The Electoral Process

The Electoral Process

Nomination General election Caucus Direct primary Closed primary Open primary Blanket primary Runoff primary Nonpartisan election Absentee voting Coattail effect Precinct Polling place Ballot Political action committee (PAC) Subsidy Soft money Hard money Vocabulary

Nomination The naming of those who will seek office

5 ways nominations are made 1. Self-Announcement: • Usually at the local level • Usually a write-in candidate 2. The Caucus: A group of like-minded people who meet to select the candidates they will support in an upcoming election • Popular in the 1700s and 1800s • Legislative caucuses were powerful • Not much power today

5 ways nominations are made 3. The Convention: • First national convention to nominate a presidential candidate started by a minor party (Anti-Masons, 1832) • Replaced by the direct primary in most States due to corruption, but still used in the presidential nominating process.

5 ways nominations are made 4. The Direct Primary: an intra-party election • Most States use the primary to choose their candidates for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives; also for the governorship and other State and local offices • Regulated by State law

5 ways nominations are made • The Direct Primary continued: 2 types • Closed primary: only declared party members can vote • Open Primary: any qualified voter can cast a ballot FairVote.org | Congressional Primaries: Open, Closed, Semi-Closed, and "Top Two"

5 ways nominations are made • The Direct Primary continued: • Closed Primaries: Arguments in support • Prevents other party from sabotaging the nominating process • Makes candidates more responsive to the party • Makes voters more thoughtful because they must choose between the parties • Closed Primaries: Arguments against • Compromises the secrecy of the ballot • Excludes independent voters

5 ways nominations are made • The Direct Primary continued: • Most States require a plurality to win their party’s nomination • In some States, an absolute majority is needed. These States have a runoff primary • Nonpartisan elections (candidates are not identified by party labels)are used by most States to fill elected school and municipal offices

5 ways nominations are made • The Direct Primary continued: • Intended to take power from the party organization and put it in the hands of the party’s membership • Voter turnout in primaries is usually less than half what it is in general elections • Primary campaigns can be costly • Primary campaigns can have a divisive effect on the party • Some contenders with well known names have an advantage in the primary

5 ways nominations are made 5. Petition: • Candidates are nominated by means of petitions signed by a certain number of qualified voters in the election district • Mostly found at the local level • Also used for nominating minor party and independent candidates • The higher the office, the greater number of signatures needed

Money and Elections • Running for public office costs money (often, lots of money) • Money can lead to corruption: • candidates buying their way into office, or special interest groups attempting to influence those in office • How is corruption prevented?

Money and Elections • Presidential elections cost the most money • Elections are generally less costly the closer to the local level the public office is • Money is spent on: radio/TV, professional campaign managers/consultants, newspaper ads, pamphlets, buttons/bumper stickers, posters, office rent, polls, data processing, mass mailings, Web sites, travel, etc. • Spending depends on: the office involved, the candidate (incumbent), the availability of funds

Sources of Funding • Private contributions: the major source of campaign funds • Only about 10% of people of voting age make campaign contributions • Small contributors: give less than $20, and only occasionally • Wealthy individuals and families: make large donations

Sources of Funding • Private contributors continued: • Candidates and their families: Contribute their own wealth for their campaigns (Ross Perot spent $65 million of his own money in his 1992 presidential election campaign) • Various nonparty groups: Political Action Committees • Temporary organizations: groups formed for the immediate purposes of a campaign, including fund raising • Parties: fund-raisers such as dinners or receptions

Sources of Funding • Public funds – subsidies from the federal and some State treasuries • Subsidy – grant of money, usually from the government

Sources of Funding • Why people give • Ideology – they believe in a party/candidate • Access to government (some contributors give to both parties) • Appointments to public office • Social recognition

There are several laws that regulate campaign finance 1971 Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) 1974/1976 FECA Amendments 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act Congress does not have the power to regulate the use of money in State and local elections Regulating Campaign Finance

Regulating Campaign Finance • The Federal Election Commission (FEC) • Administers all federal law dealing with campaign finance • Set up in 1974 – independent agency in the executive branch • Six members appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate

Regulating Campaign Finance • FEC continued • The FEC is underfunded and understaffed. Thus, federal campaign finance laws are sometimes not very well enforced. • The FEC enforces 4 areas: • Disclosure requirements • Limits on contributions • Limits on campaign expenditures • Public funding

Regulating Campaign Finance • Disclosure requirements: shows where the money comes from • No donations in the name of someone else • No cash gifts over $100 • All spending must be accounted for by a single campaign committee • Any contribution over $200 must be identified by name and date • Any contribution over $5000 must be reported to the FEC within 48 hours

Regulating Campaign Finance • Limits on Contributions: • No person can give more than $2100 to a federal candidate in a primary election, and no more than $2100 in a general election • No person can give more than $5000 to a PAC • No person can give more than $26,700 to a national party committee • The total individual contribution must be limited to no more than $101,400

Regulating Campaign Finance • Limits on contributions-PAC Contributions: • No corporation nor labor union can contribute to a candidate (federal), but PACs can • Segregated fund committees: raise funds only from their members (stockholders, members of labor union, etc) • Unconnected committees: independent of a larger organization. Many are ideologically based • Can collect money from the public • PACs can give $10,000 per candidate in an election cycle and $15,000 a year to a political party

Regulating Campaign Finance • Limits on Expenditures • Most limits are on presidential elections • Buckley v. Valeo (1976) threw out many federal campaign spending restrictions as being contrary to the 1st Amendment • Money spent by presidential contenders who accept FEC subsidies CAN be regulated.

Regulating Campaign Finance • Public funding • Revenue Act of 1971 first provided for public funding • Presidential Election Campaign fund: income tax return ($3.00) • Money from the income tax source is used for: • Preconvention campaigns • National conventions • Presidential election campaigns

Regulating Campaign Finance • Preconvention campaigns: • To be eligible for public funds, the candidate must raise at least $100,000 from individuals (no more than $250 per individual) from at least 20 States • The FEC matches the first $250 of each individual’s donation (up to half of the overall limit on primary spending)

Regulating Campaign Finance • National Conventions: Major parties can apply for the subsidy and it will automatically receive a grant • Presidential Election Campaigns: • Every major party nominee automatically qualifies for a public subsidy to cover the costs of the general election campaign • If the candidate refuses the public money, he/she is free to raise unlimited funds from private sources • Third party candidates are eligible for public funds but there are requirements that make it more difficult. • Except for Ross Perot 1996, few minor party candidates receive public funds

Regulating Campaign Finance • Hard money: money raised and spent to elect candidates for Congress and the White House. • Soft money: funds given to party organizations for “party-building activities” • Soft money formed a loophole through which parties could filter money into presidential and congressional campaigns • The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (2002) aimed at solving the soft money problem by banning soft-money contributions to political parties

The Electoral Process