vote for themselves
there was also a significant mix between primary voters and delegates from caucuses from unequal state structures
Why were the 1968 Democratic primaries so controversial
DNC
Following the assassination of RFK Humphrey became the party’s nominee rather than the runner up in the primaries
What did the McGovern-Fraser Commission recommend and how did states respond?
- greater transparency over how the state would choose its delegates, giving members and the public more sway
- replace caucasses with primaries
- delegates were expected to vote for the candidates which they pledged to support
How do primary elections work?
elections run by the state and local governments to select candidates for an upcoming election
presidentail primaries are funded by the state and run under stately
voters vote for a candidate but are really electing a delegate to vote on their behalf
How are caucuses different to primaries?
people hold party meetings
supporters attempt to increase support undecided voters
votes are cast for a presidential candidate and dedlgates are selected to represent voters at the next level of convention
How are Republican and Democratic caucuses different?
R- voters cast a secret ballot to indicate their preferred candidate results are reported to the media
d- vote with their feet- candidates stand in differnt parts of the room
What are the differences between open, closed and modified primaries?
Open- any voter can participate
Closed- only party members can vote
modified- registerd party members are registerd indepdnats
What is party crashing/crossover voting?
supporters of another party supporting a candidate who is seen to be easier to defeat than another
How does the Democratic Party award delegates to the candidates?
delegates to their share of the proportion of the vote
How does the Republican Party award delegates to the candidates?
states have more freedom over how they award delegates
in 2016 the party rules required any states holding their primary or caucus before march 15th to distribute delegates proportionally
What are the three formal functions of the national conventions?
1- nominate a presidential candidate
2- nominate a vice presidential candidate
3- decide the party platform
How and why did Democrats change their rules following the 1968 Democratic Convention?
caucasses became primaries
advisory votes became delegates awarded in proportion
unbound delegates became pledged delegates
1980- all delegates had to vote how they had intended and if they didn’t then they would be removed and relaced
What impact did these rule changes have on the 1972 &1976 Democratic primaries?
1972- party leaders didn’t get their preferance and members did
1976- Carter chose a won the nomination and campaign but then struggled to work with the delegates in cogress
What and who are superdelegates? How are they different to normal pledged delegates?
party leaders who are automatically delegates at the convention and can remain unpledged and vote with their consence
this includes
- democrat representatives
- democrat senators
- democrat governors
- members of the democratic national committee
- distinguished party leaders
How important were superdelegate votes in the 2008 and 2016 Democratic primaries?
superdelegates represented 15% of overall delegates
What is a ‘presumptive nominee’? Why is it possible to have a presumptive nominee months ahead of the convention?
if superdelegates announce who they are supporting- as was done in 2016 a candidate has received enough votes to win and hence they are just waiting on the formal nomination
What is a brokered/ contested convention? How common are they? How would they impact the nomination?
a convention without a clear nominee
the last time this happened was 1984.
it makes sense if there is a majority of super delegate support for one candidate for them to support one candidate
Why were some of the votes at the 2012 Republican convention controversial? Why were some delegates able to disregard their state’s popular vote?
votes were cast for a different candidate than who was successful at the primary
this was because of unbound delegate
there were also unbound delegates from candidates who dropped out
What new rule was introduced by the RNC for the 2016 national convention? How effective was the rule?
convention seats for 3 party leaders
these supedelegates made up only 7% of the 2,472 delegates attending the 2016 national convention
new rules also required these officials to vote for the winner of their states primary or caucus
How influential were Republican superdelegates in 2016?
only likely to be significant if there was a brokered convention
Why did some Republican candidates and commentators believe that the party establishment could prevent Donald Trump from becoming the 2016 nominee?
was potentially looking like it could have been a brokered convention
as rules varied from state to state it was hard to work out
trump was unlikely to have won as was an unknown candidate to party establishment
trump did win a large majority
How much influence did the national conventions have over the VP nomination prior to the 70s’ reforms? How has this changed in recent decades?
perviously was elected at national convention
but transition to more power held by presidential candidates
presidential candidates also announce support for their candidate
Why and how do presidential nominees try to ‘balance’ their ticket?
they try to balance the ticket through age gap, racial gap, gender gap, party unity, ideological, South or North gap, experience gap
What is the party platform? How is it different to a party manifesto?
sets out party views, ideas, goals and policy position
these aren’t binding on candidates or on state parties
How has the importance of the party platform changed over time?
the party platform is no longer the key topics which the party wants the candidate to campaign on and has instead become centred around the candidates position on key things
What informal functions do the national conventions still perform?
promote party unity
allows candidates to have something to engage with
allow members to have something to engage with
allow candidate to speak to the American people- speeches by main candidates is timed to take place at peak news times
How has coverage of the conventions changed over time? What evidence is there that coverage can result in a convention ‘bump’?
overall coverage has gone down however millions still watch main acceptance speeches
lots of activity on social media
candidates have polls bump after convention
In what ways can the nomination process be said to have become more democratic since the 1970s?
caucuses became primaries which are more democratic to elect delegates to the nnc
delegates are also far more bound to the decision and now act as a mouthpiece
this is shown by the reality of a presumptive nominee
Why are concerns about brokered conventions and superdelegates arguably overstated?
because republican supedelegates are required to vote in line with the position of their state
hence not autonomous
What criticisms can be made over how states award their delegates?
little known about it
barrier to engagement
Why would some voters prefer to replace delegates with a direct election?
in theory they could vote against their popular vote
How did the McGovern-Fraser reforms impact the level of peer review in the presidential nomination system?
too open
outsider primary voters can vote for an antiestablishment figure
too weak
- lost the peer review element of party leaders
What concerns were raised about the decline of peer review? How did Democrats respond to these concerns?
figures with little to no experience or who woudlnt be sufficient presidents could still make it onto the ballot paper
Why do some Democrats criticise the level of peer review that exists in their nomination process?
led to the selection of Hilary Clinton
Why has the nomination become increasingly long since the 70s’ reforms?
What concerns have been raised over the increasing cost and length of the nomination process?
long gap beween the NNC and the announcement of intention to run
need to rely heavily on campaigning money
this leads to heavy influence by private entities
Why do some argue that the length of the nomination process is actually beneficial? How did Bernie Sanders’ 2016 campaign challenge fundraising concerns?
long time working is like a prevue of being president in fact many of the key campaigning g teams go on to be part of the EXOP
Why do some argue that the nomination process has become too superficial?
too much attention is paid to the campaigning skills and capacity to attract support rather than policy
Why might primary and caucus voters disagree with this claim?
that at this point policy is discussed and the value of the candidates personality is a core element
Why has participation in the presidential nomination process not changed as much since 1968 as might be expected?
1968- few states held primaries and caucuses which erred poorly advertised and sometimes it was months before candidates had even been announced. here 11.7 M participated. 11% of VAP
2016- 62M voted- 25% VAP
How and why is turnout so different at primaries and caucuses?
lack the time and the interest
the iowa caucas had 15.7% voted
the New Hampshire primary had 52% of eligible voters
How and why do open and closed primaries attract different levels of participation?
open primaries had a far higher turnout
What are the benefits of staggering the primaries and caucuses over several months?
- campaign and vist more states
- to benift from an increase in popularity and hence be more popular
How and why does staggering the contest impact voter choice and influence?
some candidates end their campaign before the invisible primary
some candidates drop out before end of all primaries
some just pull out after Iowa
What is frontloading? What causes it? How does it impact the nomination process?
states move their primaries forward to attract more media attention
What is Super Tuesday? What impact can it have on the race?
a number of southern states who hold their primaryies on the same day
republicans can win half of the delegates which they need to win
How have the national parties attempted to limit frontloading?
by setting a date for which states cannot bring primaries and causes further from (super Tuesday)
Why did frontloading less of an impact on the 2008 and 2016 Democratic primaries?
because there was already a clear candidate
Why are the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary considered to be so significant?
because they set the tone
some candidates drop out following this
Why is the influence of the early voting states so controversial?
not representative
failing to place in top three can build a negative narrative
not descriptively representative of the population
all primary voters are more affluent, educated and ideoplogical
What suggestions have been made for improving the presidential selection process?
aloblish caucasses and ensure that all states hold open primaries
no super delegates who get to make indeoenant decison
national primary
large regional primary
rotational primary
Why did the idea of selecting a president in a national popular vote divide the Founders?
not dependant on one arm of government
thoughts on election- diffenence in cultural wants
What compromise did the Founders settle upon? How did the electoral college originally work?
the electoral college which was temporary and selected by states.
meets and decides on the president
How are electoral votes apportioned between the states? Why was this system adopted?
at least three, and then redistributed based on population
What are presidential contingent elections? Why did the Founders include them in the Constitution?
house would elect a president and then the senate would elect vice president but each state has one vote
Why did the Electoral College work well in the first two elections?
electors were united with George washington
What problems later emerged with the original design of the Electoral College?
opposing political candidates were elected
What did the 12th Amendment do? Why was it ratified?
electors cast multiple vote
How has the selection of electors changed over time? What has driven this change?
states choose electors from state legislation
some states didn’t have a working constitution and hence didn’t gave any votes
changed to state wide winner takes all elections
How do 48 states award their delegates today?
winner takes all
2 states distribute proportionaly- only Maine and Nebraska use equal distribution
What is different about how Maine and Nebraska award their delegates?
How and why has the behaviour and expectations of electors changed over time? What are ‘faithless electors’?
some voted against their mandate- faithless electors
changed over time as became more democratic
Why are so many votes wasted in presidential elections? What makes distribution of support so important?
in 2016 trump lost popular vote but won the presidency
this is because of winner takes all states
What were James Madison’s views of ‘winner-takes-all’?
disenfranchised districts who voted differently to other parts of their states
To what extent are the votes awarded by Maine and Nebraska ‘fairer’?
one electoral college vote to each winner in each congressional district and two overall votes.
What are ‘misfire elections’? How many misfires have there been? Would awarding electors proportionally, or by district, prevent misfires?
when the winner of the election doesn’t win the popular vote
Why can even popular vote winners have a questionable mandate under the Electoral College?
gerrymandering of districts
clashes with the foundational one person, one vote’ principle
How do Electoral College supporters counter claims that the system produces winners with questionable legitimacy?
helps balance views of the states
How does the Electoral College undermine the principle of ‘one person, one vote’?
because every vote counts for a differnent percentage of an electoral college vote
this then means that in states which are heavily one way or another it is unlikely for one candidate to win
Why do Electoral College critics feel that its system of geographic, rather than individual, representation is out- dated?
this geographic representation is to compensate for slave and free state disparities
states are now more interconnected
What is the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact? What does criticism of this plan suggest about how many voters view geographic representation?
that states award their electoral college votes to the winner of the popular vote
Why are both small and large states often overlooked by the candidates during the campaigns?
the dominance of swing states means that both small and larger states are overlooked if they are safe states
California does have 55 electoral votes but still receives little attention as it isnt seen to be a swing state
neither Joe Biden or trump visited this state in 2020
this state has been democrat since 1992
Where do the candidates instead focus their resources? What impact can this have on turnout and party policy?
campaigns instead focus on battleground states which are states which could be won by either candidate
in the 2024 election there were 7 swing states including pensulvania and trump won all 7
Would a national popular vote lead to a similarly narrow focus on America’s largest cities?
this would lead to more even distribution of visits by candidates
the largest urban areas which lean democrat would be visted less as suburban areas would be battleground areas
Why might the current focus on swing states not be as problematic as critics suggest? Are swing states as fixed as critics suggest? Are they collectively quite representative?
swing states dont stay swing states forever.
california is becoming more of a battleground state
swing states are representative of the country
minority voters in swing states given more attention as in national popular vote- would just rely on their base
How does the Electoral College impact third party candidates? Can third party candidates have influence even without winning?
in the 1992 election ross Perot won 19,000,000 votes (18%) but only won 0 electoral votes
What do Electoral College supporters believe are the main benefits of the two- party system?
clear mandate to lead
choice between two parties makes it simple for voters and easy to hold one party accountable
What are ‘faithless electors’? How common are ‘faithless’ electoral votes?
faithless electors- electoral college voters who vote for candidates other than their own.
Who were the 2016 ‘Hamilton electors’? Why did their plan fail? What did the Supreme Court rule in Chiafalo v. Washington (2020)?
a group of electors who were not going to vote for trump and who were going vote for another candidate
there was faithless voting
some of this faithless voting was overturned which led to the supreme court ruling that this was legal
What is the ‘automatic plan’?
this would keep electoral votes but this would not remove electoral college votes but would remove voters
How do Electoral College supporters defend the role of electors?
legal safeguard
usually strong party loyalists
What criticisms are made of presidential contingency elections?
the House of Representatives chooses a new president but each state had one vote
for the VP each senator has one vote
can decide on the action to be taken off own accord
votes would be cast by the outgoing house which weeks earlier would have been voted out of office
this could also lead to s split outcome
How often have contingency elections been held? How well did they work?
1800 and 1824
didn’t work well
How do Electoral College supporters defend contingency elections?
there is more scrutiny and media attention nowadays
more party loyalty as well
defend against extremist candiadtes
How did corporations and unions get around the bans on donations implemented in the 1900s and 1940s?
formed legally separate political action committees
this money is then used to support or oppose a candidate
first was formed to support Rosevelts re-election
How did the Federal Election Act (1971) increase transparency and limit spending
more transparency for donations
limited how much money candidates can spend on their one campaign
How did the Revenue Act (1971) introduce public funding for elections?
public funds to give to candidates
catch is that they cant receive private donations
What is the FEC and why was it introduced in 1974?
enforce and regulate campaign laws
How was public financing of elections expanded in 1974?
limited individual donations to a candidate at 1,000, pac donations to 5,000 and contributions from foreign dons
this included donations for primary election camapigns
fed matches first 250 dollar donation if the candidate accepts spending limits
How did the Supreme Court challenge finance regulations? Why did it uphold spending limits?
restrictions violated against free speech
the SC agreed that as it costs money to exersize right to free speech
accepting public money was optional
What are ‘issue ads’ and why did they increase so much by the 1990s?
because issue adds (adds not expressly saying to vote for one candidate or another) these didn’t then count as express advocacy which was regulated
What is ‘soft money’ and why were the parties raising millions of it by the 1990s?
unlimited money can be given to campaigns as long as it isnt then used for elections
could be used for party purposes, admin costs or voter regestration drive
How did the Bi-Partisan Campaign Reform Act (2002) attempt to reform issue ads and soft money?
banned national party committees from raising soft money
banned unions funding electioneering communications
What are 527 groups? Why aren’t they regulated by the FEC?
can raise and spend as much as they like
focus on issue adds
not regualted by FEC as they focus on causes
What are 501(c)4 groups?
Social welfare groups with naonomus donors who spend most of their time on non party political capaginign
What are Super PACs? How are they different to regular PACs?
unlimited donations from individuals, corporations and trade unions
cannot donate to candidates and instead can run biased adds
What concerns were raised about Super PACs following the 2012 elections?
high spending groups
can become a tool used by extremely wealthy Americans to exert influence
top 1% of donors in 2012 were responsible for 69% of donations
Why did both candidates refuse public financing in the 2012 presidential election?
strict spending limits were too low and candidates could have more access to money if they self funded
Why could it be argued that the influence of money on elections is overstated?
lots of stuff just cancels out
most voters cannot be swung
Why did the Founders establish different processes for selecting Senators and Representatives?
house is elected every second year and one third of the senate is elected every 2 years with a 6 year senate term since the 17th amendment
well the senate wasn’t originally elected and the 17th amendment established elections for senators
therefore the house is a peoples house while the senate represents the state
What did the 17th Amendment do and why was it ratified?
well the senate wasn’t originally elected and the 17th amendment established elections for senators
this was passed to deal with corruption and bribery
Why are Senators divided into 3 classes?
these are the brackets of senators who have the same six year term
this is so that the senate remains to be stable
When are congressional elections held?
Tuesday after first Monday in November on even numbered years
What differences are there in term length?
2 years for house and 6 for the senate
How are the constituencies of Representatives and Senators different?
senators represent whole states and representatives just a stistrict within a state however wymoning has only one representative
What Constitutional qualifications are there for the Senate?
30 years old
live in the state
be a citizen for 7 years
What Constitutional qualifications are there for the House?
25 years old
live in the state
be a citezen for 5 years
What additional qualification is imposed by some states?
live in the district you wish to represent
How do hopeful candidates win a party’s nomination?
- when a member retires and a space opens up primaries are conducted to select a new candidate
- incumbents can also have to fight for their seat in an upcoming primary
How secure have incumbents been in recent primaries?
between 1994-2010 only 30 representatives lost in primary elections
How successful were the incumbents running for re-election in 2012?
90% of incumabts were re-eelcted
lots of those who weren’t re-elected retired or weren’t elected
Explain reapportionment and redistricting
re-aportionment occurs when some states gain or loose seats to account for population change. Texas gained 2 seats in the house of representatives for example in 2020
redistricting- when the boundary lines are re-drawn
What is gerrymandering, and what impact does it arguably have?
because new boundary lines are approved by the state legislature and hence if one part controls the state legislature then they can re drawn boundaries in such a way that bvenifits them
(cracking and packing)
How many races for seats in the House were actually competitive in 2014?
in 2014- 174 are 100% safe for the democrats and 210 are completely safe for the republicans
some districts have a strong or a less strong but notable lean.
only seven seats are a complete tossup
Why are many seats uncompetitive even without redistricting?
in urban areas there is such strong support that boundaries woudlnt be able to redrawn
What other advantages explain why so few incumbents are defeated?
privileges of office
- writing to residents
- staff
- voting record
- clear local wins
- name recognition
- find raising is easier
How have incumbents faired in the 2014 republican primaries?
all candidates won re - election
What are the coattails and reverse coattails effects?
coattails- where a popular party leader attracts votes for another member of the party
reverse coattails- unpopular candidature leads to losses in mid terms
2014 congressional election where democrats lost
Did Democratic candidates benefit from a coattails effect in 2008?
yes
+23 in house and +6 in senate
What is the mid-term decline? How often has it occurred in recent decades?
when presidents loose support in the house or senate because of unpopular decisions and government
Why could it be argued that the Democrat’s losses in 2010 were inevitable, considering the gains they had made in 2008?
they lost 63 seats in the house- were up lots
last 2 years as president
wasn’t seen to be successful
more president gains seats in general election the more they are likely to loose in following midterms
What are differential turnout and differential abstention?
differntential turnout- 62% turnout in the 2008 elections
41% turnout in 2010
differential turnout- a different level of turnout in differnt demogrraohucs.
some demographics are more likely to vote in local elections
Why might differential turnout best explain the Democrat’s gains in 2008, and losses in 2010?
because less democrat supporters voted and more republican demographics voted
What are split-ticket and straight-ticket voting?
split ticket voting- voting for different parties at the same time
straight ticket voting- voting for the same party
What is divided government?
when there are differnt parties in government at the same tiem
Why are US voters able to split their ticket?
because in an election year there might be
- president
- representative
- senator
- governor
- state senator
- state representative
- county positions as well
What rationale has been given to explain ticket splitting in the 70s and 80s?
- because they can
- prefer divided government
- in 70’s and 80’s there were republican presidency (good foreign policy) and a democrat congress (good domsectic policy)
What is meant by ‘Cognitive Madisonianism’?
voters purposely split ticket because they feel a divided government is superior
Why are US elections said to be more candidate centred than in the UK?
more candidate centerd and more issue focused
candidates are more differed from their party
candidates take a lead in running their own campaigns
Why might the incumbent advantage explain ticket splitting?
more name recongition and record which can be relied upon
Is ticket splitting on the decline? What evidence is there that straight ticket voting has increased?
yes.
congress more frequently became the same party as president
What might explain the decline in split-ticket voting in recent decades?
1972- 192 split house districts
2012- only 27 split house districts
Which states first began to experiment with direct democracy and why?
South Dakota in 1898 initiated an initiaive process
later states like mitichgan introduced recall elections
What are initiatives and how do they work? How are direct and indirect initiatives different?
used in 24 states
direct initiatives- referred directly to the people after signatures have been collected
indirect inatives- sent to state legislature who can pass the bill themselves if they so choose before the vote
in California for a statutory initiative to be tabled 5% of the population who last voted in the election for state governmor need to sign
How are referendums different to initiatives? How are legislative and popular/veto referendums different?
referendums- votes on bills already passed by state legislatiure
initiatives- create law themselves
legislative referendum- the state legislature puts bills or amendments up for a vote and this is used in 23 states for statutes and 49 states for amendments
popular veto referendums- used in 25 states and voters can collected signature to vote on a bill which was passed
What are recall elections and how do they work?
allows citezens to remove an electoral official
recall petitions used in 12 states
in california- 12% of people who voted in the election for figure which is being recalled
Why can initiatives and referendums be said to give a clearer, stronger mandate than elections?
initiatives are the opinion of the public on a single policy
hence this is a strong mandate for potentially contevercial reforms
How can direct democracy check interest group influence?
the interest group has to influence the electorate rather than just a few influential members
How can direct democracy impact political participation and education?
they attract media attention and interest which might have not been on a particular issue or problem
this is key in elections with a low turnout like the mid terms
Why can direct democracy be said to make the legislative process more efficient?
representatives aren’t focussing on this divisive issue but instead on a clear pressing one
How does direct democracy improve accountability?
because voters with bad politicies or who are unpopular they have to be consistently working in the favour of the public
Why did the Founding Fathers fear direct democracy? Why did they want to establish a ‘republic’ instead?
feared that it would lead to a tyranny of the majority- larger groups overpower minority influence
a republican government would be better because representatives would be able to act in the national best interest
What evidence is there that initiatives and referendums can be harmful for minorities in the US today?
californian propostion 8 amended the state constition to ban same sex marriages in 2008
this is harmful the for the gay minorities
How does low turnout impact initiatives, referendums and recalls?
low mandate
What is the ‘tyranny of the minority’?
where the vies of a minority of citezens are imposed on the majority
What is ‘voter fatigue’?
voters become more apetheitic as they are asked to deicde more and more things
Why do some argue that direct democracy increases the influence of the very elite it was supposed to challenge?
it is the elite pressure groups who have the resources to produce bills and campaigns to enact this change
Why are initiated statutes less flexible than statutes passed by state legislatures?
this is a yes no question put to voters
they may view this as their closet opportunity to make change and hence take that decision
checks and balances are undergone
fixed language
can be poorly worded
What problems can be caused by allowing the public to initiate their own state constitutional amendments?
- tax in California
(education has to increase every year)
state legislator cannot make laws to correct challanges from public initiatives
