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The Rules of Elections: Nominations, Conventions, and the Electoral College

This chapter discusses the process of running for president, including nominations, conventions, the electoral college, and congressional elections. It also explores the advantages and disadvantages of the electoral college and the role of gerrymandering in congressional elections.

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The Rules of Elections: Nominations, Conventions, and the Electoral College

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  1. LongmanPoliticalScienceInteractive Magleby & Light Government by the People Chapter 8 Campaigns and Elections

  2. Elections: The Rules of the Game Elections are held at fixed intervals that cannot be changed by the party in power Terms are fixed and, for some offices, staggered

  3. Running For President Stage 1: The Nomination • Campaigning begins well before any declaration of candidacy, as candidates try to: • Line up supporters to win caucuses or primaries in key states (New Hampshire and Iowa) • Raise money for their nomination effort • Mobilize "activist" base of supporters

  4. Running For President Stage 1: The Nomination • Primaries: state by state elections held by parties to select a candidate • Beauty contest – (no delegates selected) • Caucuses and state primaries – (delegates selected) • "Frontloading" – states move to hold primaries earlier and earlier • "Super Tuesday" – many states hold a primary on the same day (first Tuesday in March) • Systems • Proportional representation • Winner takes all • Delegate selection without a commitment to a candidate (super delegates)

  5. The Presidential Campaign: Typical Campaign Organization

  6. Campaign Strategies Selecting a theme Negative Campaigning Using focus groups and polling News management Paid advertising Seeking free airtime

  7. Running For President Stage 2: The National Party Convention National Party Convention A national meeting of delegates elected in primaries, caucuses, or state conventions who assemble once every four years to nominate candidates for president and vice president, ratify the party platform, elect officers, and adopt rules

  8. The Vice Presidential Nominee Presidential candidates usually submit their choice for vice president in the run-up to the party’s national convention Goal is often to "balance the ticket"

  9. Running For President Stage 3: The General Election - Debates - TV and Radio Advertising - Candidates "move to the center" to attract more votes

  10. The Electoral College • Why it exists: • The framers did not trust the choice of president to a direct vote of the people • How it works: • Each state legislature is free to determine how to select its electors • Each party nominates a slate of electors, usually longtime party workers • In 48 states, candidates who win a plurality of the popular vote secure all of that state’s electoral votes • In NB and ME, electoral votes are allocated to the winner of each congressional district plus two electoral votes for the winner of the state as a whole • Candidates tend to campaign in large, competitive ("swing") states

  11. Give every voter the same weight in presidential balloting Winners would have greater legitimacy Third parties would have more incentive to run Plan would undermine federalism Unrestrained majority rule Populous states would lose influence Reforming the Electoral College Should we use a direct popular election instead of the electoral college? Pros Cons

  12. The Electoral College • 270 electoral votes needed to win • If no candidate gets a majority of the electoral votes, the House chooses among the top three candidates • Occurred in 1800 and 1824 • Makes it possible for a presidential candidate to win the popular vote but lose the electoral vote • Occurred in 1824, 1876, 1888, 2000 and 2016

  13. The Electoral College

  14. Congressional Elections • Mounting a primary campaign • Raising money • Building a personal organization • Appealing to the "base" or activists • Types of primaries: • Caucus • Closed • Open • Blanket

  15. Congressional Elections • Campaigning for the general election • Candidate appeal • National tide • Name recognition • Appealing to the center or mainstream

  16. House v. Senate Elections • Senate races are in entire state; House races only in local district • Senate races cost more than House, but cost varies by state • Senate more likely than House seats to be seriously contested

  17. House Reelection Rates 1964-2016

  18. Senate Reelection Rates 1964-2016

  19. Incumbency Advantage • franking privilege (free mail) • staff in place • committee service to district • name recognition • casework done for constituents • pork barrel projects for district • "war chest" built up already • flow of money • gerrymandered districts (safe seats)

  20. Safe and Competitive House Seats, 2000-2008

  21. The Gerrymander

  22. Packing

  23. Cracking

  24. Democrats Gerrymander...

  25. ...and so do Republicans

  26. "Earmuff" district in Illinois

  27. Shaw v. Reno (re-drawn)

  28. Four ways to draw districts

  29. Effects of a Winner-Takes-All, Single-Member District System • Wasted-vote syndrome • Reinforcement of moderate and centrist candidates • Difficult for minor parties to get elected • Close races decided by swing voters • Gerrymandered districts

  30. Proportional Representation An election system in which each party running receives the proportion of legislative seats corresponding to its proportion of the vote • Benefits: • More accurately reveals the division of voter preferences • Gives those who do not vote with the plurality some influence as a result of their vote • Problems: • May make it harder to have a clear winner

  31. Total Costs of Elections 1998-2016

  32. Money in U.S. Elections Watergate The 1972 Watergate scandal led to the discovery that large amounts of money from corporations and individuals were “laundered” in secret bank accounts outside the country and used by Nixon’s campaign for political and campaign uses

  33. Efforts at Reform Three strategies used to prevent abuse in political contributions • Imposing limitations on giving, receiving, and spending political money • Disclosure laws • Governmental subsidies

  34. The Federal Election Campaign Act • Serious campaign finance reform began in the 1970s with the Federal Election Campaign Act (1971 and 1974)

  35. The Federal Election Campaign Act • Buckley v. Valeo(1976) challenged the constitutionality of campaign finance limits • individual donations can be limited (chance of corruption) • overall spending cannot be limited (free speech) • Now, politicians must get small amounts of money from many sources, with an exception for money from political parties (“soft” money).

  36. Soft Money • Money donated to a political party, not a candidate • Between 1998 and 2002, soft money contributions more than doubled • Soft money enabled large donors to be major players in campaign finance • Mostly banned by BCRA

  37. The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act - BCRA (2002) • Largely banned party soft money • Restored prohibition on corporations and labor unions for using general treasury funds for electoral purposes • Prohibited all corporations, both for-profit and not-for-profit, and unions from broadcasting “electioneering communications” within 60 days of a general election (struck down in 2010 by Citizens United v. FEC) Senators John McCain (R-Ariz) and Russell Feingold (D-Wisc), sponsors of the BCRA

  38. PACs • Defined under FECA • Political Action Committees • Collects campaign contributions from members and distributes them to favored candidates • May donate $5,000 per candidate per election or $15,000 to party • May make unlimited independent expenditures

  39. Independent Expenditures • Defined as speech that expressly advocates the election or defeat of a candidate. • Buckley v. Valeo (1976): • Individuals/groups have “First Amendment” right to spend as much money as they wish • BCRA Restrictions: • Must be truly independent of the candidate • May not use corporate or union money (ruled invalid by Citizens United case)

  40. Issue Advocacy Advertising Promoting/attacking candidates without explicitly saying “vote for” or “vote against” • Surged in 1996 • Sometimes have spent more than the candidates did themselves • Often called 527 organizations • Often more negative than the ads run by candidates • Not banned by BCRA

  41. Super PACs • Resulted from Citizens United ruling • Officially known as "independent-expenditure only committees" • May not make contributions to a candidate's campaign or parties • May engage in unlimited political spending independent of a candidate • Individuals, unions and corporations may contribute to Super PACs

  42. Dark Money • Undisclosed contributions to tax-exempt nonprofit groups classified as "social welfare organizations" • Way to avoid disclosure laws • Mostly used for "attack ads" against candidates the donors opposed • Major group is "Americans for Prosperity," a Super PAC run by the billionaire Koch brothers

  43. Current Contribution Limits

  44. Rising Campaign Costs in Congressional General Elections

  45. Continuing Problems with Campaign Finance • Rising costs of campaigns • Declining competition • Increasing dependence on PACs and wealthy donors • Candidates’ personal wealth • Growth in individual contributions, Super PACs and use of the Internet to fund campaigns

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