The Electoral Process And Direct Democracy Flashcards
What are the main elections in the USA?
Presidential Elections
Congressional Elections
Primaries (and rarely caucuses)
Direct Democracy
What is the role of states in elections?
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
Which system do nearly all US elections employ?
A majoritarian electoral system
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?
Georgia for the Senate seat
How are senators picked in California?
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
What system has Main used since 2018?
A ranked-choice voting system, similar to STV
When do the ‘invisible primaries’ start for the presidential elections?
Right after the midterms, where presidents start to look for support and funding
Who are all candidates ‘self starters’?
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
What is an important aspect of a politician winning an election?
Individuality, as seen with Trump in 2016, who had previously never held any elected office before
What was Republican Jodi Ernst memorable ad that lead to her win in 2014 Iowa Senate election and again in 2020?
‘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’
What is a lot of campaigning targeted at?
Getting the ‘right’ people to turn out and vote
What is an example of a party targeting people to get out and vote?
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
What is ‘Get Rid of the Vote’?
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
What is some swing states that presidents try to targeted?
Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania
How much did each candidate spend on Florida in the 2016 presidential election?
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
What states do presidents target in the primary campaigns?
Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, because these states come first and get the most attention and can build a candidates momentum
How much was the price tag for the 2020 elections?
Around $14 billion, of which over $7billion was spent on races for Congress
How much did Bernie Sanders raise in February 2020 from 2.2 million separate donations?
$46 million
What do midterms indicate for a president?
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
When did primaries become widespread and determine the outcome of presidential nomination campaigns?
Early 1970s
Which three states still use a caucus for the Democrat presidential campaign in 2020?
Iowa, Nevada and Wyoming
What is the purpose of primaries and caucuses?
To select delegates who are pledged to vote for a particular candidate at there national nominating convention, normally on the summer of election year
What does turnout for primaries and caucus constituencies of?
Core party supporters, which is a reason for its low turnout
Which states only allow pre-registered voters to a partial party to participate in that party’s primary, often know as closed primaries?
Oregon and New York
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
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
Which states guard their ‘first in the nation’ status?
Iowa (caucus) and New Hampshire (primary)
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
What is ‘Super Tuesday’?
Where many states munch their primaries/causes together on one day in March
How many Democrat contest did Biden win on Super Tuesday in 2020?
10 out of 14
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
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
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
When are national nominating conventions?
July/August of election year, around 2-3 moths before the November poll
