Lesson 3.5: Political Parties; Campaigns & Elections
How much $ was spent on the 2016 Presidential Campaign? What did they spend all the money on?
$6.5 billion for the presidential and congressional elections combined, according to campaign finance watchdog OpenSecrets.org.
What are 2 characteristics of minor parties?
1. Usually are formed because of disapproval of the two parties. 2. Usually focus on one or two issues or a popular potential candidate
What are the 3 goals of a convention?
1.to officially name the party's presidential and vice-presidential candidates 2. to adopt the party's platform 3. to follow major policy matters
What amendment outlined the process for counting votes?
12th
How many electoral votes is GA worth?
16 electoral votes (GA has 2 senators and 14 representatives)
How many electoral votes are needed to become President?
A candidate must receive 270 of the 538 electoral votes to become President or Vice President. If a candidate for President fails to receive 270 votes, the House itself will choose the President from among the three individuals who received the most electoral votes.
How many votes in the Electoral College does a candidate need?
A candidate needs the vote of at least 270 electors—more than half of all electors—to win the presidential election.
What is the Party Platform?
A political party platform, party program, or party manifesto is a formal set of principle goals which are supported by a political party or individual candidate, in order to appeal to the general public, for the ultimate purpose of garnering the general public's support and votes about complicated topics or issues.
What does it mean when ppl say the U.S. has a 2 party system?
A two-party system is a political party system in which two major political parties consistently dominate the political landscape. The US has a two-party political system because of two structural features in American politics: single-member districts and winner-take-all elections. Both features encourage the existence of 2 major parties, as smaller parties face great difficulty in winning elective office.
Why would a PAC give $ to a candidate?
ACs are typically formed to represent business, labor, or ideological interests by individuals who wish to privately raise money to donate to a political campaign.
What happens if there is a tie in the Electoral College?
According to the 12th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the newly-elected House of Representatives would determine the winner. The House would also decide the election if no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes.
What are the 2 major political parties in the U.S.?
Democratic and Republican
What is the electoral college?
Established in Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution, the Electoral College is the formal body which elects the President and Vice President of the United States.
What court has influenced campaign finance?
Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010), was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States concerning the relationship between campaign finance and free speech.
How is a Caucus diff from a Primary?
In presidential campaigns, a caucus is a system of local gatherings where voters decide which candidate to support and select delegates for nominating conventions. A primary is a statewide voting process in which voters cast secret ballots for their preferred candidates.
How many electoral votes are available?
Of the current 538 electors, an absolute majority of 270 or more electoral votes is required to elect the president and vice president.
How are political parties organized?
Parties are made up of three types of members. Governmental members are the office holders and candidates; organizational members are the workers and activists; and electorate members are those who vote for the party or consider themselves to be associated with it. Parties are structured in a hierarchy, with the national party committee at the top, then the fifty state committees, and then local county committees.
Why was the 12th amendment needed?
Passed by Congress December 9, 1803, and ratified June 15, 1804, the 12th Amendment provided for separate Electoral College votes for President and Vice President, correcting weaknesses in the earlier electoral system which were responsible for the controversial Presidential Election of 1800 (there was a tie). *An amendment to the Constitution, adopted in 1804, that specifies the separate election of the president and vice president by the electoral college
When did the 1st political parties begin? Who led these parties?
Political factions or parties began to form during the struggle over ratification of the federal Constitution of 1787. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson led partisan political factions or parties into the national elections of 1796.
Why do we have the electoral system?
The Electoral College was created for two reasons. The first purpose was to create a buffer between population and the selection of a President. The second as part of the structure of the government that gave extra power to the smaller states.To give the old president some time to get things done, and the new one time to get things together before becoming president.
Why did the founders use the Electoral College?
The Founding Fathers established the Electoral College in the Constitution, in part, as a compromise between the election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens.
Who is at the top of the National Party?
The chair of the national committee is chosen by the party's candidate for president. The Democratic and Republican national committees do not run the campaigns of their respective presidential candidates; they play a supporting role to the campaign organizations of the candidates themselves.
What formula determines the number of electoral votes that each state receives?
The formula for determining the number of votes for each state is simple: each state gets two votes for its two US Senators, and then one more additional vote for each member it has in the House of Representatives.
How many electoral votes from a state do you win if you win a majority of the votes?
The number of electors each state gets is equal to its total number of Senators and Representatives in Congress. A total of 538 electors form the Electoral College. Each elector casts one vote following the general election. The candidate who gets 270 votes or more wins.
When is the Presidential General Election?
Tuesday November 5th, 2024
How are PAC and SUPER PACs diff?
Unlike traditional PACs, Super PACs can raise funds from individuals, corporations, unions, and other groups without any legal limit on donation size.
What are voters actually voting for?
When voters go to the polls in a Presidential election, they actually vote for the slate of electors who have vowed to cast their ballots for that ticket in the Electoral College.
What is a PAC?
a political action committee (PAC) is a political committee that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation.
What is the General Election?
an election in which candidates are elected to offices. This is in contrast to a primary election, which is used either to narrow the field of candidates for a given elective office or to determine the nominees for political parties in advance of a general election.
Roles of the local organizations:
bring together people who have similar needs and interests. They can share ideas, give support to each other, and undertake projects together.
What are some other factors that impact party identification?
class, gender, religion
Where do we typically get our party identification from?
family and social influences
The most important right in a democracy:
free speech
Who did the 15th amendment extend the right to vote to? How did Southern states limit this right?
granted black men the right to vote. through the use of poll taxes, literacy tests, and other means, southern states effectively limited this right.
Cause and result of the 26th amendment
granted the right to vote to American citizens aged 18 or older
Who did the 19th amendment extend the right to vote to?
granted women the right to vote
How do they raise $ in presidential campaigns?
he public funding program was designed to use tax dollars to: Match the first $250 of each contribution from individuals that an eligible presidential candidate receives during the primary campaign; and. Fund the major party nominees' general election campaigns (and assist eligible minor party nominees).
Result of the 24th amendment
outlawed the poll tax as a voting requirement in federal elections
What is a political party?
people with shared ideas who seek to control the government
What is the difference btwn an Open vs Closed Primary?
primary elections that are open to all voters, regardless of their political party affiliation. Open primaries give voters the greatest amount of freedom when casting their vote because they can privately vote in either party's primary. Voters in areas with open primaries can vote for a candidate in their party, or they may choose to vote on the other party's ballot, crossing party lines. Open primaries also allow independent and third-party voters to participate in primaries without registering with the party. Vs losed primaries have to officially register for a political party before they can vote in the party's primary. Once the voter has registered with a particular party, the voter can only participate in that party's primary election. For example, Republicans can only vote in the Republican primaries, and Democrats can only vote in the Democratic primaries. An important feature of the closed primary system is that it forces voters to affiliate with a political party before they can vote in a primary election. Therefore, independent and non-affiliated voters are generally forced to affiliate with either the Republican or Democratic party to cast their vote in a primary election.
What is a nomination?
the choosing of a candidate for election, appointment, or honor
Define suffrage
the right to vote in political elections
When our country 1st started who were the only people allowed to vote?
white men age 21 and older who owned land