Unit 10 The Election Process Flashcards
Primaries and Caucuses
-Parties choose their political candidate
-timing of the primary or caucus is significant
-early state primaries and caucuses determine if the candidate will do well with the rest of the states
-New Hampshire and Iowa have early races
Party Convensions
-goal of the primary elections and caucuses is to win the support of party delegates at the national convention
-party leadership decides how many delegates each state and territory will send to the convention
-delegates are pledged to vote for the candidate who won the primary election or caucus in their state
-national party conventions update the party’s official platform
General Election
-the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in an election year, a general election is held
-Election Day is not officially the day that the president is elected. Rather, the president is elected a little over month later by a group known as the Electoral College
Electoral College
-each state gets the number of votes equal to its number of representatives in the House plus its number of senators
-electors in the Electoral College are pledged to vote for the candidate who received the most votes in their state
-the first candidate to reach 270 votes wins the election
-if no candidate reaches 270 votes, the election is decided by the House of Representatives
-a candidate may lose the popular vote and still win the electoral vote
Political Consultants
-manage media coverage of the candidate
-direct-mail firms to coordinate mass mailings to solicit support of the candidate
- hires polling firms to gauge public opinion around both the candidate and key issues
-hires political technology firms to supply web design and online advertising
-can make the candidate more effective, but they can also remove him or her somewhat from the people
Fundraising Campaign Costs
-money must all be used for the campaign
-If used for personal purposes, the candidate can face serious legal repercussions
-those with the greatest ability to contribute to a campaign are also in a position to have significant influence over the campaign and, ultimately, over the election.
Social Media and Campaigns
-A candidate never knows when something he or she says will be posted to social media, shared and reshared, and go viral
-this can be a benefit for candidates as well. Bernie Sanders’s 2016 run for the Democratic nomination is a great example of this. Much of the money he raised was through small online donations
Explain how the financing of national political campaigns affects the election process
Congress has taken measures to regulate the money donated to political campaigns to ensure that elections are fair and democratic, and not simply being bought by the wealthy or by special interests.
Political Action Committee (PAC) and Super PACs
-limits on contributing to PACs are much looser than limits on contributing to candidates still allow large amounts of money to flow into the campaign process—particularly money from corporations, labor unions, and other large organizations (Super PACs)
How Electoral College facilitates democracy
-It maintains the federal nature of the United States so that each state has a voice
-it keeps the interests of less-populous states from being totally ignored while a few highly populated states like California, New York, and Texas determine how the nation is run
Evaluate the extent to which the Electoral College impedes democracy
-Critics argue that if our nation is based on democratic principles, then the president ought to be democratically elected
-Another argument against the Electoral College is based on the “winner take all” rule that exists in forty-eight states
Primary Process
-members of a party announce their candidacy for office
-Vote in winter or early spring and culminates with national convention
Primary Type
Open- all can vote
Closed- Only members of the party
caucus
a meeting of all registered party members who wish to attend in a particular neighborhood or precinct. discuss and debate the various candidates, and the candidate with the most support by the end of the evening wins.
superdelegates
Democratic Party leadership and officeholders from the party. These delegates can vote any way they like. The idea behind superdelegates is that these are people who have a vested interest in the survival of the party and who know the candidates.
Winning the Election
Five hundred thirty-eight electoral votes are available (Washington, D.C., has three).
The first candidate to reach 270 votes wins the election.
If no candidate reaches 270 votes, the election is decided by the House of Representatives. This has happened only twice, in 1800 and again in 1824.
Political Consultents
-media consultant to manage media coverage of the candidate
-direct-mail firms to coordinate mass mailings to solicit support of the candidate
-polling firms to gauge public opinion around both the candidate and key issues
-political technology firms to supply web design and online advertising
-policy advisers to brief them on policy issues that may come up during the election
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974
-make campaign contributions more transparent and to limit overall spending on campaigns
-public funding of some campaigns
-created the Federal Election Commission to monitor campaign contributions
-Put a limit of $2,000 for individual contributions to presidential or congressional campaigns
-report all campaign contributions to the Federal Elections Commission
soft money
donating to a political party rather than a specific candidate, knowing that the money would likely be spent to campaign for that candidate.
McCain-Feingold Act
banned soft money contributions and required contributions to be tied to specific candidates
contributed to the rise of 527 groups, or political action committees
Buckley v. Valeo
This case challenged the law’s limit on individual contributions to campaigns on the grounds that it violated the First Amendment right to free speech. The court upheld the limit on individual contributions because it was clearly designed to prevent corruption and maintain the integrity of the system. However, the court struck down the part of the law that limited what individuals could spend on their own campaigns and the total allowed campaign expenditures. They saw no risk of corruption in an individual spending his or her own money on his or her own campaign
Citizens United v. FEC
court ruled that limits on political spending amounted to limits on political speech, which would violate the First Amendment. They also ruled that political speech could not be limited simply because it came from a corporation rather than an individual
super PACs
political action committees with virtually no limits on corporate contributions, and with far looser rules on reporting donors
Electoral College
each state would choose a certain number of electors who would then elect the president. The number of electors allotted to each state would be equal to the number of representatives in the House plus the number of senators. Thus the larger states would have more electoral votes, and the smaller states would have fewer. The members of the Electoral College cast their votes in December, and the results are delivered to the vice president, who is also the president of the Senate. It is the vice president’s duty to announce the winner of the election.
