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Chapter 7

Chapter 7. Elections!. The Nominating Process. Who were the main presidential nominees from the Democratic party? Barack Obama John Edwards Dennis Kucinich Hillary Clinton Bill Richardson Joe Biden Mike Gravel Chris Dodd.

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Chapter 7

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  1. Chapter 7 • Elections!

  2. The Nominating Process • Who were the main presidential nominees from the Democratic party? • Barack Obama • John Edwards • Dennis Kucinich • Hillary Clinton • Bill Richardson • Joe Biden • Mike Gravel • Chris Dodd

  3. Who were the main presidential nominees from the Republican Party? Tommy Thompson Sam Brownback John McCain Rudy Giuliani Mitt Romney Mike Huckabee Ron Paul Duncan Hunter

  4. Why are the Democratic and Republican party nominees for political offices especially important?

  5. Limits the choices that voters can make in an election

  6. There are essentially 5 ways someone can get nominated in this country: • 1.Self-announcement • In ’92, Ross Perot announced that he was running for president

  7. 2. The Caucus • A meeting of people to pick a candidate they will support. • Still used to make local nominations in some states. • Still used in some state PRIMARIES: Iowa Caucuses first: Jan. 3rd in ‘08

  8. 3. PRIMARIES • Election held within the party to pick the party’s candidates for general election • States have either OPEN or CLOSED primary—see pg. 183

  9. SEE MAP on page 183:What type of primary do we have in IL? How does that work?

  10. General Election: election ofcandidates of different parties Primary: election of nomineesof the same party Closed Primary: Only people who declareparty membershipcan vote Candidates from different parties runfor office Open Primary: Anyone who meets the 3 requirements can vote

  11. What would be an advantage to a Closed Primary? • The results will be “true” • Who would vote in Closed Primaries? • Only declared party members • What could be a criticism of the Closed Primary? • Independents can’t vote, or you can’t change your mind for party identification.

  12. What would be an advantage to an open primary? • More people can vote • Who can vote in an open primary? • Anyone who meets 3 CAR requirements • What could be a criticism of the open primary? • It can be sabotaged.

  13. Problem with the primaries:

  14. More complaints...

  15. Problems with primaries… • One problem: Primary elections are VERY expensive. (NOTE: 66 Companies contributed $50,000 or more to BOTH Bush and Kerry in the 2004 election) • Long Ballots for some, too short for others (cartoon pg. 185) • Division within the party (cartoon pg 182) • Low-Voter Turn-out: see chart pg. 184 • Varying dates of the primaries

  16. 4. The Convention • Took caucus’s place—used in ALL major party presidential nominees since 1832 • Some States use conventions for State elections, like Michigan. • See page 183—see pg. 369 • Why is this mode of nomination used? • Answer: For great publicity

  17. 5. Petitions • Which level of elections do you think this method of nomination is used? • Why?

  18. Most Election law is State law. But the Federal government has some powers. • For example: setting the times of elections • Federal elections  first Tuesday after the first Monday in November every EVEN numbered year (GENERAL ELECTIONS) • Presidential elections—every 4 years

  19. Let’s say that Ms.Parks runs for governor as the Democratic candidate. She is loved by one and all. Many other less well-known democrats win who were running for other offices. What has happened? • Coat-tail effect

  20. Important Election Terms: • Absentee Voting: provisions made for those unable to get to their regular polling places on election day • Precinct: voting district • Polling Place: where voters who live in precinct actually vote

  21. Ballots • What are the different types of ballots? • How can ballots be organized? • Do we have uniform voting across the country? Who determines what type of ballot you get?

  22. Next Congressional Election------ • Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010 • What are we voting for? (what type of election is this called?)

  23. 7.3: Money and Elections • Candidates spend a great deal of money on political campaigns • Examples: • $2 billion spent in the 2004 presidential election (presidential eats up by far the most!) • Approximately $5.3 billion in the 2008 general elections—half of that is the presidential! • Spending in the House and Senate has doubled in the last decade • Television is largest share of spending

  24. Private donors come in many different shapes and sizes • Small contributors ($5/$10) to candidates they believe in (only 10% of voting pool donate money) • Wealthy families— “fat cats” to buy influence • Candidates themselves, their families, friends Ex: Ross Perot, $65 million • PACS: Political Action Committees-Nonparty groups • Temporary Organizations

  25. Laws that the Federal Election Commission (FEC) enforces cover four areas Require the timely disclosure of campaign finance data (Examples:) Limits on campaign contributions(Ex’s) Limits on campaign expenditures Ex’s) Public funding for part of presidential election process (used for preconvention, national convention, presidential election campaigns)

  26. Running for public officecosts $$$$$$$!! http://www.fec.gov/DisclosureSearch/mapApp.do http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/index.php http://www.fec.gov/ans/answers_general.shtml#How_much_can_I_contribute http://www.usnews.com/articles/opinion/2008/10/21/data-points-presidential-campaign-spending.html

  27. Three major loopholes in campaign finance laws Soft money contributions can easily be filtered into presidential and congressional campaigns An independent group or person can spend money on a campaign not connected to the party and use against candidates Campaign money can be spent on issue ads that plug a candidate’s viewpoint without mentioning the candidate’s name

  28. Hard Money vs. Soft Money

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