US Democracy and Participation

Question 1

What are requirements for a presidential candidate that aren’t and are in the Constitution?

Answer 1

-Political experience
-Major party endorsement (chosen candidate for one of the major two parties)
-Personal characteristics
-Ability to raise large sums of money
-Effective organisation
-Oratorical skills + being telegenic
-Sound and relevant policies

Constitution:
-Fixed term elections occur every 4 years.
-President must be: natural-born American, age 35+, with a residence qualification of 14 years.

Question 2

What groups of politicians are major pools of recruitment for Presidential candidates + statistic?

Answer 2

-State governors
-Senators
-Of the 19 people nominated 1968 to 2016, 11 had served as a state governor and 8 in the Senate.
-Trump first person to be elected without political or military experience.

Question 3

What are the 7 stages of PEs?

Answer 3

1 - Invisible primary (announce candidates)
2 - Primaries and caucuses
3 - Choosing VP candidates
4 - National party conventions (confirm VP + P candidates)
5 - General E campaign
6 - Election day (voters go to polls)
7 - Electoral college voting

Question 4

What happens during the invisible primary?

Answer 4

-Announcement of candidacy
-Televised party debates
-Fundraising
-Important to end the IP as the front-runner as IP is critical in determining who the winning candidate may be.

Question 5

Was fundraising during the IP of 2016 an indicator of success?

Answer 5

-No
-Clinton raised $130M to Trump’s $25.5M
-Trump won

Question 6

Define primary + what are the 3 types?

Answer 6

A state-wide election in which people cast a ballot for their party’s candidate for the presidency.
The majority of states hold primaries rather than caucuses.

Open = all voters in a state can participate whether they are a member of the party or not.
Closed = only registered party members can vote.
Modified = allow those registered as independents to vote in either party’s primary/caucus.

Question 7

Define caucus

Answer 7

A public meeting in which party supporters will vote either by moving to a part of the room for a certain candidate or through a show of hands.
-States that hold caucuses are usually geographically large but thinly populated.
-E.g Iowa, North Dakota, Nevada.

Question 8

What are delegates + the 3 ways they are elected?

Answer 8

-Delegates attend NPCs and vote for a nominee on behalf of their state.

-Proportionally
-Winner takes all
-Proportional unless one candidate receives overwhelming majority 50%-85%.

Question 9

What factors affect voter turnout of primaries?

Answer 9

Demography - better educated, higher-income and older members of the electorate are more likely to vote in primaries (+ more ideological).

Type of primary - open primaries attract a higher turnout.

Competitiveness of the race - 2008 + 2016 when both parties had a competitive nomination race, turnout was significantly higher.

Whether the nomination has been decided - primaries scheduled earlier in the nomination calendar attract higher turnouts.

Question 10

What are strengths of the McGovern-Fraser reforms to the nomination process?

Answer 10

-Increased participation from 11% in 1968 to 30% in 2016.
-Increased choice of candidates from 5 in 1968 to 22 in 2016.
-Opened up the process to politicians without a national reputation.
-Primaries are now seen as an appropriately demanding job for a demanding job.

Question 11

What are weaknesses of the McGovern-Fraser reforms?

Answer 11

-Widespread voter apathy and boredom in a year.
-Voters are unrepresentative of the voting-age population meaning ideological candidates often do better.
-Process is too long.
-Process is too expensive as candidates must raise large sums of money e.g Clinton raised $275 million 2016.
-Process is too media dominated as voters are over-reliant on the media for information.
-Candidates are no longer chosen by other politicians who are more qualified and informed.

Question 12

What are proposals for reform of the nomination process?

Answer 12

David Atkins 5-point plan (2016):
-Abolish caucuses to increase participation and make voters more representative.
-Abolish closed primaries.
-Rotate the order of primaries to increase geographic diversity.
-Allow candidates to select their own delegates to prevent them failing to support their candidates.
-Tie super-delegate votes to the primary results of their respective states.

Question 13

What are influential factors in selecting the VP with examples?

Answer 13

-Balanced ticket (demographic) e.g 2008 Obama chose Biden who was a 65 year old white male with 36 years in the Senate to his 3.

-Potential in government e.g GW. Bush chose Dick Cheney who had extensive experience in the White House unlike Bush who had none.

-Party unity e.g former rival e.g Reagan chose H.W Bush in 1980.

Question 14

What are formal functions of NPCs?

Answer 14

-Selecting the presidential candidate (usually just confirmation).
-Selects the party’s VP (this role has been lost).
-Decide the party platform (theoretical as most is decided by ‘platform committees’ beforehand).

Question 15

what are informal functions of NPCs?

Answer 15

-Promote party unity after party divisions have been exposed during the candidate race e.g losing candidate endorses nominee in speech.
-Enthusing the party faithful.
-Enthusing ordinary voters with extensive TV coverage.

Question 16

What are battleground states? 2024 example.

Answer 16

-States where both major political parties have a strong chance of winning, and where the outcome is uncertain or could swing in either direction.
-Play a crucial role in determining the outcome.

2024:
Arizona (R), Georgia (R), Michigan (R), Nevada (R), North Carolina (R), Pennsylvania (R), Wisconsin (R).

Question 17

Evidence that televised debates are game-changing.

Answer 17

1980 P Carter and Reagan - Reagan’s closing questions shaped the way voters would make up their minds in the last vital days of campaign.

Question 18

Evidence that televised debates are NOT game-changing.

Answer 18

2012 Obama v Romney first debates swung polls in favour of Romney, with Obama looking disengaged, flat and inept BUT he swept to a comfortable victory.

Clinton outperformed Trump in all 3 debates 2016 yet lost the election.

Question 19

Examples

How can televised debates impact a candidates campaign?

Answer 19

-Affects how they’re percieved e.g Trump criticised for abrasive tone ‘you’re wrong’.
-Gain publicity e.g Clinton 1997 ‘I don’t think Senator Dole is too old to be P. It’s the age of his ideas that I question’.

Question 20

What is ‘October surprise’ + examples?

Answer 20

-Event late in campaign that disadvantages a candidate.

-2016 reopening of case against Clinton 11 days before E. Nothing was found but it halted Clinton’s ability to erode Trump’s support in swing states during final week.

Question 21

How has election funding been reformed?

Answer 21

-Federal Campaign Act 1974 (result of Watergate scandal) limited contributions from individuals, unions and corporations.
-‘Matching funds’ 1976-2008 where Federal Election Commission gave federal money to candidates who met criteria and agreed to certain limitations.
-Partly successful but too many loopholes.
-Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act 2002

Question 22

What was the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act?

Answer 22

-2002
-Banned raising of soft-money.
-Labour unions/corporations banned from directly funding candidates within 60 days of a GE or 30 days of a primary.
-Limits on individual contributions to candidates.
-Foreign nationals banned from contributing.

Question 23

How have party funding reforms been limited?

Answer 23

Loopholes:
-1976 Buckley v Valeo SC ruled limitations were unconstitutional.
-1979 Congress allowed parties to raise money for voter-registration and party-building activities etc. (soft-money).
-2008 Obama opted out of matching funds and signed legislation in 2014 to end public financing of the party’s national conventions (end of public funding).
-Introduction of PACs.

Question 24

How did Elon Musk’s involvement in the 2024 election highlight failure to prevent the politicisation of party funding?

Answer 24

-Set up a super PAC and spent approximately $200 million.
-Used to boost turnout in battleground states.
-If you registered to vote you could win $75-$80,000.

Question 25

What are PACs?

Answer 25

-Represent business, labour, ideological or single-issue groups.
-Allows them to contribute to campaign funding (unlimited independent political expenditure).
-Established by constitutional rulings (SC Citizens United v Federal Election Committee 2010).

Question 26

Example of Super PAC funding in 2016.

Answer 26

‘Prioritises Action’ - $192 million for Clinton.

‘Rebuilding America Now’ - $22.6 million for Trump.
‘Our Principles’ - $19 million for Trump.

Question 27

What are arguments to suggest money DOES influence election outcomes?

Answer 27

-2020 Biden out-funded Trump + won.
-2020 Senate race for Arizona: Mark Kelly (D) raised $30 million more than incumbent Martha McSally (R) and won.
-Superior funding enables candidates to air more TV ads and employ more fieldworkers/campaign staff, both of which are important for maximising their votes.

Question 28

What are arguments to suggest money does NOT influence election outcomes?

Answer 28

-2016 Clinton out-funded Trump and lost.
-2020 Senate race for South Carolina: incumbent Lindsay Graham (R) was outspent over $40 million by Jaime Harrison (D) but was safely re-elected.
-Ability to raise large funds just indicates a stronger challenger, a popular incumbent or an existing legislator. Money follows strong and viable candidates rather than making them.
-Only one factor of many.

Question 29

What was the outcome of the 2024 US E?

Answer 29

Harris: 226 ECV + 74 million votes

Trump: 312 ECV + 77 million votes

Question 30

What was the turnout of the 2020 and 2024 elections?

Answer 30

2020: 65%

2024: 65%

Question 31

Extra: what party does it favour?

What are ECVs? Why does the US use this system?

Answer 31

-Electoral College Votes.
-Every state has at least 3 - 1 Representative + 2 Senators.
-Candidates need a majority of at least 270/538.

-Ensures low population states are not neglected + gives sufficient representation of larger states, serving the purpose of federalism.
-Prevents direct election by the population.

Republicans

Question 32

What are arguments for Electoral College reform + examples?

Answer 32

-Small states are over-represented. E.g California 1 ECV per 713,000 people but Wyoming 1 ECV per 195,000 people.
-Winner-take-all system distorts the result e.g in 2000 and 2016 the popular vote candidate lost the ECV.
-Unfair to national third parties e.g 1992 independent Ross Perot won 18.9% popular vote but not one ECV.
-Rogue electors may cast their ballots differently to the popular vote, undermining democracy.
-Bellwether states are overrepresented as other states are almost ignored.
-P + VP from different parties.

Question 33

What are argument against Electoral College reform?

Answer 33

-Preserves the voice of small-population states.
-Guards against tyranny of the majority.
-Helps to maintain federalism by enabling different electoral procedures in each state.
-Promotes a two-horse race by producing a clear winner.
-Lack of consensus on reform.

Question 34

(3)

What are suggestions for EC reform?

Answer 34

-Direct Election: no longer need to gain absolute majority. Could be seen as an issue for some (2007 poll 23% opposed) as P could be elected with under 50% of vote.
-Congressional district system: awarding 1 ECV to a candidate for each congressional district they win + 2 ECVs to state-wide winner. Could distort the result/make it less proportionate when candidates have less concentrated support.
-Proportional system: result determined by a mathematical computation. Fairer system to third parties, but would make it more likely for no candidate to gain a majority.

Question 35

What changes did the 17th Amendment make to the Senate?

Answer 35

-Now directly elected.
-Same as HoR

Question 36

When are midterm elections?

Answer 36

Congressional elections:
-Senators serve for 6 years, meaning 1/3 of senators are up for election every 2 years.
-Representatives serve 2 year terms.
-Held on a Tuesday after the first Monday in November, in years divisible by 4.

Question 37

(5)

What are trends in congressional elections?

Answer 37

-Power of incumbency is significant.
-Coattails effect is limited.
-Split-ticket voting is declining - voting for different parties.
-Fewer competitive House districts.
-P’s party tends to lose seats in midterms.

Question 38

Why is the power of incumbency significant in midterms?

Answer 38

-Strong support for incumbents in the House.
-Re-election rates for 2018 midterms were 84% for the Senate and 91% for the House.
-Incumbents can provide funding for constituency projects, benefiting the state and gaining popularity.
-High name recognition.
-Fundraising advantages.

Question 39

What is the coattails effect + how is it limited?

Answer 39

When a strong candidate for a party can help other party candidates in lower office to get elected.
E.g Reagan 1980 helped his party gain 33 seats in the House and 12 in the Senate, with 12 incumbent D defeats.

2016 + 2020 seats gained by Rs aren’t credited to Trump as they generally won a higher share of the vote in their state than Trump.

Question 40

What are competitive districts, how are they declining and what is the impact?

Answer 40

District in which the winner won by less than 10% points at the previous Es.
The number of competitive districts has fallen from 111 in 1992 to 31 in 2016.
Fewer competitive districts means high levels of partisanship.

Question 41

What is federalism?

Answer 41

A decentralised form of government.

Question 42

What organisations do the D and R have at a national level?

Answer 42

National committees:
-Raise money, hire staff and coordinate the election strategy.
Congressional leadership

Democrat National Committees + Republican National Committees

Question 43

What is the main reason why US political parties are decentralised?

Answer 43

-Federalism
-Divided political power between national and state governments.

Question 44

What factors have led to strengthened party structure?

Answer 44

-Campaign finance laws (money flowed more to national party).
-More access points to the public via television + media.
-More ideologically cohesive + political polarisation.

Structure of main parties more ‘top-down’ than ‘bottom-up’ like before.

BUT there is still a clear divide between national and state parties.

Question 45

What kind of party system does the US have + evidence?

Answer 45

Two-party.
After 2016, the two major parties controlled 533 of 535 seats in Congress.

Also known as a duopoly.

Even politics as a state level is dominated by two parties, unlike the UK.

Question 46

5 disadvantages to third parties.

What factors contribute to the creation of the two-party system + examples?

Answer 46

1. Electoral system - FPTP/winner-takes-all system disadvantages third parties because they lack concentrated support.
2. Ballot access laws - challenging criteria to get name on the ballot.
3. Lack of resources - people reluctant to fund as they will lose.
4. Lack media coverage - unaffordable + barred from televised debates.
5. Co-optation - major parties adopt their niche policies so they’re not needed.

1. 1992 Ross Perot (Reform Party) won 19% of the vote with no ECVs.
2. In California, candidates must gain the signatures of 1% of the electorate in the state.
3. By 2000, Reform Party’s vote had fallen from 19% in 1992 to 0.4% due to Clinton’s co-optation of their flagship policy.

Question 47

What are examples of third parties in the US + what share of the vote did they win 2024?

Answer 47

Green Party (permanent)
Libertarian Party (permanent)
National third parties and independents accounted for only 1.9% of the vote in 2024 (2.9 million votes) .

Question 48

Give examples of elections when a third party affected the outcome?

Answer 48

2024 the Green Party supporting Harris affected the outcome in particular states.
2000 the Green Party, led by Nader, recieved 2.7% of the vote, affecting the outcome in some key swing states and contributing to Gore’s defeat.

Question 49

Arguments for why third parties do NOT play a significant role.

Answer 49

-Two main parties dominate presidential Es, Congress, and state politics.
-Two main parties will often co-opt the policies of successful third parties, curtailing their electoral success.

Question 50

What percentage of the vote was won by third parties in 2010 senate races?

Answer 50

Average 4.5%

Question 51

Key examples to show ideology.

What are key aspects of Republican ideology?

Answer 51

-American exceptionalism (America is uniquely free)
-Mixture of neo-conservative and neo-liberal ideas.
-Acknowledge need for state intervention in society/economy but small.
-More traditional in its attitude to moral issues than liberal Ds.
-Most are heavily informed by christianity.

Question 52

LGBTQ+

What are key moral issues that highlight R ideology?

Answer 52

-Oppose abortion.
-Favour minimal gun control.
-Oppose gay marriage.

2010 Obama legislated to allow gay people to serve in the military.

2017 Trump issued executive order to ban transgender individuals from serving in the forces.

Question 53

What are key examples of it in R ideology?

Define rugged individualism

R’s ideas on economy.

Answer 53

The idea that the individual is of paramount importance and shouldn’t be limited by the government/society.
They should be selfishly self-interested and not feel guilty for it.
Negative freedom (freedom from).

Key NL + CL idea.

Opposition to publicly owned healthcare.

Question 54

What are key economic issues that have highlighted R ideology?

Answer 54

-Rejected American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 2009 ($787 billion stimulus after financial crash).
-Rejected Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Consumer Protection Act 2010 (regulated Wall Street after crash).
-Trump 2017 withdrew from Paris Agreement (environment).

Saw it as an excuse to establish unprecedented government control over the nation’s financial markets.

Question 55

How have Republicans shown support for some level of social welfare as a safety-net?

Answer 55

-Support Medicaid (health insurance for low-income/disabled/elderly).
-Support Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.
-Support the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Programme (food stamps).

Question 56

What are the key aspects of Democrat ideology?

Answer 56

-Larger role for the state and progressive approach to social/moral issues.
-Informed by modern liberalism + equality of opportunity.
-Advocate change and reform.
-Positive freedom (freedom to).

Question 57

What acts highlight the Ds progressive approach to moral/social issues?

Answer 57

-Civil Rights Act 1964 + Voting Rights Act 1965.
-Called for a Justice in Policing Act after death of George Floyd 2020.
-Obama passed the Hate Crime Prevention Act 2010 (protect LGBTQ+).
-Defense of Marriage Act 2011 (legalised gay marriage).

Question 58

Economic policies of the Ds.

What do the Ds believe about the economy?

Answer 58

-Government should intervene sometimes to stimulate the economy because mass unemployment negates individual freedom.
-More willing to intervene in free market.
-Positive freedom.
-Agree with tax but not excessive.
-Advocate minimum wage.

Obama - American recovery and Reinvestment Act 2009.
Biden - Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act 2020.

Question 59

What do Ds believe about social welfare? Give some examples.

Answer 59

-Enabling state.
-Government’s role includes responsibility for education, health, housing and the environment.
-Greater gun control.
-Softer immigration policy.
-Abolish death penalty.

Obama - Affordable Care Act 2010
Obama - Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) 2012

Question 60

What are functions of party factions?

Answer 60

-Accentuate policies.
-Reflect geographic, economic, generational, religious or ideological groups.
-Widen voter appeal.
-Focus on particular aspect of ideology.

Question 61

What are the 3 Republican factions?

Answer 61

Moderate - favour fiscal policy (lower taxes + business-friendly). Greater tolerance of more liberal views on rights. E.g. 2018 Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins opposed a provision to ban abortion after 20 weeks.

Fiscal - joined ‘Tea Party’ movement for lower federal taxes and lower government spending/involvement. E.g. Trump’s 2020 election budget giving $4.4 trillion spending cuts in Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

Social - gravitated towards the Moral Majority in 1980s. Sometimes known as the ‘religious/Christian right’. Strict conservative stance on moral issues. E.g. supported overturning of Roe v Wade.

Fiscal + social shown antipathy towards moderate.
Moral Majority = haven for Christian evangelicals to further conservative religious agenda.

Question 62

What are the 3 Democrat factions?

Answer 62

Liberals - left of the party, critical of capitalism and favour greater government intervention to achieve equality of opportunity. E.g. Bernie Sanders 2016 election campaign advocated free reducation, universal healthcare and increased taxes.

Moderates - centre of the party, liberal values but willing to compromise. E.g. Biden agreed to not raise taxes on Americans making under $400,000.

Conservatives - (Blue Dog Ds) right of the party, uncommon, socially and morally conservative but agree with Ds on fiscal/economic policy. E.g. Joe Manchin only D to vote for Kavanaugh appointment to SC 2018.

Question 63

What did the 1990s change about US politics?

Answer 63

Brought about a seismic shift in American politics, leading to ideological changes within the parties.

Seismic = huge changes

Question 64

What is Red America?

What is Blue America?

Answer 64

-White, overwhelmingly Protestant (evangelical) and joined by practising Catholics (abortion). Wealthy, rural or suburban + conservative.
-Pro-guns, pro-life, pro-traditional marriage and against Obama.

-Racially rainbow coalition of white, black, Asian and Hispanic Americans.
-Wealthier, predominantely urban and unmistakably liberal.
-Pro-choice, pro-gun control legislation, pro same-sex marriage, supportive of Obamacare.