US Elections

Question 1

when do presidential elections happen and how are they diffrent to the UK?

Answer 1

America has fixed term elections that happen every 4 years while in the UK the pm are able to chose when elections are through royal prerogative

Question 2

what are the 7 stages of the presidential election?

Answer 2

the invisible primary
primary and caucuses
choseing the vice presidential candidate
national party conventions
general election campaign
Election day
electoral collage

Question 3

who can run for president according to article 2 of the constitution ?

Answer 3

a ‘natural born’ american citizen
35 yrs+
resident in US for 14 yrs
only 2- terms in office

Question 4

what is a war chest?

Answer 4

the amount of money a candidate raises

Question 5

what are some entry requirements not mentioned in the constitution?

Answer 5

-political experience
-enforcement of major party
-personal charteristics ( most has been white male married, no scandals ect)
-ability to raise money
-effective political organization
-sound and relevance policies

Question 6

what is the function of the invisible primary and when does it happen?

Answer 6

it happens on the calendar year before the election and it’s when the candidates declare there intention to run this is very important to gain recognition and money

Question 7

what is a primary and what is a caucus and when do they happen ?

Answer 7

primary- a state based election to chose a party’s candidate for presidency
caucuses- state based series of meeting that chose a party’s candidate for presidency
when- they are held mid- January to the beginning of June

Question 8

what are the advantages of an invisible primady?

Answer 8

-it helps candidates get visibly and build a platform
- allows for a rage if different candidates
- media scrutinises candidates in grater detail

Question 9

what are the disadvantages of the invisible primary?

Answer 9

-lacks serious debate
- dependent of fundraising
- voter apathy
-hidden scandals may be unearthed after the invisible primary so they don’t fill there function

Question 10

name and describe all the different types of primaries?

Answer 10

Closes primary - where only registered members of that party can vote
Open primary- where any registered voter can vote in the primary of either party
modified primaries- where only registered members of that party can vote but independents can vote in any
Proportional primaries- this is when the number of delegates are awarded proportionally to the votes won

Question 11

what does incumbent president mean?

Answer 11

current president

Question 12

what are the strengths of primaries?

Answer 12

-there in an increased level of participation by ordinary voters
- wider range of candidates
- opened to outsiders
- the power if party bosses are reduced
- maintains federalism as the states decide whether to hold primaries and caucuses

Question 13

weakness of the primaries?

Answer 13

• produce apathy and bordem
• voters are unrepresentative of the voting-age population
• process is expensive
• too media dominated
  -can develop into bitter personal battles
• caucuses are undemocratic with voters that are too ideological

Question 14

What factors affect turnout in primaries? Whos more likely to vote?

Answer 14

higher-educated, higher income and older people are more likely to vote in primaries than younger, less-educated and poorer people

Question 15

what does the Presidential candidate look for in the vice-presidential candidate?(stage 3)

Answer 15

• They look for a balanced ticket
  -They look for balance sometimes to promote the best government
  -They may be chosen to premote party unity (sometimes when 2 candidates clash throught the primaries they may choose them as candidate)

Question 16

when are national conferences held?

Answer 16

august/September of an election year for 3-4 days

Question 17

what functions did the national party conventions historically do?

Answer 17

1- Choose the party’s presidential candidate (now delegates just confirm)
2-Choosing the vice-presidential candidate (now it’s usually announced before the convention)
3- Deciding the party platform (a doc containing party policies that the candidate intends to pursue if elected)

Question 18

now that all 3 convention functions are now questionable what informal functions do they preform?

Answer 18

1. Promoting party unity - probably the most important function
2. Enthusing the party faithful
3. Enthusing ordinary voters

Question 19

What are the advantages of conventions?

Answer 19

1. They give exposure for the candidate and they can experience a bounce which can have a positive impact on there campaign
2. it allows candidates to set a narrative

Question 20

what are the Disadvantage of conventions?

Answer 20

1.few major decisions are taken all former functions are now done before
2.They offer little detail about policy and are usually reduced to soundbites

Question 21

what elections had the winner not won the popular vote but won the electoral collage vote?

Answer 21

• 2000 AL gore won the popular vote but George bush won the electoral collage
  -2016 Hillary Clinton won almost three million votes more then trump but
  trump won a majority electoral collage votes

Question 22

How many electoral collage votes are there? and how many do you have to win to get a presidency?

Answer 22

538 and to win a candidate must win an absolute majority of 270