Presidential Elections Flashcards
How often are US presidential elections?
every 4 years
When was the first US election?
1788
What kind of constitution does the US have?
Codified
When are elections held?
On the tuesday after the first monday in november of every 4th year
What are the requirements for being an American president?
- Natural born American citizen
- 35 years old
- Residency qualification of 14 years
What are the extra constitutional requirements for being the President?
- political experience
- major party experience
- personal characteristics
- ability to raise large funds
- effective organisation
- oratorical skills and telegenic
- relevant policies
What are invisible primaries?
Period between candidates declaring an intention to run for the presidency and the first primaries or caucuses
- get as much media attention
- raise money for advertising
- normally clear front runner by the end
What is a primary?
election to choose candidate for a party
What is a caucuses?
meeting for selection of party candidate
What states hold caucuses?
- Iowa
- North Dakota
- Nevada
What is the issue with caucuses?
Lower turnout
What is the timing of primaries?
- mid-january to beginning of June
- each state has to pick own date
What was super Tuesday?
2016 - first tuesday of march 11 states arranged primaries on the same day
What is a closed primary?
only democrats can vote in a democrat election and vice versa
What is an open primary?
anyone can vote
What is a semi-closed primary?
People with the party affiliation and people with no party affiliation can vote
What is a proportional primary?
awarded delegates in proportional to the votes they get
What is a winner-takes all primary?
whoever has the most votes wins all delegates
What are delegates?
A points system
Where do the early primaries happen?
Iowa and New Hampshire
Why is New Hampshire important to win?
Said can’t win overall if don’t win
Obama didn’t win New hampshire
What is an incumbent president?
A person who holds office and is re-running
What result did Obama receive in 2012 in the primaries?
Received less than 90% in 14 states - embarrassed as normally secure votes as an incumbent president
What increased voter turnout?
McGovern Fraser reforms
Who is more likely to vote?
- better educated (N.Carolina 2016 - 50% Republican voters has a college degree)
- higher income
- older (3/4 45 older - 6% younger than 24)
What affects voter turnout?
- Demographic
- Type of primary
- Competition
- Timing - early in the calendar year attract more votes
What is the importance of primaries?
- only route to becoming presidential nominance (used to be through multiple conventions)
What are the strengths of the new nomination process changed by the McGovern-Fraser commission?
- increased participation (1968 11.7 million - 2016 61 million)
- increased choice (1968 5 candidates - 2016 22 candidates)
- open to outsiders (e.g. Barack Obama)
- gruelling race (test for demanding job)
What are the weaknesses of the new nomination process from the McGovern-Fraser commission?
- became theatrical
- ‘blood sport’
- widespread voter apathy
- voters are unrepresentative of voting age population
- process is far too long
- process expensive
- dominated by the media
- develops into personal battles
- lack of peer review
What are superdelegates?
- introduced by democrats in 1984 delegates
- attempt to bring back peer review
- can support any
How can the nomination for presidency be improved?
- declared by David Atkins 2016
- abolish caucuses and replace with primaries to increase turnout and be more representative
- get rid of closed primaries
- rotate order of primaries - increase geographic and demographic diversity
- tie superdelegates to primary results
- allow candidates to pick their own delegates (2016 - some of Trump’s delegates didn’t support him)
How did the vice president used to be decided?
- 30 years ago
- used to be announced during the national party convention
When and what changed the system for choosing a vice president?
- 1984 Walter Mondale announced Geraldine Ferraro as vice president 4 days before the Democrats party convention
- carried on after
- Republican changed to this system in 1996
What are the strategies for choosing a vice president?
- balanced ticket (geograpic region, political experience, age, ideology - Joe Biden (65) and Obama (47) different experience and age)
- potential (what they would bring to the white house - G W Bush chose Dick Cheney who served as chief of staff to Ford and Secretary of Defence to his father)
- party unity (choose former rivals - Ronald Reagan chose GHW Bush in 1980)
When are the national party conventions and how long are they?
- during July - early September
- 3-4 days
- tradition for challenging party tp hold first
- venue decided a year before (2016 Trump Cleveland and Clinton Philadelphia)
- each day as a theme
What are the formal functions of a national party conference?
- choosing party presidential candidate
- choosing vice presidential candidate
- deciding party platform
What are the informal functions of a national party convention?
- promoting party unity
- enthusing party faith
- enthusing ordinary voters
How is a presidential candidate chosen at a national party conference?
- state delegates announce who their party have voted for
- '’committed delegates’’ vote for candidate decided by first ballot
- to win must have absolute majority
- convention confirms rather than chooses
- if no majority is a brokered convention
- if this happens delegates vote freely
What is a party platform?
- document containing policy
- put together by platform committee
- hold hearings around country during first 6 months of the year to help them decide
- 2008 - Democrats held 1600
- the national committee then decides on draft platform
- debates on various parts of the platform
- 2016 - Democrats - pro-choice, Republican - sexuality
How is party unity promoted at the national party convention?
- heal wounds from personal battles during primaries
- 2016 - Sanders booed Clinton and vice versa - Sanders then made a speech endorsing Clinton
How is the party faithful promoted at the national party convention?
- campaigners feel motivated/committed to the 9 week campaign
- 2016 - speech by Michelle Obama brought delegates to their feet
How are ordinary voters enthused at the national party convention?
- acceptance speech by chosen candidate - nationally televised on last night of the convention
- most voters don’t pay attention in primaries so first look at the party
- 2016 Trump presented picture of violence, Clinton ‘stronger together’
What is the post-convention bounce?
- opinion polls register immediate effect of conventions
- increase in poll rating as compared to pre-convention poll known as bounce
- 1980-2012 average increase of 6%
- 2016 Trump +1% Clinton +4.5%
- Importance can be exaggerated
How was Richard Nixon’s re-election campaign corrupt?
Funded by fat cats - caused the rules to be changed (Watergate scandal)
What was the Federal Election Campaign act 1974?
- limited the contributions - reduced the reliance on a few wealthy
- equalise amount of money spent by both major parties
- law had many loopholes - weakened by the supreme court and congress
What are PACS
- political action committees
- 527 organisations
- any money raised for the campaign go into the PAC
- federal law
- become when more than $1000 donated to influence an election
- state level elections reported to PAC according to state election laws
What is the federal election committee?
Registers for donating money (policing)
When do mid-terms happen?
Every 2 years
What is the importance of the midterm elections?
Determine balance of power within congress and whether the president will have power over the legislature
What is a run-off?
When no one gets a majority during a mid-term that there has to be another election
Describe the structure of state government
- governor (elected)
- gov administration includes secretary of state, lieutenant governor and attorney general (elected in some states however some are chosen by the governor)
- within some states there is a house of representative and senate
- have state courts
Define gubernatorial
related to the governor
Define toss up
An election where the votes are so close you can’t predict a winner
Define special election
If someone gives up their seat before and election and has to be re-elected (never with president as there is a line of succession)
Define redistricting
Changing the boundaries of congressional districts
Define state-wide
being elected into a position with power over the whole state
Define lame duck session
The time between a midterm election in November and the sitting of new session
What was different about the 2022 midterms compared to the previous 10 years?
- congressional district boundaries changed
- different proportions in the house of representatives
What was surprising about the Democrats performance in the 2022 midterms?
The incumbent president usually loses a lot of seats and there was not the anticipated red wave
Why did New York get increased attention in the 2022 midterms?
The Democrats did not easily win the seat like normal. Republicans tackled crime increase that the Democrats had ignored
What was badly surprising for the Republicans?
Republicans backing Trump were not supported by voters
What were 3 factors relevant to the 2022 midterm election outcomes?
- Abortions (roe vs wade)
- Election Rejection (Trump storming the Capitol building)
- Stronger young voter turnout
- Climate Change
- Concern over extremism
- Economy/inflation
- Biden’s popularity
What do the 2022 midterm result mean?
- What Biden can and can’t get done for the rest of his presidency
- De Santos could take the votes away from Trump in the primaries
- Abortion is the 2nd biggest issue (stopped red wave)
- Power taken away from Trump going into the presidential race
Where do Democrats tend to stand on social and moral issues?
- progressive
- support protection of individual liberty and prevention of discrimination
Where do Democrats tend to stand on economic policy?
- call for greater government intervention
- provides social justice
- bring social/economic benefits to those on a lower income
- capitalism and free market positive
- emphasise need for protection for those in need
- support increase in federal minimum wage
Where do Democrats tend to stand on provisions of social welfare?
- favour government provision of social welfare
- economic system doesn’t promote interests of everyone
- government has responsibility to support everyone
Where do Republicans tend to stand on social and moral issues?
- conservative approach
- resist change
- promote traditional values
Where do Republicans tend to stand on economic policy?
- restricted view of government intervention in national economy
- emphasise personal responsibility and personal freedom from government control
- favour tax cuts - focus on wealthier groups
Where do Republicans tend to stand on provisions of social welfare?
- emphasise personal responsibility and governments infringement on individual freedom restrict
What are the three factions of the Democrat party?
- moderates (new democrats)
- liberals (social democrats)
- conservatives (blue dogs)
What are the views of new democrats?
- sometimes known as centrists
- take middle ground on economy and welfare
- more willing to end government initiatives
- may accept limitations to civil liberties
- greater restrictions on abortion
- more acceptance of anti-terrorist laws
How, where and why were the new democrats created?
It was organised around the Democratic Leadership council created in 1985 as reaction to the second defeat to Ronald Reagan. They realised they needed a more moderate approach to win.
What are the views of the social democrats?
- more radical left-wing elements
- use federal government to achieve social justice by providing welfare, health and education for the disadvantaged
- want to increase taxation on the wealthy
- more government intervention in economy
- less intervention in deploying military abroad
- most supportive of social and economic equality
What are the views of the conservative democrats?
- dying out
- once very conservative as influenced by the southern win
- conservative on moral issues (guns and religion)
- disagree with republicans on tax and trade
- pre-civil war/great depression
- many from pro-slavery south
