The electoral process and direct democracy Flashcards
The history of US democracy
-13 colonies controlled by Britain(taxpayer money from the US went back to the UK)
-America broke free with the Declaration of independence that entrenched ‘unalienable’ rights like ‘Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness’
-established by the Founding fathers
-The treaty of Paris 1783 marked the end of the War of independence and established America
Social makeup of of America in the 1700s
-150+ Native American tribes dwindled to 600,00 due to conflict + disease
-Wealthy settlers from Britain + Europe
-Nearly 700,000 AAs transported via the slave trade
What are the 4 main elections in US?
-presidential elections= voted indirectly via the Electoral College every 4 years
-congressional elections= directly elected every 2 years(only 1/3 of the senate)
-primaries + caucuses= select candidates for each party
-direct democracy= i.e referendums, recall elections
Elections in the constitution
-take place every 4 years in Nov
-if president dies or resigns mid-term(Nixon 1974), the VP steps up
-fixed elections: congress every 2 years
-state, local and primaries are decided by states and vary i.e Wisconsin had primaries + local election polls in Apr 2020 and the presidentials + congress in Nov 2020–} opportunity for participation
How much power does federal govt have in how elections run?
-the voting rights act 1965 prohibits racial discrimination in voting
- the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 1990 protects those with disabilities, making sure that polling stations are accessible etc
How much power do the states hold in elections?
-can be involved in gerrymandering
-discretion on voter ID requirements i.e North Dakota lacks a formal voter registration system,
ballot access laws(right to candidacy) varying in strictness meant that Green Party’s Howie Hawkins didn’t formally appear on the ballot for 21 states, being a write-in(voters write the name in a blank space) for 17 and Green not being an option in 4 states
Gerrymandering
-manipulation of the electoral boundaries for political advantage via redistricting(happens every 10 years)
-i.e North Carolina have been accused of ‘packing’ the AA democrat vote (2003-16), California’s long projection of Republican areas redrawn following 2010 consensus
H.R. 1/ For the People Act
-bill in Congress to expand voting rights, change campaign finance laws and limit partisan gerrymandering
-blocked by Republican controlled Senate in 2019 under Mitch McConnell
-reintroduced in 2021 received unified support from the Democratic caucus, but Senate Republicans blocked the bill with a filibuster
The electoral system
-no federal requirements for electoral systems apart from the Electoral College
-indirect method where each state is allocated Electoral college votes(ECVs) equivalent to the size of their congressional delegation i.e at least 3 ECVs from the state’s 2 senators and 1 rep
-Cali has 55 ECVS–} 2 senators + 53 reps
-DC given 3 ECVs in 21st Amendment as they have no voting congress members
-EC recalculated every 10 years following the national census(reapportionment= ensuring it is proportionate to congress) i.e Texas gained 4 ECVs in the 2012 election, Ohio and NY lost 2 each
How does the electoral system vary in states?
-Georgia’s election law requires a top two election for senate seat–} if candidate fails to get 50%+, there is a runoff 8 weeks later with top 2 candidates
-California= non partisan blanket primary law–} top 2 candidates get selected in state primary regardless of party BUT this led to 2 democrats in 2018 Senate with no republican candidate
-Maine uses a ranked-choice voting system since 2018–} republican candidate for congressional district did not win 1st preference despite 46.3% votes, instead democrats won via elimination of independent parties, gaining 10,427 votes
The US electoral system IS effective
-a huge number of elections offer many opportunities for participation i.e Congressional elections, presidential
-primary/caucus system is representative of a wide range of states to influence the outcome i.e Iowa always being the first caucus
-reflects federal nature of US govt with power to individual states i.e Maine using a different voting system
The US electoral system ISN’T effective
-US electors may suffer from ‘voter fatigue’ and apathy i.e only 37% of eligible people voted in all 2018, 2020 and 2022 elections
-tends to favour a 2 party dominant system i.e Howie Hawkins, both independent candidates got eliminated in the Maine elections and were transferred to 2nd preference(Dems)
-electoral distortion via Electoral college so smaller states have too much power i.e Wyoming having 3 electoral seats vs Cali having 55 means that Wyoming has roughly 3.7 times more influence in the Electoral college due to difference in population
Background on presidential elections
-fixed term election every 4 years in Article 11 of the const
-7 stages of presidential elections
-538 members of Electoral college
‘Invisible’ primaries
-common that campaigning for the next presidential election begins straight after midterms
-i.e Trump was initially reluctant to promote a national lockdown so churches could be open for easter were ascribed to his fear of the economic impact(valence issue)
‘Rugged individualism’
-the candidate is responsible for creating a campaign team and getting on the ballot via nomination signatures and raising funds for ads etc
-i.e Trump self-funded his populist campaign in 2016 with notorious slogans i.e ‘Build that wall’ + MAGA
-party allegiance is less of a factor BUT state and national parties can channel finances and directing donors i.e democratic national committee set up a joint fundraising committee to raise money for the Biden campaign
Congressional and state election ads
-show candidates’ key qualities i.e military service, success in chosen profession and family oriented
-i.e Iowa Republican candidate for senate Joni Ernst memorably boasted about castrating hogs on the farm with the phrase ‘Let’s make ‘em squeal’ in 2014
Appealing to the voters
-White christian evangelicals are Republican leaning and ethnic minorities are Democrat leaning
-i.e 2004, the Republicans ran a national campaign for state ballot banning same sex marriage to gain support for Bush
-‘Get rid of the vote’(discouraging certain groups of voters) can explain the varying voter laws i.e 2017, Indiana passed a law allowing the state to purge voters from the rolls without notifying them on the basis of voter fraud(overturned in violation of the National Voter Registration Act 1993)
The involvement of swing states
-due to the Electoral College system, most campaigning takes place in a small number of ‘swing’ states i.e Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania
-over 93 million spent on ads in Florida by Clinton in 2016 but only 10 million spent in Colorado(safe dem seat)
-2/3 of campaign events in 2016 were held in 6 states(FLO, MI, NC, OH, PA and VI)
-total of 47 campaign visits to PA but only 3 in TX(republican) in 2020 between august and election day in Nov
Financing the US electoral system
-total price for the 2020 elections was around $14b(over 7 on senate and house races)
-money doesn’t guarantee election outcome i.e Bernie Sanders pulled in $46m worth of donations in Feb 2020 alone from 2.2m donations
-reflect the absence of laws that limit/regulate spending
Midterms
-take place every 4 years through a president’s term
-may lose ground in the midterms i.e Obama had a unified govt in his first term from ‘09 to ‘13, but divided in his second with the House becoming republican-led.
-may lead to gridlock i.e took several months of negotiation to pass the Budget Control Act of 2011 as Republicans pushed for spending cuts in exchange for raising the debt ceiling
Case study: 2018 midterms
-became a protest against Trump’s first 2 years in office i.e poll showed that 34% voters nationwide viewed their midterm as a vote against Trump
-the Democrats captured 40 districts from the Republicans and gained control of the House
-were able to launch impeachment proceedings as well as investigations i.e House oversight and reform committee on transport secretary Elaine Chao(Republican senate leader’s wife) after being accused of favouring a shipping company founded by her father
-although senate was republican-led, there were signs of shifting demographics i.e West-Virginia went from the most pro Trump to re-electing Democrat Joe Manchin.
-Turnout rose from 37% in 2014 to 49%= in support of Trump or incentivised Dems to vote against him
Primaries + Caucuses
-primaries first represented a desire to break away from ‘smoke filled’ rooms but were first used as more of an opinion poll i.e JFK entered the West Virginia Democrat primary and won as a catholic candidate(in a protestant state)
-caucuses are diminishing and mainly used in more rural areas
-Iowa traditionally holds the first caucus + acts as the first indicator of how the candidates fare i.e Trump won the 2024 Iowa caucus and eventually became the Republican candidate
Key features of primaries + caucuses
-select delegates who are pledged to vote for a particular candidate at the national nominating convention
-primaries are also used to select party candidates for state + congressional elections
-turnout is relatively low i.e 22% dems and 31% reps in 2024 NC primary
Replacing primary/caucuses: single national primary
-takes place on one day= time efficient
-bill introduced in congress in 1911 and endorsed by Woodrow Wilson
-125 similar bills introduced since then
-super Tuesdays are successful i.e N*kki Haley dropped out
-disproportionate power to earlier states(candidates drop out early)
Replacing primary/caucuses: rotating regional primaries
-country would be divided into 4 regions
-take turns holding primaries on the same day
-lukewarm concept i.e Republican National Committee in favour of Delaware plan instead
Replacing primary/caucuses: The Delaware plan
-allow small states primaries to go first, then followed by larger states
-4 categories of state grouped by population size
National nominating conventions
-formal ‘coronations’ of the candidates
-often take place in ‘swing states’ i.e Democrat convention 2020 took place(virtually) in Wisconsin, which they won from Republicans
-2-3 months before Nov poll
Positives of the national nominating convention
-chance to unite a divided party as former rivals congratulate winner
-momentum for candidate’s campaign via publicity
-marks formal beginning of presidential campaign
The electoral college
-538 voters
-indirect method of election set down in the constitution, reflecting Founding Fathers’ fears of a mass ‘popular vote’
-originally, people would elect voters state by state who would vote on their behalf
Features of the Electoral College: number of electors
-always equivalent to overall size of congressional delegation
-minimum 3(2 senators and at least 1 rep) i.e Alaska and Wyoming
-2024= California has 54 ECVs and Texas has 40
-23rd amendment gives Washington 3 ECVs as they couldn’t vote prior to this
Features of the Electoral College: congressional district method
-Maine and Nebraska use this method to allocate electors
-winner of each district awarded one electoral vote and winner of state wide vote awarded with the remaining 2 votes
-usually resulted in one candidate winning BUT Biden won a single electoral vote from Nebraska’s 2nd congressional district
Features of the Electoral College: electors
-typically chosen among the local party faithful i.e the Clintons were 2 of NY’s state electors in 2020
-‘faithless electors’ can disregard their pledge to the party candidate and vote for another candidate (7 electros in 2016)
-i.e 3 Democrats in Washington state voted for the moderate Republican ex-secretary of state, Colin Powell
