Chapter 10: Elections in America
Recall
A procedure for submitting to popular vote the removal of officials from office before the end of their term.
Help Americans Vote Act 2003
Requiring the state to use computerized voter registration databases
Congressional Elections
-Every 2 years -First Tuesday after the first Monday in November -Do not coincide with pres. elections, midterm elections
National Presidential Elections
-Every 4 years -First Tuesday after the first Monday in November
Fundraising
-Fueled by enormous amounts of money -More money needed for competitive elections -appealing to both small and large donors -House of Rep = $31-94 million in 2018 -Incumbents= out raise their opponents
2016 Presidential Results
-Trump won -Republicans retained control of both houses of Congress -Swept southern state/midwest -Won florida/ohio/Michigan/Wisconsin/Pennsylvania -4th time in u.s history that candidate won majority in electoral college but did not win popular vote
Runoff Elections
A "second round" election in which voters choose between the top two candidates from the first round
Grassroots Campaign
A campaign that focuses on local or person-to-person activities -knock on doors -organize rallies
Political Action Committee (PAC)
A committee set up by a corporation, labor union, or interest group that raises and spends campaign money from voluntary donations
Wedge Issues
A controversial issue that one party uses to split the voters in the other party -George W. Bush is successfully at micro targeting
Party Convention
A gathering of delegates who nominate a party's presidential candidate
Proportional Representation
A multiple-member district system that allows each political party representation in proportion to its percentage of the total vote -Benefits smaller groups and third parties
Ballot Measures
A piece of proposed legislation to be approved or rejected by eligible voters
Party Platform
A political party's statement of its goals and policies for the next four years. The platform is drafted prior to the party convention by a committee whose members are chosen in rough proportion to each candidate's strength. It is the best formal statement of a party's beliefs.
Open Primaries
Allow all registered voters, including independents, to choose which primary they will participate in
Campaign
An effort by political candidates and their supporters to win the backing of donors, political activists, and voters in their quest for political office
Plurality System
An electoral system in which the winner is the person who gets the most votes, even if he or she does not receive a majority; used in almost all American elections
Town Hall Meeting
An informal public meeting in which candidates meet with ordinary citizens. Allows candidates to deliver messages without the presence of journalists or commentators -Popular in the 1990s
527 Committees (Super PACS)
Can raise and spend unlimited amounts as long as their efforts are not coordinated with those of any candidates campaign
Campaign Spending
Candidate may raise ever-increasing amounts of money from private individuals, corporations, and interest groups -Corruption?
Incumbents
Candidates running for re-election to positions that they already hold
Localities and States
Choose when to hold their election
Packing
Concentrating partisan voters in a single district in order to maximize the number of representatives that can be elected by the opposition in other districts
Midterm Election
Congressional election that takes place halfway through the president's term in office
Free Media
Coverage of a candidate's campaign by the news media
Grassroots and Mass Media Campaigns
Essentially two types of general election campaigns in the Unites States today: ___ ___ ___ ___
Cacuses
Give party leaders and activists a larger role in selecting candidates for public office -Voter turnout = low -Occur January of presidential election year and en in June with state elections roughly every two weeks
Buckly vs. Valeo
Government can put money limit on campaign donations without limiting freedom of speech
Electoral College
Group of electors who formally select the president and Vice President of the United States
1960 Kennedy-Nixon Clash
Highlighted the growing power and influence of TV, candidates agreed to 4 televised debates, debate boiled down to how candidates look and spoke rather than what they said, Kennedy looked healthy and was tanned while Nixon was pale and exhausted after a knee surgery
Big Data
Huge and complex data sets generated by today's sophisticated information generation, collection, storage, and analysis technologies -Used by Obama in 2008, first time big data was used to win presidential election
Democrats
In 2018 ____ won control of the House since 2010
Speechnow.org v. FEC
Individual contributions to advocacy groups may not be limited (Super PAC contributions $$$$) -Cannot contribute directly to their campaign
Referendum
Legislative act is referred for final approval to a popular vote by the electorate -Referendum votes are required for changes to state constitutions
Soft Money
Money raised in unlimited amounts by political parties for party-building purposes. Now largely illegal except for limited contributions to state or local parties for voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts.
Superdelegates
Party elites who are not bound to voting results in their state primaries and can vote as they wish
Straight-Ticket Vote
Selecting candidates from the same political party for all offices on the ballot
Retail Politics
Presidential candidates spend great deal of time in the state to meet with voters fact to face
Partisan Gerrymandering
Process by which districts are drawn to maximize the number of House seats a political party can win
Gerrymandering
Process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power -Elbridge Gerry, odd salamander, promote his party interest
Ballot Initiative
Proposed law or policy change that is placed on the ballot by citizens or interest groups for a popular vote
Delegates
Representatives; members of Congress who cast votes based on the wishes of their constituents
Cracking
Spreading voters of one type over many districts where they will comprise minorities that are unable to influence elections
Gill vs. Whitford
Supreme Court case involving the constitutionality of partisan gerrymandering
Baker vs. Carr
The Supreme Court ruling that all state districts must be equal in population., required that voting district needed to be reapportioned.
Redistricting
The redrawing of congressional and other legislative district lines following the census, to accommodate population shifts and keep districts as equal as possible in population.
Majority System
Type of electoral system in which, to win a seat in the parliament or other representative body, a candidate must receive a majority of all the votes cast in the relevant district to win(50% +1) -usually includes runoff election
Prospective Voting
Voting based on the imagined future performance of a candidate
Retrospective Voting
Voting based on the past performance of a candidate -economic voting -more important than prospective voting
Split-Ticket Voting
Voting for candidates of different parties for different offices at the same election
General Election
Winners of primary elections face one another as their parties nominees in _____ _____ - Winner of g.e. is elected to office for specified term
Elections
___ are the most important way that Americans participate in politics
Paid Media
a category of promotional tactic based on the traditional advertising model, whereby a brand pays for media space -TV -Radio -15/30/60 second spot
Majority-Minority Districts
an electoral district, such as a United States congressional district, in which the majority of the constituents in the district are racial or ethnic minorities -Shaw vs Reno
King Caucus
an informal meeting held in the nineteenth century, sometimes called a congressional caucus, made up of legislators in the Congress who met to decide on presidential nominees for their respective parties
Primary Elections
elections held to select a party's candidate for the general election -Used in races for office at the national, state, and often local levels -Select best candidate to represent the political party in general elections - Dem vs Dem and Repu vs Repu -Introduced to weaken the power of party leaders
501(c)(4) Committees
nonprofit and tax-exempt groups that can educate voters about issues and are not required to release the names of their contributors -"Dark Money"
Closed Primaries
only registered members of the party can vote in ____ _____ to select that party's candidates
Negative Ads
political campaign advertising, usually on television, in which candidates criticize the opponents rather than emphasizing their own platforms -John Geer found it benefits voters more -More memorable
National Popular Vote plan
proposal for electing the President whereby each State's election laws would provide for all of the State's electoral votes to be awarded to the winner of the national popular vote and enter into an interstate compact agreeing to elect the President by national popular vote