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Power Play: Understanding Election Campaigns and Voting Rights

Explore the pivotal role of campaign financing, political parties, and voter influences in shaping public office elections. Delve into the historical evolution of voting rights and assess factors impacting voter behavior. Gain insights into strategic decisions made by political parties and candidates during campaigns.

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Power Play: Understanding Election Campaigns and Voting Rights

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Presentation Transcript

  1. Splash Screen

  2. Chapter Focus Section 1 Election Campaigns Section 2 Expanding Voting Rights Section 3 Influences on Voters Chapter Assessment Contents

  3. Why It’s Important

  4. Chapter Objectives • Election Campaigns Examine the role campaign financing and political parties play in electing candidates for public office. • Expanding Voting Rights Summarize the historical expansion of voting rights. • Influences on Voters Evaluate the factors that influence voters and nonvoters. Chapter Objectives

  5. End of Chapter Focus

  6. Election Campaigns • Key Terms • campaign manager, image, political action committee, soft money • Find Out • • What are the basic elements of a presidential campaign? • • Why were the Federal Election Campaign Acts passed? Section 1 Introduction-1

  7. Election Campaigns • Understanding Concepts • Political ProcessesWhat strategic decisions must political parties and candidates make during each campaign? • Section Objective • Examine the role campaign financing and political parties play in electing candidates for public office. Section 1 Introduction-2

  8. In the 1952 presidential election, total spending by the major political parties was $140 million. By the 2000 election, that amount had increased to $1.2 billion. Most of the money in presidential campaigns is spent for television and mass media advertising. The major political parties know that people are likely to form their opinions about candidates from the way they appear on television. Section 1-1

  9. I. Electing the President (pages 475–476) • A. Serious candidates for president begin organizing over a year before the election to compete in spring primaries; after the nominating convention, the candidate runs an intensive campaign from early September until the November election. • B. To win a presidential election, a candidate must receive a majority of the electoral votes, so candidates compete hardest in high-population states. • C. The candidate must decide on the kind of strategy most likely to achieve victory. Section 1-2

  10. I. Electing the President (pages 475–476) • D. A strong organization, headed by an experienced campaign manager, is essential in running a presidential campaign. • E. Television and the Internet are important tools for presidential candidates; television conveys the candidate’s image, while Web sites can be used to raise money and inform the public about the candidate. Section 1-3

  11. I. Electing the President (pages 475–476) Section 1-3

  12. I. Electing the President (pages 475–476) Do you agree or disagree that the “winner-take-all” electoral system in presidential elections should be changed? What changes would you support? Answers will vary. Students should consider the logical outcomes of suggested changes. Section 1-4

  13. II. Financing Campaigns (pages 477–479) • A. Running for office is very expensive; for example, presidential and congressional candidates spent a total of $3 billion dollars in the 2002 elections. • B. In the 1970s, a new campaign financing system was set up based on public disclosure of spending, public funding of presidential elections, and limiting or prohibiting the contributions of certain groups. • C. Created in 1974, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent agency that administers federal election laws and keeps records of campaign contributions. Section 1-5

  14. II. Financing Campaigns (pages 477–479) • D. The majority of campaign funding comes from private sources, including individual citizens, party organizations, corporations, and special-interest groups. • E.Political Action Committees, or PACs, are established by interest groups to support candidates, but they are limited in the donations they can make. Section 1-6

  15. II. Financing Campaigns (pages 477–479) • F. Two methods are used to get around campaign spending limits: soft-money donations, which are contributions given directly to a political party for general purposes such as voter registration drives; and issue-advocacy advertisements, which support an issue rather than a particular candidate. • G. The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, passed in 2002, bans soft-money donations to national political parties, but its constitutionality remains in question. Section 1-7

  16. II. Financing Campaigns (pages 477–479) • H. The FEC regulates campaigns online; for example, all campaign Web sites that cost $250 dollars or more must be registered with the FEC. Section 1-8

  17. II. Financing Campaigns (pages 477–479) What reforms of the campaign financing laws would you like to see enacted? Explain. Answers will vary. Students should consider the logical outcomes of proposed reforms. Section 1-9

  18. Checking for Understanding • 1. Main Idea Use a graphic organizer like the one below to show the effects the Federal Election Campaign Acts had on campaign financing. • Effects—prohibited business organizations and unions from contributing directly to campaigns; individuals could contribute up to $1000 to any candidate or general election campaign; encouraged the growth of PACs Section 1 Assessment-1

  19. Checking for Understanding • A. mental picture • B. an organization formed to collect money and provide financial support for political candidates • C. the person responsible for the overall strategy and planning of a campaign • D. money raised by a political party for general purposes, not designated for a candidate Match the term with the correct definition. • ___ campaign manager • ___ image • ___ political action committee • ___ soft money • C • A • B • D Section 1 Assessment-2

  20. Checking for Understanding • 3. Identify Federal Election Commission. • The Federal Election Commission is an independent agency in the executive branch that administers federal election laws. Section 1 Assessment-3

  21. Checking for Understanding • 4. How can third-party candidates qualify for federal funds for a presidential campaign? • They can qualify by winning more than 5 percent of the popular vote in the current or previous presidential election. Section 1 Assessment-4

  22. Critical Thinking • 5. Synthesizing Information PACs can contribute to as many political candidates as they wish. Why might they contribute to all major candidates in a presidential campaign? • They might think that contributing to all candidates will assure a friendly reception to their positions. Section 1 Assessment-5

  23. Political Processes Imagine that you are running for political office. Prepare a campaign strategy for your election. Explain what campaign tools you would use and how you would finance your campaign. Create an illustrated poster outlining your strategy. Section 1 Concepts in Action

  24. End of Section 1

  25. Expanding Voting Rights • Key Terms • suffrage, grandfather clause, poll tax • Find Out • • Why did it take so long for African Americans and for women to win voting rights? • • What did each of the voting rights acts achieve? Section 2 Introduction-1

  26. Expanding Voting Rights • Understanding Concepts • Growth of DemocracyWhat were the steps in the process of extending the right to vote to all adult citizens? • Section Objective • Summarize the historical expansion of voting rights. Section 2 Introduction-2

  27. American citizens living in the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., could not vote in presidential elections until 1961. Adoption of the Twenty-third Amendment finally granted residents of Washington, D.C., the right to take part in national politics. However, they still cannot vote for senators or representatives. Section 2-1

  28. I. Early Limitations on Voting (page 481) • A. Before the American Revolution, women and African Americans, white males who did not own property, and persons who were not members of dominant religious groups were excluded from voting. • B. During the early 1800s, states gradually abolished property and religious requirements for voting, and by the mid-1800s, the nation had achieved universal white male suffrage. Section 2-2

  29. I. Early Limitations on Voting (page 481) Agree or disagree with the statement, “Voting is not just a right, it is a responsibility.” You should note that a democracy cannot force a person to vote, but responsible citizens vote. Section 2-3

  30. II. Woman Suffrage (page 482) • A. By 1914 women had won the right to vote in 11 states. • B. The Nineteenth Amendment, ratified after World War I, granted women in all states the right to vote. Section 2-4

  31. II. Woman Suffrage (page 482) Why do you think it took so long for women to win the right to vote? Answers will vary but should note that women were denied equal status in many other areas of society during this time, and they therefore lacked political and economic power. Section 2-5

  32. III. African American Suffrage (pages 482–484) • A. Enslaved African Americans were not allowed to vote, and free African Americans could vote in only a few states, until 1870. • B. The Fifteenth Amendment, passed after the Civil War, granted the vote to African Americans in both state and national elections. • C. The Fifteenth Amendment did not result in full voting rights for African Americans; southern states set up restrictive voting qualifications. Section 2-6

  33. III. African American Suffrage (pages 482–484) • D. Some southern states used literacy tests to disqualify African Americans from voting; the Voting Rights Acts of 1965 and 1970 outlawed these tests. • E.Poll taxes, or money payments required before voting, and grandfather clauses, excusing white voters from paying the tax, were devices used to discourage African Americans from voting; the Twenty-fourth Amendment banned poll taxes. Section 2-7

  34. III. African American Suffrage (pages 482–484) • F. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 and later voting rights laws brought the federal government directly into the electoral process in the states, ending official discrimination against African Americans and increasing their political strength and participation in government. Section 2-8

  35. III. African American Suffrage (pages 482–484) If the Fifteenth Amendment was supposed to give African Americans the right to vote, why were Voting Rights Acts necessary? Many states used literacy tests and poll taxes to keep most African Americans from voting. Section 2-9

  36. IV. Twenty-sixth Amendment (page 484) • A. This amendment lowered the voting age to 18 throughout the nation. • B. The amendment helped satisfy those young people who could be drafted into the military but could not vote. Section 2-10

  37. IV. Twenty-sixth Amendment (page 484) Do you agree or disagree with the provisions of the Twenty-sixth Amendment? Explain your reasoning. Few will disagree. However, those who do may point out the lowest percentage of voters are in the youngest age category. Section 2-11

  38. Checking for Understanding • 1. Main Idea Use a chart to explain the changes brought about by the Fifteenth, Nineteenth, and Twenty-sixth Amendments. • fifteenth: African Americans were given right to vote nationwide, first time that the national government set rules for voting; nineteenth: women were given right to vote nationwide; twenty-sixth: voting age lowered from 21 to 18 Section 2 Assessment-1

  39. Checking for Understanding • 2. Define suffrage, grandfather clause, poll tax. • Suffrage is the right to vote. • A grandfather clause is an exemption in a law for a certain group based on previous conditions. • A poll tax is money paid in order to vote. Section 2 Assessment-2

  40. Checking for Understanding • 3. Identify Voting Rights Act. • The Voting Rights Act is a law that empowered the federal government to register voters in any district where less than 50 percent of African American adults were on the voting lists or where it appeared that local officials were discriminating against African Americans. Section 2 Assessment-3

  41. Checking for Understanding • 4. What did the Twenty-fourth Amendment outlaw? • It outlawed poll taxes in national elections. Section 2 Assessment-4

  42. Checking for Understanding • 5. Why were the provisions of the Voting Rights Acts important? • They empowered the federal government to prevent voting rights discrimination at the state level and resulted in an increased number of minority voters and African Americans’ participation in the political process. Section 2 Assessment-5

  43. Critical Thinking • 6. Making Inferences John Jay said, “The people who own the country ought to govern it.” Analyze the impact of the extension of voting rights on the meaning of Jay’s statement. • Answers should point out that Jay believed, like many others of his time, that only property owners should have the right to vote. The extension of voting rights allowed all Americans to participate and “own” their country. Section 2 Assessment-6

  44. Growth of Democracy Create an illustrated time line that focuses on major events in the extension of voting rights in the United States. Include events between 1791 and the present. Section 2 Concepts in Action

  45. End of Section 2

  46. Influences on Voters • Key Terms • cross-pressured voter, straight party ticket, propaganda • Find Out • • What personal background factors do you believe will influence your decision as a voter? • • What outside influences affect how a person votes? Section 3 Introduction-1

  47. Influences on Voters • Understanding Concepts • Civic ParticipationHow does a citizen overcome obstacles to voting and voter apathy? • Section Objective • Evaluate the factors that influence voters and nonvoters. Section 3 Introduction-2

  48. In a periodic Gallup poll to determine which president Americans consider to be the greatest, President John F. Kennedy headed the list until 1991 when President Abraham Lincoln was ranked first. Even then, the public placed Kennedy second. Historians generally believe that Kennedy’s great popularity is based in part on the image he projected on television—a young, handsome, and energetic leader, assassinated in 1963, who gave his life for his country. Section 3-1

  49. I. PersonalBackgroundofVoters (pages 492–493) • A. Voters’ ages may affect their views and determine their voting decisions. • B. Education, religion, and racial or ethnic background affect voters’ attitudes, but voters do not always vote in keeping with their backgrounds. • C.Cross-pressured voters, those caught between conflicting elements in their lives, may vote based on the issues and candidates. Section 3-2

  50. I. PersonalBackgroundofVoters (pages 492–493) Section 3-3

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