US vs Australia electoral processes

Question 1

America’s political system

Answer 1

Representative democracy and a republic organised as a federation

Question 2

Australia’s political system

Answer 2

Washminster hybrid

Question 3

Composition of executive in the US and Australia

Answer 3

US- President, vice president, cabinet secretaries
Aus- King/Governor general, PM and deputy PM, cabinet

Question 4

Role of the executive in the US and Australia

Answer 4

US and Aus- Administers the law, requests/introduces new laws on major policy areas

Question 5

What does the executive branch represent in the US and Aus

Answer 5

US- the people
Aus- will of parliament

Question 6

Method of appointment in the executive branch in the US and Aus

Answer 6

US- president chosen through electoral college, ministers appointed by president and then voted on by the senate
Aus- Drawn from parliament, gov is indirectly elected, GG appoints ministers

Question 7

Composition of the legislative branch in the US and Aus

Answer 7

Both bicameral- ‘peoples house’ and ‘states’ house’

Question 8

Role of the legislative in the US and Aus

Answer 8

Both create, scrutinise and approve laws

Question 9

What does the legislative represent in the US and Aus

Answer 9

Both represent the will of the people

Question 10

How are people appointed as part of the legislative branch in the US and Aus

Answer 10

Both directly elected by the people

Question 11

Two houses of the US Congress

Answer 11

‘The house’ and the senate

Question 12

How many members are in ‘the house’, what is the term length and requirements to become a member

Answer 12

435, 2 years, must be 25+ years old, US citizen for 7+ years

Question 13

How many members are in the US’s senate, what is the length of the terms and requirements to be a member

Answer 13

100 members, 6 years, must be 30+ years old, US citizen for 9+ years, resident of the state they are representing

Question 14

Composition of the judiciary in the US and Aus

Answer 14

Both constitutional/high court

Question 15

Role of the judiciary in the US and Aus

Answer 15

US- Act as a check on the powers of both the legislature and executive
Uphold law, constitution and bill of rights
Aus- same except don’t uphold bill of rights (don’t have them)

Question 16

What does the judiciary represent in the US and Aus

Answer 16

Both represent rule of law

Question 17

Method of appointment into the judiciary in the US and Aus

Answer 17

US- through the president and senate
Aus- GG on advice from the PM

Question 18

What are primaries

Answer 18

run by State, when party members vote for the best candidate that will represent them in the general election (mini-election)

Question 19

What are caucuses

Answer 19

run by parties, when party members select the best candidate through discussions and votes (more of a meeting)

Question 20

Who can vote in primaries and caucuses

Answer 20

Citizens but can only vote for the party they are a member of

Question 21

Why do some drop out of primaries/caucuses

Answer 21

they slowly happen nationally meaning that some candidates eventually drop out due to limited funds

Question 22

What happens at national conventions

Answer 22

presidential nominee is selected and they choose their running mate

Question 23

Who do people vote for in US elections

Answer 23

People vote for electors who then go to Washington to vote for their party (can be faithless voters that vote for opposite party)

Question 24

How many electors are there and why?

Answer 24

There are 538 electors (need 270 to win) because it is equal to the total voting membership of the US congress- 435 representatives, 100 senators and 3 electors from the District of Columbia

Question 25

How are electors delegated to states

Answer 25

Each state has a different number of electors depending on population

Question 26

Safe state

Answer 26

states that have a long history of voting for a particular party

Question 27

Swing state

Answer 27

states that switch/teeter between parties

Question 28

Who could vote in the US in 1789

Answer 28

1789- Only white, male property owners could vote (only 6% of US population)

Question 29

Universal suffrage

Answer 29

Happened in 1830, meant that you no longer had to own property to vote but it was still restricted to white men

Question 30

When did women win the right to vote in the US

Answer 30

1920

Question 31

Voting Rights Act

Answer 31

1965, section 5 meant that states with a history of racist legislation couldn’t make laws that infringe on POC without federal governments permission which applied to states that had imposed unfair literacy tests, or if less than 50% of the voting age population was registered and/or didn’t vote in the presidential election

Question 32

Changes to the 26th amendment

Answer 32

1971, meant that all US citizens 18+ could vote

Question 33

What happened in 2013

Answer 33

Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act was found unconstitutional (4-5 votes) giving states the power to make it harder for minorities to vote (E.g- Allowed voter ID laws (need photo ID), NC eliminated 7 days of early voting, exact match law in 2017 prevented 53,000 people from voting 70% of which were African American, polling place closures- Randolph County (Georgia) tried to close 7/9 polling booths but after a lawsuit they stayed open)

Question 34

Who argued against the Voting Rights Act

Answer 34

Shelby County (Tennesse) argued that the requirements were burdensome and ‘needlessly’ aggressive as they were based on outdated data making it unconstitutional- undermined right to self-govern