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US Politics (Sam) > The Electoral Process And Direct Democracy > Flashcards

The Electoral Process And Direct Democracy Flashcards

1
Q

What are the main elections in the USA?

A

Presidential Elections
Congressional Elections
Primaries (and rarely caucuses)
Direct Democracy

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2
Q

What is the role of states in elections?

A

They decide the timings for state, local and primary elections and draw up boundaries, and have much control over voter ID laws and how primary elections are organised and voter registration requirements

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3
Q

Which system do nearly all US elections employ?

A

A majoritarian electoral system

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4
Q

What is a state that requires a candidate to have 50% of the vote or goes to a run off 8 weeks later by the top two candidates?

A

Georgia for the Senate seat

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5
Q

How are senators picked in California?

A

They use non-partisan blanket primary law, where the top two candidates regardless of party affiliation are selected in a state primary, and then go head to head in the actual senate election, which lead to in 2018 two Democrats going against each other with no Republicans on the ballot paper

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6
Q

What system has Main used since 2018?

A

A ranked-choice voting system, similar to STV

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7
Q

When do the ‘invisible primaries’ start for the presidential elections?

A

Right after the midterms, where presidents start to look for support and funding

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8
Q

Who are all candidates ‘self starters’?

A

As they do not apply to a party and get directly elected but instead the onus is on the individual to create a campaign team and get themselves on the ballot by securing enough nomination signatures and campaign funds

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9
Q

What is an important aspect of a politician winning an election?

A

Individuality, as seen with Trump in 2016, who had previously never held any elected office before

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10
Q

What was Republican Jodi Ernst memorable ad that lead to her win in 2014 Iowa Senate election and again in 2020?

A

‘Squeal’, where see barged about growing up on a castrating hog farming knowing how to cut port, and making the big spenders in Washington ‘squeall’

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11
Q

What is a lot of campaigning targeted at?

A

Getting the ‘right’ people to turn out and vote

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12
Q

What is an example of a party targeting people to get out and vote?

A

In 2004 the Republicans promoted a state ballot banning same-sex marriage, therefore getting many white conservative evangelicals to vote and thereby supporting W.Bush’s election bid

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13
Q

What is ‘Get Rid of the Vote’?

A

Where states in encourage certain people to vote, like tighter ID laws and less enthusiasm for postal voting, leading to less young people and working class people voting who normally vote Democrat

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14
Q

What is some swing states that presidents try to targeted?

A

Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania

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15
Q

How much did each candidate spend on Florida in the 2016 presidential election?

A

Trump: $34 million
Clinton: $93 million
With 31 visits by both candidates made to Florida in the run up to the election compared to just 3 in Texas

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16
Q

What states do presidents target in the primary campaigns?

A

Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, because these states come first and get the most attention and can build a candidates momentum

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17
Q

How much was the price tag for the 2020 elections?

A

Around $14 billion, of which over $7billion was spent on races for Congress

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18
Q

How much did Bernie Sanders raise in February 2020 from 2.2 million separate donations?

A

$46 million

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19
Q

What do midterms indicate for a president?

A

The public confidence in the president perforce mid way through the 4 year term, though most presidents see their party lose ground, they go on to make dramatic policy promises to secure election, even if they cannot keep those promises

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20
Q

When did primaries become widespread and determine the outcome of presidential nomination campaigns?

A

Early 1970s

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21
Q

Which three states still use a caucus for the Democrat presidential campaign in 2020?

A

Iowa, Nevada and Wyoming

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22
Q

What is the purpose of primaries and caucuses?

A

To select delegates who are pledged to vote for a particular candidate at there national nominating convention, normally on the summer of election year

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23
Q

What does turnout for primaries and caucus constituencies of?

A

Core party supporters, which is a reason for its low turnout

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24
Q

Which states only allow pre-registered voters to a partial party to participate in that party’s primary, often know as closed primaries?

A

Oregon and New York

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25
What states allow all registered biters tp vote in any party's primary, but they can only vote in one party's primary, know as termed open primaries?
Georgia
26
What is a semi open.closed primary system?
Where voters pre-registered with a party can only vote in that party, but independent non-affiliated voters can choose on polling day which party primary to vote in
27
Which states guard their 'first in the nation' status?
Iowa (caucus) and New Hampshire (primary)
28
What is 'frontloading'?
Where states move their primaries/caucus closer to the start in order to gain more influence over the final outcome, though national parties are often unhappy with too much of this, in 2020 California moved its primary date form June to March
29
What is 'Super Tuesday'?
Where many states munch their primaries/causes together on one day in March
30
How many Democrat contest did Biden win on Super Tuesday in 2020?
10 out of 14
31
What is invisible primaries?
Where potential candidates may announce their intention to run, seek to raise public profile and build up political donations in the build up to the primaries the year or so before
32
What are 'superdelegates'?
In the democrat party people who attend and vote at their national nominating convention, with 16% in 2020 being forker elected members of national offices
33
What are the alternatives suggested to the current system of primaries and caucuses?
A single national primary election on one day, removing the federal aspect, but no momentum for unknown candidates Rotating regional primates whereby the country is dived into four regions, with each region taking turn at holding all their primaries on the same day, but candidates may do better in one region and have an unfair advantage The Delaware Plan, which would allow small state to go first, followed by larger states, with forum categories of state grouped by population size
34
When are national nominating conventions?
July/August of election year, around 2-3 moths before the November poll
35
What are the roles of the modern national nominating convention?
It is a chance to united a divided party with endorse from former rivals to the eventual winner It gives momentum to the candidates' campaign via publicity and a chance to explain and outline their main policy themes It marks the formal beginning of the presidential campaign
36
What does the electoral college show about the Founding Fathers fears?
They feared popular vote
37
What is the number of electors per state in the electoral system equivalent to?
The overall size of the congressional delegation, with each state having as many electoral votes as congress people, so a minimum of 3
38
What area has 3 ECVS but no members of congress?
Washington, DC
39
What are the only two states to use congressional district method and not winner take all basis?
Maine and Nebraska, the system they use with the winner of each district being awarded one electoral vote, and the winner of the stewed vote being awarder the state's remaining two electoral votes
40
What are two case where the winner of the popular vote lose the Electoral College?
2000 and 2016
41
When was the last time their was a stalemate in the Electoral College, with the House picking the president, the Senate picking the vice president?
1824
42
What is thew biggest obstacle in abolishing the electoral college?
The high bar to make an amendment through Congress
43
What are some suggested alternatives to the electoral college?
Popular vote, or ranked voting system or expand the Main/Nebraska system of the Electoral College nationwide though this would incentivise more gerrymandering
44
If the Maine/Nebraska Electoral College System was used nationwide what would have been the 2020 presidential election result?
277-261 ECVs to Biden, which reduced his lead
45
What had 15 States plus DC, representing 196 ECVs or 36% of the total College signed up for?
The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, where states pledge to cast their ECV to whichever candidate wins the national popular vote, though not one traditional 'red state' has signed up
46
In the 2018 midterms how many Congress incumbents who sough re-election were victorious?
90.5%
47
Who are the truly one-term presidents, with them not succeeding a president not from their party?
Carter and Trump
48
What did Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign strategist, James Carville, say was the key issue in gaining support?
'It's the economy stupid'
49
What was W.Bush's approval rating after 9/11?
90%
50
What is the 'October surprise'?
A news event, either deliberately timed or sometimes occurring spontaneously a short time before the polls open in early November which can influence a presidential campaign, with the 2016 presidential election having a leaked tape about Trump making vulgar comment about women, and Clinton being investigated by the FBI about using a private email server while serving as Secretary of State
51
When was the first televised presidential debate?
1960
52
When was the first televised presidential debate?
1960
53
What was the brewing figures for the 2016 presidential revised debate?
84 million breaking the previous record in 1980 with 80 million
54
What are the factors that explain election outcomes in the USA?
Incumbency Issues Media Leadership and other individual qualities of the candidates Money
55
What is an example of money not guaranteeing electoral success?
Clinton outspending Trump in 2016
56
What are the two main factors that affect the way in which American vote?
Voter profile (primary factor) Issues, the candies personality and their campaigning (recent factor)
57
What percentage of African-Americans voted Democrat in 2020?
87%, compared to 65% hispanic and 61% Asian-American, with 58% of white voters voting for Trump
58
In 2020 how did each gender vote for the president statistically?
57% of women voted Biden and 53% of men voted for Trump
59
What percentage white evangelical supported Trump in 2020?
76%
60
What percentage of those earning under $50,000 voted for Biden in 2020?
55%
61
What percentage of under 30s voted Democrat in 2020 compared to over 65 voting Republican?
Under 30s: 60% Over 65s: 52%
62
What is a famous example of realignment?
In the 1960s the conservative white vote in the south moved away from the Democrats and towards the Republicans, breaking up the Democrat 'Solid South', this mainly being due to the Democrats support of civil right measures
63
Why did Obama not go fully on a single national health insurance?
Not only costly, this would have lost union supported who had fought hardy to negate good private healthcare deal with employers, seen in 2020 with the Culinary Workers Union opposing Sander's 'medicare for all'
64
How much in total was spent on the 2020 presidential elections?
$6.6 billion
65
In 2020, what was the most expensive Senate Race?
South Carolina, costing a total $227 million overall
66
By mid October 2020 how much had Biden and Trump send on Facebook ads, and on TV ads?
Facebook: $175 million TV ads: $750 million
67
Who make up 41.53% of donations for the 2020 elections?
Large individual donors
68
What percent of donations did small individual donors make up in the 2020 elections?
22.4%
69
What percent of donations did PACs make up in the 2020 elections?
5.01%
70
What percent of donations did self-funding make up in the 2020 elections?
13.01%
71
What act limits no individual donations more than $2,800 per annum to a single candidate's own campaign and $35,500 to a national party?
The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) 2000
72
What is an example of a Super Pac which supported Biden in 2020?
Future Forward USA
73
Who chaired the American First Action PAC, which is a super PAC, and served as administer of the Small Business Administration under Trump, showing the influence of Super PACs
Linda McMahon
74
What is the least significant source of political funding?
Federal government funding, which matches puts voluntary caps in campaign expenditure matching federal funding for campaigns in return for a candidate listing their overall funding, with the last presidential nominee from the big two being John McCain to do this, with Obama rejecting it because he could raise more by his own efforts
75
How many seats did the seats did the highest senders in the ten most expensive states for the Senate in 2020 win?
4 out of 10
76
What are the three forms of direct democracy in the USA?
Ballot initiatives, laws or measures that are proposed by voters, if enough signatures are obtained, and are placed on the ballot at election time Recall elections, voters can force an elected state official to face re-election before their full term has ended Referendums, can occur where the state legislature passes a law but is then required to submit this directly to voters fro approval
77
What is an example of a recall election?
In 2012 the Wisconsin Republican governor, Scott Walker, though served the election, this showed clear opposition to his legation over curtailing bargaining rights of public sector walkers, the last governor and second in US history to be successfully removed in a reach election was Gary Davis for California
78
What is split ticket voting?
When voting for candidates from different parties in different parties in different types of elections is held at the same time
79
when was split ticket voting at its highest with around 40%?
1970 and mid 1980s
80
When was split ticket voting at its lowest?
mid 1900s and now, as its been on a decline since the 1980s
81
What are the main reasons usually associated with split ticketing?
It reflects preferences for personalities over parties in some cases US parties have traditionally been quite 'broadchurch', although this is much less true today The sheer number of elected offices offers many opportunities to split one's ballot
82
What percentage of the voting age population (VAP) turned out for the presidential race in 2016?
Only 55.7%, although thus did represent around 87% of register voters
83
What is the typically voting turnout for primaries?
Under 30%
84
Why did turnout soar to a record 66.4% in the 2020 election?
Trump was a deeply polarising figure The Covid-19 pandemic meant many states made it much easier to vote by mail or vote earlier
85
What factors best explain high abstention rates in the US elections?
The requirement for Americans to proactively register to vote In certain states, ex-felons are barred from voting Some states do not make postal voting easy and require an excuse while some states have an all-mail voting system Many states have high thresholds in terms of deposit/nomination signatures, to get onto the ballot Some states have introduce tougher voter ID laws
86
What are other reasons for high abstention rates in US elections?
There is a lack of viable choice in a political system dominated by two parties The USA almost excusably uses a majoritarian system The issue of 'voter fatigue' or democratic overload The issue of political efficacy Finally, many states and districts are uncompetitive

US Politics (Sam) (34 decks)

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