US democracy and participation

Question 1

what is the invisible primary?

Answer 1

where candidates announce the intention to run, attempt to increase name recognition, fundraise

Question 2

what are primaries?

Answer 2

A state based election to choose a party’s candidate. showing support among ordinary voters

Question 3

what are presidential caucuses?

Answer 3

state based meeting to select candidate, turnout is generally lower as you actually have to attend the meeting, people tend to be more ideologically compatible

Question 4

what is Super Tuesday?

Answer 4

a Tuesday In February or early march, where a number of states coincide primaries and caucuses to gain influence

Question 5

what is front loading?

Answer 5

where states schedule its primaries and caucuses earlier in nomination cycle, to increase importance of candidate in the selection

Question 6

what are open primaries?

Answer 6

a primary in which any registered voter can vote in either primary

Question 7

what are closed primaries?

Answer 7

a primary in high only registered democrats or republicans can vote in their own primary

Question 8

what is an incumbent?

Answer 8

a person who currently hold office

Question 9

what advantage do incumbents have?

Answer 9

“the incumbency effect”- the already have name recognition, benefit from larger donations and funds,

Question 10

in which cases have presidents been re-elected without serious opposition from the parties?

Answer 10

Ronald Reagan(1984), Bill Clinton(1996), George W. Bush(2004), Obama (2012)

Question 11

how was the presidential nomination process reformed?

Answer 11

following 1968 election, the democrats produced the McGovern-Fraser Commission. which recommended a series of reforms, which increased number of primaries

Question 12

what are the strengths of the new nomination process?

Answer 12

• increased participation, in 2016 61 million Americans took part in nomination process
• increased choice in candidates
• open to outsiders from politics e.g Donald trump

Question 13

what are the weaknesses of the new nomination process?

Answer 13

• widespread voter apathy and boredom
• voters are unrepresentative of the voting age population
• election process is far too long
• process is too expensive
• process is dominated by the media
• primaries can turn into bitter personal battles
• lack of peer review

Question 14

in which ways could the nomination process be improved?

Answer 14

improvements are mostly concerned with timing of primaries.

• suggestions include a move towards regional primaries.
• give greater weight to the votes of elected politicians

Question 15

what was David Atkins 5 point plan to reform nomination process

Answer 15

• abolish caucuses and replace them with primaries
• abolish closed primaries
• rotate order of primaries to increase geographic diversity
• Tie super-delegate votes to primary results in their respective states
• allow candidates to select their own delegates

Question 16

what are the strategies for choosing a vice president?

Answer 16

• balanced ticket- pairing a president and VP who attract different voters
• potential in government - adopted by Bush in 2000 by choosing dick Cheney as VP
• party unity- choosing a former rival e.g Biden and VP Kamala Harris

Question 17

why are televised debates significant?

Answer 17

they give a chance for candidates to talk unfiltered to the electorate, to show what substance they have

Question 18

how did the first debate in 2012 between Obama and Mitt Romney turn the polls in favour of Romney?

Answer 18

Romney was animated, coherent, and aggressive, looking presidential. whilst Obama seemed disengaged and flat.

Question 19

why in debates is style more important than substance?

Answer 19

How you say something is often more important than what you say. e.g 2016 trump was criticised for his rude tone and interrupting whilst Clinton was speaking.

in 2000 Gore was ridiculed on SNL for interrupting Bush frequently and rolling his eyes

Question 20

why can verbal gaffes be costly in debates?

Answer 20

in 1980 president Carter mentioned how his 10 year old daughter had talked about nuclear weapons, cartoonist had a field day at carters expense
in 2016 trump refused to say he would respect the result whether he won or lost, this did not worry his supporters

Question 21

how can good soundbites help in debates?

Answer 21

many voters do not watch full debate so see soundbites of it.
e.g in 2012 obama accused Romney of favouring ‘foreign policy of 1980s, the social policy of 1950s and economic policy of 1920s’

Question 22

how can debates be more difficult for incumbents than it Is for challengers?

Answer 22

incumbents have to defend their actions for words spoken 4 years earlier that can be thrown back at them, incumbents have higher standards as frontrunner. as was the problem for Obama in 2012

Question 23

what effect do debates have on voters?

Answer 23

debates more confirm what voters already feel about candidates rather than change minds, however they can convert passive supporters and those who would not usually vote

Question 24

what is the October surprise?

Answer 24

an event occurring late in presidential campaign to the disadvantage of one candidate, leaving them with little to no time to recover. e.g 2016 FBI director said he reopened investigation into Clintons e-mails 11 days before election, this damaged Clintons campaign

Question 25

what was peak of election turnout?

Answer 25

peaked in 1960-67%

Question 26

when did voter turnout drop from 1960?

Answer 26

1980- 54.7%

1996- 51.4%

Question 27

what was turnout of 2008 election?

Answer 27

2008 turnout 62.3%

Question 28

what had turnout dropped to in 2016?

Answer 28

turnout in 2016 at 54%

Question 29

what is is the number of incumbent presidents who have won re-election?

Answer 29

since 1796, 31 president have run re-election, of these 22 (71%) have won

Question 30

which presidents in the modern day have been defeated for re-election?

Answer 30

Gerald ford, Jimmy Carter, George H.W Bush and Donald Trump

Question 31

why can it be difficult to defeat an incumbent?

Answer 31

presidents can conserve their time and money during primaries while challengers spend their money
challengers often face an uphill battle, which can discourage stronger candidates from entering

Question 32

what is the incumbency factor?

Answer 32

the factor of the incumbent having an advantage from currently being in office