POLS 1101H: W11 - Elections

> Be accessible to all eligible people > Have votes be counted accurately and not be confusing > Doesn't punish voters for voting sincerely

The 3 Ideal Voting System Requirements:

> Education > Race/Ethnicity > Age

The 3 factors that influence voter turnout:

The 2016 Election

A controversial election in which Hillary Clinton was believed to have won, but due to (1) people being tired of deadlock politics, (2) Trump's message of helping blue collar workers, (3) people's preference of an outsider in politics rather than someone who has made a career out of it, Trump won. Also controversial because Hillary Clinton won the popular vote but lost the electoral vote.

Instant Runoff Voting / Ranked Choice Voting

A method of runoff election without having voters come back is called {}, which has voters rank their candidates in order of preference.

Runoff Elections

{} are elections in which candidates must win 50%+ of votes. If there are 3+ candidates with no one getting 50%+, then the top 2 candidates are chosen and they vote again. Problem: Voters barely turnout once, so they're less likely to vote again.

Party caucuses

{} are meetings of registered party members in a given state or district. They meet to discuss and evaluate candidates. In these meetings, candidates have representatives who give speeches on their behalf, and candidates themselves may appear at some {} meetings to meet with part members. After hours of discussion, debate, and deliberation, the members of each district cast votes in favor of a candidate

Primary elections

{} are statewide elections held to determine the official candidates for each party for a number of offices. Just as with caucuses, each state party decides when to hold its elections, so, in some states, a span of months may separate party elections

McGovern-Fraser Committee

{} created primaries and caucuses, initially under the Democratic Party, but the idea was adopted by Republicans as well.

First past the post

Type of election where voters choose the candidate they want to win, and the candidate with the most votes wins. With only 2 candidates so whoever has 50%+ wins With 2+ candidates, whoever has the most wins (even if it's less than 50%)

> Initiative - Indirect - Direct > Referendum > Recall

Types of Democratic Voter Input:

First past the post

Voters choose the candidate they want to win, and the candidate with the most votes wins the election.

Faithless electors

When electors vote against the wishes of the voters and the political party

Recall

(A type of Democratic voter input) A {} allows voters to remove an officeholder from office if enough believe that the person has done a poor job or is corrupt. This can also be called the "people's impeachment." Voters must gather a certain number of signatures calling for a {} of an official. After reaching the required threshold, then states refer the question to the ballot.

Referendum

(A type of Democratic voter input) A {} is a measure that allows voters to repeal existing legislation. Voters must gather a certain number of signatures backing a repeal. Those signatures must be from registered voters. After reaching the required threshold, then states can refer the measure to the voters. If the measure passes, then the existing law is repealed.

Initiative

(A type of Democratic voter input) An {} is a measure that allows voters to propose and vote on legislation. Voters must gather a certain number of signatures backing a stated proposal. Those signatures must be from registered voters. After reaching the required threshold, then states may take one of two options...

Direct initiatives

(A type of Democratic voter input) The measure is placed on the ballot for voters. If the measure passes, then the law is enacted.

Indirect initiatives

(A type of Democratic voter input) The petition is laid before the state legislature. The legislature may pass it as is or make changes. It then releases the measure to public vote.

Nonpartisan Blanket

(A type of primary election) Some areas use a primary that does not allow party tags to be used on ballots. These are called {}. In these elections, the primary merely winnows down the number of candidates to two top vote getters who become finalists who run against each other in the general election. The two top may technically be members of the same political party. Louisiana uses this system.

Open

A type of primary election in which states with {} primaries allow all registered voters to vote in all party primaries. A voter does not have to already be registered as a party member or declare party affiliation the day of the primary. Some states have this method as a way of allowing all voters a chance to have a voice in the selection of candidates on whom they will vote in the general election, thus giving voters more choice. Some people believe that this type of primary also prevents party politics from becoming too dominant.

Semi-Open

A type of primary election in which states with {} primaries allow registered voters to choose one party ballot on which to vote. Voters need not be registered as members of a party or be limited to the party in which they are registered. Registered Republicans may choose to vote in the Democratic Primary or vice versa. Advocates argue that this system allows voters to have maximum choice while also preventing voters from one party attempting to sabotage the opposing party by voting in that primary for a weak candidate. If a voter chose to do this, then they would forego their chance of selecting the candidate in their own party.

Semi-Closed

A type of primary election in which states with {} primaries allow voters who are registered with a particular party to only vote in that party primary. Party members may not change affiliations on election day. Independent voters however may either choose which party primary they wish to participate in or they are allowed to register as members of the party on election day and vote in their newly declared party primary.

Closed

A type of primary election in which states with {} primaries only allow registered members of parties to vote in their party primary. Voters must declare party affiliation before election day. Independent voters are not allowed to participate in party primaries. Some advocates argue this is actually the most fair system because party candidates are only decided by declared party members. Critics argue that this system excludes many voices and limits voter choice.

True

Early caucuses and primaries in states can affect the results in other states. True/False

False

Elections are simply decided by ballot count and a simply majority. There are no errors, variations to how ballots are counted, or thresholds for victory. True/False

535 electoral votes

Electoral college elector number and formula:

Winner-take-all system

Electoral college was designed to be a {}, in which the candidate with the popular vote gets all the electoral votes for the state (though some states have changed it to be more proportional; candidates get proportional electoral votes to the popular votes they got).

False

In 2000 and 2016, the candidate with the popular vote won. True/False

True

In Alabama's 1964 Election, many eligible citizens were unable to register to vote. True/False

Pre-selected Biases

In spite of all of the time and resources spent on campaigns, they actually have minimal influence on the outcome of an election. This phenomenon has to do with the fact that most voters have {}; early on, they identify candidates with whom they agree or follow candidates from their party. Rarely do voters approach a campaign with an "open mind," looking to see a policy debate that helps them develop their own policy opinions or values. That means most voters are not influenced or swayed from one stance to another during a campaign

> Takes longer to pick candidates > Takes longer to cast ballot > Polling places have longer lines > People are discouraged from voting (because of the long lines) > People may not have enough information about candidates

Issues with ranked choice voting system:

Electors

People chosen by political parties, pledged to vote for a particular candidate

> Electors as public trustees (protect the public) > Fear of widespread democracy (by the founders) and electorate served as a safety net against uninformed > Better balance between large and small states, so candidates don't focus on high population states for votes (though candidates still focus on high electoral count states) > Slavery (3/5 compromise helped south protect slavery)

Reasons for an Electoral College:

270 electoral votes

Required number of electoral college votes to win:

> Hasn't' fought in a rebellion/insurrection against the US > Not currently in office

Requirements for electors:

Quorum Rule

Requires at least 50% of voting members present to hold a vote (non-US)

Education

The most important predictor in voter turnout:

Gerrymandering

The process of reapportioning districts for political advantage.

> Open > Semi-Open > Semi-Closed > Closed > Nonpartisan Blanket

The types of primary elections:

Spoiler Effect

The {} occurs when a candidates has a more likely path to victory (at that instance) so voters abandon their candidates for the one that seems more likely. {} candidates may not have had a real initial chance, but with {}, now they do.

General elections

{} give voters a chance to decide which candidate actually wins office. These elections do not require party registration. States may have more restrictive or more relaxed rules surrounding voting, but they must adhere to the Constitution of the United States and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. During {}, voters may cast votes on candidates for elective office, but they may also cast ballots on other items. Some states allow a variety of measures on which voters may act. Most of these measures were passed during the Progressive Era as ways in which voters could check the power of legislatures and governments

Over-voting

{} is an issue with the ranked choice voting system and first past the post system, where a voter votes for more than 1 candidate and/or ranks more than 1 candidate as a certain ranking

Electoral College

{} is the system in which voters vote for a candidate and electors take the responses of the voters and vote alongside them, rather than the actual voters deciding the election.

Campaigns

{} serve as massive "pep rallies" for candidates and parties. The {} does more to solidify the support of the members of the party (party in the electorate) to vote for party candidates as well as to get them to donate money and time to the party organization or the {}. This helps build a "war chest" of cash reserves parties can use as organizations to identify, select, and run candidates in the future. {} funding helps to keep current {} moving along and the support of volunteers helps to get word out about candidates, and, even more importantly, they solidify the identification of the volunteers with the party, its candidates, and its goals. They also work on convincing the small percentage of undecided voters to vote for their candidate.