The Electoral Process

The Electoral Process

The Nomination • Before you get to run for office, you have to be nominated. • Nominations are one of the major functions of a party. • Nominations help to determine who can run for office. • Nominations can come in several ways and will lead up to the general election later on.

How to Get Nominated • Petitions—Some areas have you get signatures to be on a ballot. This is usually used at the local levels • Self Announcement—Some people can just announce they are running; although these are usually people not picked by a party to run. • Caucus—A meeting of party leaders decide who they will choose to give their support to.

Going to the Convention • Caucuses were bigger in the 1800s. Conventions replaced them. • Local caucus select delegates to go to a convention. • The delegates vote (county/state/national) on who will be their high profile candidates. • However, primaries have helped replace the convention as the major tool in selecting candidates.

The Primary System • Direct Primary: A primary that is held within the party to pick a candidate. • Wisconsin did this first in 1903 to give the people a larger voice in determining who they wanted to choose as their candidate. • There are several different types of primaries.

The Primary System • A closed primary is a vote that only party members can vote in. • An open primary is when any voter can vote in any primary election. You can vote for both Republican and Democratic primaries. • People liked closed primaries because it keeps other people away from voting in their party’s primary. • Closed primaries also keep the candidates closer to their base. • However, closed primaries do not allow independent voters to have a voice and it forces people to share their party preference if they wanted to keep it private.

The Primary System • Some primaries demand you win the majority of votes. Others want the plurality of votes. • A runoff primary can be set with the top two people from the first primary. • Many elected school and municipal offices are filled in nonpartisan elections (school board, judges, etc.) • Primaries are great ways of getting a message out and energizing a base, but they can also rip a party in half. • An early primary win can also change the whole tone of the election landscape.

Question Time • 1. How does someone get nominated? • 2. What is the function and purpose of a primary? • 3. What is the difference between a primary and a caucus?

The Administration of Elections • Elections are wonderful things, however they only work if they are kept clean and honest. • Many elections in the past have had fraud and issues. • Because of this, the federal government has made many laws and takes an active look at elections to make sure that they are fair.

Voting • Technically, Congress only has the authority to set the time, place, and manner of holding elections. • Most states set up their election days to follow the nation election day. • The Help America Vote Act of 2002 helped to fix some of the issues in the election of 2000 by having states upgrade their voting machines, better training of election day volunteers, and have computer voter registration.

Voting • Many people are away on election day. They have to fill out absentee ballots. • Absentee ballots can be completed and mailed in before the election. • Once the election is over, election officials wait until the absentee ballots are counted to make an official ruling. • Some states allow early voting, where someone can vote ahead of time.

Election Effects • Some people worry that certain things could affect an election. • Coattail effect—where a strong candidate carries others with him/her (Reagan, Obama). • West Coast-East Coast—Where election results in the east could affect what happens to results out west. • Lack of a candidate—Where a poor candidate could upset a party to the point where they don’t come out to vote. • Ballot fatigue—Some voters get “bored” and will skip people/offices towards the bottom. Also, candidates not on the top line or two receive fewer votes.

Precincts and Polling Places • A precinct is a voting district. They are usually about 500-1,000 people in size. • A polling place is where someone goes to vote…usually a school or nursing home or library. • Polls are open from about 6 am to 9 pm, depending on the state/county/city. • Poll watchers, one from each party, are present to monitor elections to make sure no fraud is in place.

Casting a Ballot • A ballot is your voter sheet. They come in many types. • Office group ballot—Lists all the candidates by position first and then by random order. • Party column ballot—Lists all the candidates for the party in a column. Then has the office on the left side. • Butterfly ballot—Open up with people listed on either side. Be careful! • Sample ballot—Some states mail you a ballot so you can see who you will vote for in a few weeks. • Ballots can be done in a machine, electronically, placed in a box, or done with a punch card (watch the chad!).

Computers and Voting • Over 50% of all voting today is done on a machine or a computer. • Many machines were lever type. • Machines helped to get rid of fraud. • Machines were expensive and hard to store. • However, since 2002, punch card ballots and lever machines have been replaced. • Two new types are paper ballots that are scanned into a machine and touch-screen displays. • Online balloting could be a way for the future. • Absentee ballots could also become the norm., like in Oregon.

Question Time • 4. How does voting on the East Coast affect voting on the West Coast? • 5. Because of issues in 2000 election, what has been done to help make sure elections run more smoothly?

Federal Election Commission • The FEC deals with all campaigns. • The FEC was set up in 1974 as an independent agency to oversee federal elections. • They set up the finance laws so that no issues are created during the campaign season. • However, those laws are not enforced and parties often find loopholes.

Campaign Financing • To run for public office, you need money. Either you have it already or you have to raise it. • Millions are spent on national elections, only a few thousand on local elections. • Some states and localities give some money to candidates already. • People and organizations give money because they believe in a person or they want something back in return. • Some donors give to both sides in an election. • Hard money– money given to candidates for Congress and the White House. • Soft money—money given to political organizations for “party activities”. Soft money was unregulated until 2002. This is a f$*@#g valuable thing, I'm not just going to give it away for f$*@#g nothing.—Rod Blagojevich

Campaign Financing • Only 10% of the population donate to political campaigns. • Small contributors give small amounts and only give occasionally. • Parties and candidates tend to target people who have lots of money and give often. • Some people borrow from friends and family or spend their own money. Ross Perot spent $65 million on his own campaign in 1992. • Political parties often have funds stored in their “war chests” to give to candidates. • Most candidates have to rely on holding their own fundraisers. Some of these can get very pricey.

Campaign Financing • In 1907, Congress forbade any corporation from donating to a candidate. • Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002—Also called the McCain-Feingold Act. It prohibited parties from raising funds that were not subject to federal limits. • It also forbade corporations from making their own campaign ads. • However, non-profits could (the 527 exemption. This led to the “swift boat campaigns.” • Politicians also had to “approve of their messages” on ads. • 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission: Supreme Court ruled that you cannot ban a corporation from airing campaign ads under the First Amendment rights.

Campaign Financing • Since 1910, all contributions must be reported. • All campaign contributions must by made by the contributor and not in someone else’s name. • Nobody can give over $100 in cash. Over $200 must be identified by source and date. Over $1000 has to be reported to the FEC within 48 hours. • No foreign source can donate at all. • All contributions to a federal campaign must be made through one campaign committee. • Limits are placed on total amounts of money given to a candidate ($2,100 in a primary, $5,000 to a political committee per year, $26,700 to a national party, and $101,400 in one election cycle (2 years))

Campaign Financing • Political Action Committees (PAC’s) are the political arms of special interest groups. • They fill “war chests’ and donate to campaigns they like. • No PAC can give more than $5,000 to any one candidate in a federal election or $10,000 in one election cycle. • However, PACs can donate to as many candidates as they want and up to $15,000 to each party. • Candidates who accept federal money for campaigns are limited to spending no more than $37.5 million before the convention and no more than $74.6 million total.

Question Time • 6. What is the purpose of the FEC? • 7. What is the difference between hard and soft monies? • 8. What is “swiftboating”? • 9. Why must all campaign donations be disclosed? • 10. What is a PAC and what do they do? • 11. Why do you think there are limits on how much someone can donate to a campaign?

The Electoral Process