US elections Flashcards
Invisible primary
Time between a candidate formally announcing that they are running and the first official primary or caucus.
What happened to republican candidates in the invisible primary in 2016
5 out of 17 candidates withdrew during invisible primary - lack of funding or lack of good polling.
What tactic did trump use to attack candidates during invisible primary
How many republican primary debates where there in 2016
12
What does the invisible primary give candidates the time to do
raise the huge funds required for a successful campaign
Political Action Committees (PACs) are …
Groups which raise money to support a candidate - can donate a maximum of $5,000 to as many campaigns as they like
What is a Super-PAC
A group which can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money to either oppose or support a candidate, they can not directly fund a campaign
What is an open primary
Allow voters to vote in either parties primary whether they are a registered member or not - they can not vote in both primaries.
Closed Primaries
only voters who are members of the registered party can vote in the primary for the party they are a member of - no one else
Semi-closed primary
Registered voters can only vote in their party’s primary or caucus
Unregistered can choose which primary to vote in
What is a caucus
- An intra party town-hall-style meeting - used by 14 states
What three ways can primaries be calculated
Proportionally
Winner Takes all
Proportional unless a threshold is reached
What is frontloading
States want their primary to be earlier because it is therefore more important in deciding who the candidate will be, if it is late on the candidate may already be decided.
Give an example showing why frontloading is important
By the time California voted in the 2016 Republican primary, all candidates except Trump had withdrawn.
What is done at a national convention
Formally nominate Presidential and Vice-presidential candidate
Party platform - party policy
Battle ground state
A state where the winner is uncertain and therefore the candidates will focus much of their campaign in these states.
Bellwether state
a state which has historically tended to vote for the winning presidential candidate.
what statistic shows that only a few bellwether states tend to decide the election
In 2016 94% of events by either Trump, Pence Clinton or Kaine took place in just 12 states.
what percentage of the vote does a candidate need to be included in presidential televised debates
15% - so its usually just two candidates
How much influence do televised debates usually have on the final result of an election
not really a decider - Hillary Clinton appeared to have won each debate according to the polling but lost the election.
How many elections are there on election day
Election day is 50 separate state-wide elections, all run with different rules and processes.
How many states use the Winner takes all system on election day
all but two
What does the control states have over the election have on election results
can be controversial - Butterfly ballots’ - supreme court decided election on 2000
What is a faithless elector
elector who votes differently to how their state voted
