4. Elections:
Promote citizenship
Hold government accountable
Uphold democratic values:
Popular Sovereignty, Majority
Rule, Political Equality
Popular Sovereignty:
Laws derive indirectly-directly
from citizens.
5. EVOLUTION OF PRESIDENTIAL
NOMINATING CONTESTS
Caucuses
Party leaders choose candidates write platforms
Pre-revolutionary politics through
1820s
“smoke filled rooms”
7. Party Conventions
Rectify caucus problems
Voters have indirect role
Choose delegates who choose nominee
and…
…decide party platform
Yet bosses still in control
8. Primary Elections
Direct primary:
WI first adopted, 1905
People vote directly for nominee
Two Most Common Types…
~ Open Primary
Crossover voting; Parties take advantage
of process
~ Closed Primary
Registration determines vote
9. Other Types…
~ Blanket primary
Voters pick one candidate for each
office. No party lines.
~ Runoff primary
No candidate wins a majority. Runoff
between two top vote getters.
10. Washington State Grange v.
Washington State Republican
Party (2008):
Supreme Court ruled Initiative 872
creating nonpartisan blanket primary
was constitutional.
12. Multi-candidate race for party nomination for
Congress, NY’s 23rd CD
Sydney –
30%
Nick –
10%
Lindsey –
40%
Colleen –
20%
Lindsey wins plurality (most votes under 51%)
13. Majority Vote:
Some states require majority vote
If no majority, two top vote
getters enter a run-off primary
14. Who Wants to Be a Candidate?
• Two categories of
candidates —
self-starters and
the recruited
15. American nominating process
generally controlled by
state laws favoring two
major parties.
Most European nations‟
political parties choose
candidates; primaries are
not held.
17. PICKING A VP RUNNING MATE
Do no harm
Carry home state or other
sizeable state
Prior office experience to
complement nominee —
domestic policy vs. foreign
VP reunites party - from a
different faction
23. During 2000 presidential campaign, George W. Bush appeared on
Oprah‟s show. Appearance received extensive news coverage.
23
24. Today, close to
40% of voters
identify
themselves as
independent, not
party-affiliated.
25.
26.
27. TARGETING INDEPENDENT VOTERS
Canvassing: find where voters stand on
issues
Determine who‟s…
Hard Left/Soft Left/Swing Vote/Soft
Right/Hard Right
Undecided or swing voters receive most
attention
28. Strategy of Winning –
Money!!
Without money
cannot
communicate
message or
develop
visibility
30. Financing the Campaign
Buckley v. Valeo
1971 act placed limits on how much money
a candidate could spend on campaign.
1976, Supreme Court overruled provision
as unconstitutional.
31. Political Action Committees
(PACS)
Interest groups raise and give
campaign donations via…
Soft money: unregulated campaign
contributions.
Labor unions first to establish;
businesses followed suit
32. Type of PACs Reflect Dominance of Business
in American Politics
32
37. Questions for
Critical Thinking
• Should House members be elected every two
years, or does another term of office make more
sense?
• Why do Congressional incumbents generally not
face primary challenges? Who keeps them out?
• Should federal and statewide campaigns be
publicly financed just as presidential campaigns
are now?
40. America:
• Nomination an individual effort
• Parties largest role to provide
candidates with label
Europe:
• Party leaders determine nomination
• Election contests between parties, not
individuals
41. Voting Issues
• Vote Fraud
– Failure to purge
electoral rolls of
deceased or voters who
have moved
– Some voting locales
purged legitimate
voters from rolls by
mistake
46. Turn-out rate lower during non
presidential cycles
Turnout rate even lower for local
elections
Rose slightly in „08, to 56.8% of
eligible voters from 55.3% in „04
54. ~ 2 million more young people voted
for president in „08 than „04
Percent of voters under 30: 51%
3rd highest showing of young voters
(22 million) topped only by 1992 and
1972 elections.
3rd consecutive election where youth
vote increased
55. Black youth vote tremendously high…
more voted in D.C. than older
residents:
~ 76% of D.C. voters age 18 to 29
voted
~ 73.4% of voters age 30 and older
did so.
56. YOUTH VOTE and SOCIAL MEDIA
Young Con Anthem
Youth using technology to express views
Mixing Religion and Politics
Critical of both major parties
Issue oriented activists
Social / Fiscal conservatives
Speak for most young people 18 to 24?
57. Young people with more education more
likely to vote
Higher education influences voting
Some College? -- more likely to vote
than those with only H.S. diplomas
Why?
58. Young women vote more than young men
After „72 election, when men and women
voted in equal numbers:
- Past 30 years gap in pres. elections
widened
- 1992: 51% of women (18-24) voted while
only 46% of men did
-2004: difference widened to 6%
Why?
59. Increasing Youth Vote
• Easier registration
process?
• Weekend voting?
• National holiday?
• More interesting
candidates?
• More perceived stakes in
outcome?
• Compulsory voting laws?
• Internet voting?
61. Questions for
Critical Thinking
Thomas Jefferson stated that education of public
was essential to American republic.
Public must have adequate information about
potential public officials before
voting.
What might Jefferson say about today’s
campaigns and modern public?
62. Factors Influencing Who
Votes
15th Amendment (1870): Reconstruction
Amendment, lifted voting restrictions
based on race, color or previous
condition of servitude.
Women were not granted right to vote
nationally until ratification of 19th
Amendment in 1920.
However, women were eligible to vote in
some states before this date.
65. Why People Do Not Vote
• Uninformative media coverage
• Negative campaigning
• Ignorance effect
65
66. Effort to improve voter turnout…
National Voter Registration Act of
1993 (Motor Voter) made it easier to
vote and maintain eligible
registration, although its long -term
efficacy has been questioned.