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The Functions of Elections

The Functions of Elections. Most change in the United States comes about on the basis of elections. Elections generally allow us to avoid Riots General strikes Coups d'etats Elections serve to legitimate governments to fill public offices and organize governments

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The Functions of Elections

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  1. The Functions of Elections • Most change in the United States comes about on the basis of elections. • Elections generally allow us to avoid • Riots • General strikes • Coups d'etats • Elections serve • to legitimate governments • to fill public offices and organize governments • to allow people with different views and policy agendas to come to power • to ensure that the government remains accountable to the people.

  2. Different Kinds of Elections • Primary Elections • General Elections • Initiative, Referendum, and Recall • Initiatives allow citizens to propose legislation and submit it to popular vote. • A referendum allows the legislature to submit proposed legislation for popular approval. • Recall elections allow citizens to remove someone from office.

  3. Presidential Elections • Choosing the nation’s chief executive is a long, exhilarating, exhausting process that often begins even before the previous election ends! • The presidential election is held every four years on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

  4. Primaries • Selection: • Party Delegates for Presidential Candidates • Party Candidates for Other Offices • Types of Primaries • Winner Take All • Proportional Representation • Party Caucus • Scheduling: Early vs Late • The Race for Relevance (Presidential) • Time to organize challenging an incumbent

  5. Primary Front-loading Back

  6. National Conventions • Selection of the Party Presidential Nominee • Generally determined by primaries; ratified by ballot at convention • Selected by ballot if no clear winner; after the first ballot, delegates usually free to vote on own • Party Platform • Role of the Media • The Delegates: Wealthier, better educated, less moderate than the rest of us.

  7. Electoral College • The Electoral College was a compromise between popular election and Congressional selection. Framers created it to ensure that the president was chosen intelligently and with the input of each of the states (Similar to the “Great Compromise”) • The number of electors is determined by the federal representation for each state. • For example, California has 52 members of the House of Representatives and 2 Senators – 54 electoral votes.

  8. Electoral College • There are a total of 538 electoral votes (535 members of Congress and 3 for the District of Columbia) • Each state’s votes counted separately • Candidate winning in each state (by big or small margin) chooses “Electors” from that state that vote in December • A majority of 270 wins the presidency.

  9. Electoral College • Since voting count and electoral vote apportionment is by state, not overall count, a candidate can win a majority of electoral votes with a minority of popular votes and still be elected to the office. • George W. Bush in 2000 • Harrison in 1888 • Hayes in 1876 • “Faithless” Electors can and do occasionally vote against their state’s wishes, but this has never effected the election outcome

  10. Al Gore (D) 50,996,116 votes 48% 21 States Won 266 Electoral Votes George Bush (R) 50,456,169 votes 48% 30 States Won 271 Electoral Votes Presidential Election 2000 Does your vote matter?

  11. John Kerry (D) 59,028,109 votes 48% 20 States Won 252 Electoral Votes George Bush (R) 62,040,606 votes 51% 31 States Won 286 Electoral Votes Presidential Election 2004 Does your vote matter?

  12. Barack Obama(D) 69,456,897 votes 53% 28 States Won 365 Electoral Votes John Mc(R) 59,934,814 votes 46% 22 States Won 173 Electoral Votes Presidential Election 2008 Does your vote matter?

  13. 2008 Electoral College Results

  14. Congressional Elections In Congressional elections: • candidates tend to be less visible. • most candidates are or were state legislators. • name recognition is often the most important battle of the campaign. • candidates receive little media coverage.

  15. Incumbency Incumbency advantage – the electoral edge afforded to those already in office…gained via… • Edge in visibility • Experience • Organization • Fund raising ability Potential disadvantage: Their record

  16. Voting Behavior Voter Participation • About 40% of the eligible adult population votes regularly. • About 25% are occasional voters. • About 35% rarely or never vote.

  17. Who Votes? • Income – people with higher incomes have a higher tendency to vote. • Age – older people tend to vote more often than younger people (less than half of eligible 18-24 year olds are registered to vote). • Gender – Since 1980, women have a higher tendency to vote for Democrats than Republicans. • Race – in general, whites tend to vote more regularly than African-Americans (this may be due to income and education not race).

  18. Does Low Voter Turnout Matter? • Is low voter turnout a problem in a democracy? • Do we want the uninformed or poor and uneducated voting? Mightn't they make bad decisions?

  19. To Learning Objectives Figure 13.3: How do demographic characteristics affect citizens’ vote choice? Back

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