US Elections Flashcards
when do presidential elections happen and how are they diffrent to the UK?
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
what are the 7 stages of the presidential election?
the invisible primary
primary and caucuses
choseing the vice presidential candidate
national party conventions
general election campaign
Election day
electoral collage
who can run for president according to article 2 of the constitution ?
a ‘natural born’ american citizen
35 yrs+
resident in US for 14 yrs
only 2- terms in office
what is a war chest?
the amount of money a candidate raises
what are some entry requirements not mentioned in the constitution?
-political experience
-endorsement of major party
-personal characteristics (most has been white male married, no scandals ect)
-ability to raise money
-effective political organization
-policies with substance
what is the function of the invisible primary and when does it happen?
the calendar year before the election - candidates declare their intention to run for president, gains recognition and money (war-chest)
what is a primary and a caucus and when do they happen?
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
held mid- January to the beginning of June
what are the advantages of an invisible primary?
-it helps candidates get visibly and build a platform
- allows for a range if different candidates
- media scrutinises candidates in greater detail
what are the disadvantages of the invisible primary?
-lacks serious debate
-dependent of fundraising
-voter apathy
-hidden scandals may be unearthed after the invisible primary so they don’t fulfil there function
name and describe all the different types of primaries
Closed 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
what does incumbent president mean?
current president
what are the strengths of primaries?
-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
weakness of the primaries?
-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 and use voters that are too ideological
What factors affect turnout in primaries? Whos more likely to vote?
higher-educated, higher income and older people are more likely to vote in primaries than younger, less-educated and poorer people
what does the Presidential candidate look for in the vice-presidential candidate?(stage 3)
-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)
when are national conferences held?
august/September of an election year for 3-4 days
what functions did the national party conventions historically do and how has this changed?
-Choose the party’s presidential candidate (now delegates just confirm)
-Choosing the vice-presidential candidate (now it’s usually announced before the convention)
-Deciding the party platform (a doc containing party policies that the candidate intends to pursue if elected)
now that all 3 convention functions are now questionable what informal functions do they preform?
-Promoting party unity - probably the most important function
-Enthusing the party faithful
-Enthusing ordinary voters
What are the advantages of conventions?
-They give exposure for the candidate and they can experience a bounce which can have a positive impact on their campaign
-it allows candidates to set a narrative
what are the Disadvantage of conventions?
-few major decisions are taken all former functions are now done before
-they offer little detail about policy and are usually reduced to soundbites
what elections had the winner not won the popular vote but won the electoral college vote?
-2000 AL gore won the popular vote but George bush won the electoral college
-2016 Hillary Clinton won almost three million votes more then trump but
trump won a majority electoral college votes
How many electoral collage votes are there? and how many do you have to win to get a presidency?
538 and to win a candidate must win an absolute majority of 270
why did the founding fathers set up the electoral collage?
to elect the president indirectly due to a fear of the popular vote and tyranny
What is the coattails effect?
this is where candidates benefit from the popular presidents or governers coattails because they run in the same year
