GOVT 2305- Chapter 7

How do voters decide?

-partisanship and ideology -issues and policy concerns -candidate characteristics

Citizen's United v. Federal Election Commission ruling

A 2010 landmark Supreme Court case that ruled that individuals, corporations, and unions could donate unlimited amounts of money to groups that make independent political expenditures. the Supreme Court's ruling led to the removal of spending limits on corporations.

What is the Federal Election Campaign Act?

A law passed in 1974 for reforming campaign finances. The act created the Federal Election Commission and provided for limits on and disclosure of campaign contributions.

what is initiative?

A law that begins with a petition of signatures and moves to a popular vote

What role do debates play in election campaigns?

A leaders' debate or presidential debate is a public debate held during a general election campaign, where the candidates expose their political opinions and public policy proposals, and criticism of them, to potential voters. Show intentions of potential candidates.

What is a caucus?

A meeting held by members of a political party to elect representatives from each precinct to the party's assembly.

What is a "top two" primary?

A top-two primary, sometimes called a jungle primary, pits all candidates against each other, regardless of party affiliation. The two candidates with the most votes become the final candidates for the general election. Thus, two candidates from the same party could run against each other in the general election.

What is the relationship between education and voter turnout?

Among those who have completed college, the 2012 voter turnout rate jumps to 75 percent of eligible voters, compared to about 52.6 percent for those who have completed only high school.

What voter registration procedures do states use?

Applications- online, in-person.

How does Oregon make it easier to register to vote?

Automatically registers many citizens once they turn 18.

What is ballot fatigue?

Ballot fatigue occurs when someone votes only for the top or important ballot positions, such as president or governor, and stops voting rather than continue to the bottom of a long ballot.

Which recent presidential candidate inspired young people to go to the polls in greater numbers than before?

Barack Obama

What factors do potential candidates consider when deciding to run for office?

Besides state requirements, potential candidates must also consider competitors, family obligations, and the likelihood of drawing financial backing. His or her spouse, children, work history, health, financial history, and business dealings also become part of the media's focus, along with many other personal details about the past.

How does voter turnout vary based on race/ethnicity?

Caucasians turn out to vote in the highest numbers, with 63 percent of white citizens voting in 2012. In comparison, 62 percent of African Americans, 31.3 percent of Asian Americans, and 31.8 percent of Hispanic citizens voted in 2012.

Crawford v. Marion County Election Board (2008)

Court upheld and Indiana law requiring registered voters to show a government-issued photo-ID since the law was "neutral and nondiscriminatory" and closely related to the interests of preventing voter fraud.

Which party do women tend to support?

Democratic

What is strategic voting?

Division of votes between two parties with similar policy views favors a party with more distant views. Voting for the smaller party essentially helps the ideological distant party.

What is Emily's List?

Early Money is like yeast (makes the dough rise) PAC that supports democratic women

Buckley v. Valeo (1976)

Establishes campaign money limits but also holds that contributions are a form of speech

What is Rock the Vote?

Gets young men and women to vote by using famous figures (ex: Sean "Diddy" Combs)

What was the purpose of the Help America Vote Act (2002)?

HAVA was passed in order to reform voting across the states and reduce these problems. As part of the Act, states were required to update voting equipment, make voting more accessible to the disabled, and maintain computerized voter rolls that could be updated regularly

How did Shelby v. Holder affect the VRA?

In Shelby County v. Holder (2013), the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, threw out the standards and process of the VRA, effectively gutting the landmark legislation. This decision effectively pushed decision-making and discretion for election policy in VRA states to the state and local level

What is the difference between an open primary and a closed primary?

In a closed primary, only members of the political party selecting nominees may vote. An open primary allows all voters to vote.

What is the winner-take-all method of distributing electoral votes?

In forty-eight states and the District of Columbia, the candidate who wins the most votes in November receives all the state's electoral votes, and only the electors from that party will vote

What are the minimum voter registration requirements in every state?

In order to be eligible to vote in the United States, a person must be a citizen, resident, and eighteen years old.

How did the enactment of the VRA affect African American registration and voting?

Increased African American voting turnout

Which state is most closely associated with the caucus system?

Iowa

Is voting mandatory in the United States? Is it in some other countries? Which countries?

It is not mandatory to vote in the US, it is optional. Some countries, such as Belgium and Turkey, have compulsory voting laws, which require citizens to vote in elections or pay a fine.

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act

Largely banned party soft money, restored a long-standing prohibition on corporations and labor unions for using general treasury funds for electoral purposes, and narrowed the definition of issue advocacy.

What are Voter ID laws?

Laws that prevent voter fraud, such as voting multiple times

Is direct democracy available throughout the United States?

Local direct democracy allows citizens to propose and pass laws that affect local towns or counties.

When does it usually become clear who a party's nominee for president will be?

Members of the candidate's family and important party members generally speak during the first few days of a national convention, with the vice presidential nominee speaking on the next-to-last night and the presidential candidate on the final night. The two chosen candidates then hit the campaign trail for the general election.

According to studies, which groups are most impacted by Voter ID laws?

Minorities who haven't yet graduated from college, low income households

Do men or women turn out in larger proportions?

More women vote than men today

In which region or regions of the country is direct democracy more common?

Most states in the western half of the country allow citizens all forms of direct democracy, while most states on the eastern and southern regions allow few or none of these forms

Are younger or older adults more likely to vote?

Older adults are more likely to vote

Are convicted felons allowed to vote?

Once his or her sentence is complete, depending on the state, they have the opportunity to restore voting rights, but not while incarcerated

What are arguments against early voting and mail voting?

One argument against early and mail-only voting is that those who vote early cannot change their minds during the final days of the campaign, such as in response to an "October surprise," a highly negative story about a candidate that leaks right before Election Day in November.

What steps have some states taken to increase voter registration?

Online registration, or registration through drivers license (no paper registration, signature, etc.)

What is the voting-age population (VAP)?

People 18 years and older. Some of these persons may not be eligible to vote in their state, but they are included because they are of age to do so.

What is pocketbook voting?

Pocketbook voting occurs when the voter looks at his or her personal finances and circumstances to decide how to vote.

How are candidates nominated for office?

Political parties have taken on the role of promoting nominees for offices, such as the presidency and seats in the Senate and the House of Representatives. Because there are no national guidelines, there is much variation in the nomination process

What factors affect voter turnout?

Race, ethnicity, income, gender, etc

How do voter requirements vary from state to state?

Some states enforce more stringent or unusual requirements on citizens who have committed crimes. Florida and Kentucky permanently bar felons and ex-felons from voting unless they obtain a pardon from the governor, while Mississippi and Nevada allow former felons to apply to have their voting rights restored

Shelby County v. Holder (2013)

Struck down provision of Voting Rights Act of 1965 requiring states engaged in past discrimination to get federal preclearance before instituting changes in voting laws or practices; allowed restrictive state voter ID laws to go forward (Roberts Court)

How did the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act affect campaign ads?

The BCRA decreased the role of soft money in political campaigns as the law places limits on the contributions by interest groups and national political parties.

What was the significance of the Voting Rights Act (VRA)?

The act protected the rights of minority voters by prohibiting state laws that denied voting rights based on race.

What is the incumbency advantage?

The distinct advantage that people who already hold office have over their challengers

When does the general election campaign take place?

The general election campaign period occurs between mid-August and early November.

What is the role of party conventions?

The purpose of a party convention is to select the party's nominee for President, as well as to adopt a statement of party principles and goals known as the platform and adopt the rules for the party's activities, including the presidential nominating process for the next election cycle.

What are reasons for low voter turnout?

The reasons range from the obvious excuse of being too busy (19 percent) to more complex answers, such as transportation problems (3.3 percent) and restrictive registration laws (5.5 percent).

What is frontloading?

The recent tendency of states to hold primaries early in the calendar in order to capitalize on media attention.

who selects the party's vice-presidential candidate

The vice president is elected indirectly by the voters of each state and the District of Columbia through the Electoral College, a body of electors formed every four years for the sole purpose of electing the president and vice president to concurrent four-year terms.

Why do women tend to wait later in life than men to run for office?

They struggle to balance campaigning and their workload with parenthood, so they wait until they are older. Additionally, because higher office is often attained only after service in lower office, there are repercussions to women waiting so long. If they do decide to run for the U.S. House of Representatives or Senate, they are often older, and fewer in number, than their male colleagues

How do candidates for elected office compare with the general population?

Those who seek elected office do not generally reflect the demographics of the general public: They are often disproportionately male, white, and more educated than the overall U.S. population.

Which group is the largest, which is the smallest, among VAP, VEP, and registered voters?

VAP is largest, VEP is in the middle, registered voters are the smallest

Can students attending college out of state vote?

Yes- absentee ballots or even in your college town

"Get out the vote" campaigns target which persons/voters?

Young voters, typically democratic

shadow campaigns

a campaign run by political action committees and other organizations without the coordination of the candidate

What is a party platform?

a document stating the aims and goals of a political party

What is a referendum?

a general vote by the electorate on a single political question that has been referred to them for a direct decision.

What is direct democracy?

a government in which people vote to make their own rules and laws

What is the Electoral College

a group of people selected from each state who cast votes in the presidential election. The number of Electoral College votes granted to each state equals the total number of representatives and senators that state has in the U.S. Congress or, in the case of Washington, DC, as many electors as it would have if it were a state

What is a midterm election?

a type of election where the people can elect their representatives in the middle of the term of the executive or of another set of members, held during the midpoint of the presidency

What are Super PACs?

a type of independent political action committee which may raise unlimited sums of money from corporations, unions, and individuals but is not permitted to contribute to or coordinate directly with parties or candidates.

What is the franking privilege?

allows Members of Congress to transmit mail matter under their signature without postage

What strategies do candidates employ in primary elections?

campaign ads in primary elections rarely mention political parties and instead focus on issue positions or name recognition.

What strategies do candidates employ in a general election?

campaign ads that focus on the faults/failures and berating of their opponent

What is the voting-eligible population (VEP)?

citizens eighteen and older who, whether they have registered or not, are eligible to vote because they are citizens, mentally competent, and not imprisoned.

What is the National Voter Registration Act (Motor Voter)? What was its purpose? What impact on turnout did it have?

enacted to expedite the registration process and make it as simple as possible for voters. The act required states to allow citizens to register to vote when they sign up for driver's licenses and Social Security benefits. this did not dramatically increase voter turnout, at one point decreasing it.

What is a residency requirement?

establishes how long a citizen must live in a state before becoming eligible to register: it is often thirty days.

What is the coattail effect?

gives members of a popular presidential candidate's party an increase in popularity and raises their odds of retaining office.

How has social media changed campaigns?

it is found that news use leads to political persuasion, therefore the more that people use social media platforms for news sources, the more their political opinions will be affected.

With which presidential candidate was the "Daisy Girl" ad associated?

lyndon b. johnson

What is early voting?

opens polling places as much as two weeks early.

What are political action committees (PACs)?

organizations set up by interest groups to collect and direct money to candidates and their campaigns

What is straight-ticket voting?

practice of voting for candidates of only one party in an election

Tillman Act

prohibited corporations from making direct contributions to candidates for federal office

district system

the means by which electoral votes are divided between candidates based on who wins districts and/or the state

What is recall?

the right that enables voters to remove unsatisfactory elected officials from office

What is mail voting?

there are no polling locations, only mailed ballots

What is the purpose of voter registration?

to prevent voter fraud

What is voter fatigue?

voters may vote many times per year on ballots filled with candidates and issues to research. The less time there is between elections, the lower the turnout.

chronic minority

voters who belong to political parties that tend not to be competitive in national elections because they are too small to become a majority or because of the Electoral College system distribution in their state (also those who vote libertarian party or Green Party)

What is retrospective voting?

voting based on the past performance of a candidate