Voting, Elections, and Campaigns

superdelegate

delegate slot to the DNP's national convention that is reserved for an elected party member

how to reform the Electoral College

...

changes in the Electoral College

12th Amendment (separate elections for pres and VP), abolish the electoral college and leave the voting up to the popular vote, congressional district plan, keep the system but eliminate the electors altogether

important voting patterns

40% of eligible voters votes, more educated, older citizens, women, whites, members of organizations with links to politics, interest in the political system

get-out-the-vote

GOTV, push at the end of a political campaign to encourage supporters to go to the polls, volunteer responsibility

closed primary

a primary election in which only a party's registered voters are eligible to vote

open primary

a primary in which party members, independents, and sometimes members of the other party are allowed to vote

runoff primary

a second primary election between the two candidates receiving the greatest number of votes in the first primary

mandate

a command, indicated by an electorate's votes, for the elected officials to carry out their platforms

prospective judgement

a voter's evaluation of a candidate's claims for what he will do in the future, looking ahead

retrospective judgement

a voter's evaluation of the performance of the party currently in power, looking at past experience

negative ad

advertising on behalf of a candidate that attacks the opponent's platform or character, more recent form of ads

positive ad

advertising on behalf of a candidate that stresses the candidate's qualifications, family, and issue positions without referencing the opponent

inoculation ad

advertising that attempts to counteract an anticipated attack from the opposition before the attack is launched

contrast ad

advertising that compares the records and proposals of the candidates often with a bias leaning towards the sponsor

recall

an election in which voters can remove an incumbent from office by popular vote

ballot measure

an election option on a ballot that enables voters to enact public policy

initiative

an election that allows citizens to propose legislation and submit it to the state electorate for popular vote

referendum

an election whereby the state legislature submits proposed legislation to the state's voters for approval

raiding

an organized attempt by voters of one party to influence the primary results of another party

Internet team

campaign staff that makes use of web-based resources to communicate with voters / raise funds / organize volunteers / plan campaign events

winner-takes-all primary

candidate who wins the most votes in a state secures all the state's delegates

proportional representation primary

candidates who win a certain percentage of the vote wins that proportion of the delegates' votes

differences between primaries and caucuses

caucus very traditional, primaries are more democratic, primaries attract more people but they don't necessarily know as much as party members, scheduling of primaries affects the outcomes like peer pressure, front-loading, internet lets parties gain lots of money and attention

free media

coverage of a candidate's campaign by the news media (newspaper stories, tv special reports), tends to be less-biased and often proclaims a candidate a winner, also famous for undermining candidates, greatly affects how voters view candidates

public funds

donations from the general tax revenues to the campaigns of qualifying presidential candidates

matching funds

donations to presidential campaigns from the federal government that are determined by the amount of private funds a qualifying candidate raises

general election

election in which voters decide which candidates will actually fill elective public offices

primary elections

election in which voters decide which of the candidates within a party will represent the party in the general election

party conventions

election year gathering that formally draft the party's platform and nominate the party's presidential candidate

midterm elections

elections that occur in the middle of a presidential term, often incumbents lose their seats during this voting time, if the president has made some questionable policy decisions, members of his party in the House or Senate will have a lesser chance of being reelected

political action committees

federally mandated and officially registered fundraising committees that represent interest groups in the political process (PACs)

candidate debate

forum in which political candidates face each other to discuss their platforms / records / character, important to get themselves out there and correct misconceptions about their campaign

press secretary

individual charged with interacting and communicating with journalists and organizing press conferences on a regular basis

how can money be raised for campaigns?

individual contributions, PAC contributions, political party contributions, member-to-candidate contributions, candidates' personal contributions, public funds

campaign manager

individual who travels with the candidate and coordinates the many different aspects of the campaign, most important member

how campaigns control media coverage

isolate the candidate from the press to avoid misspeakings, create sound bites for media coverers to attend and pick up catchy sayings to use in stories without showing candidate in negative light, put a spin on their candidate to make them perceived in a certain way by the public, appear on talk shows

gerrymandering

legislative process used by majority party to make sure that the maximum number of representatives can be elected through the redrawing of district lines, often used by incumbents to protect their seats in a divided government, Supreme Court has determined that Congressional/state legislature districts MUST be distributed based on population / district lines MUST be able to be drawn with a single line / purposely gerrymandering to promote political minority strength is illegal

ways to improve voter turnout

make registration easier, make Election Day a holiday, strengthen political parties, use technology, hold elections on weekends, hold fewer elections

electors

member of the Electoral College chosen by methods determined in each state

new media

new technologies that blur the line between paid and free media sources (Internet, blogs, Facebook), way of distributing info quickly and effectively, robo-calling

campaign staff

paid staff, consultants, volunteers all work to make sure the candidate has the best shot at winning the election

general election campaign

part of a political campaign aimed at winning the general election

nomination campaign

part of a political campaign aimed at winning the primary

crossover voting

participation in the primary of a party with which the voter is not affiliated

patterns in voting choice

party identification (declared party members are more likely to vote for members of their own party), race/ethnicity (whites tend to vote Republican and minorities tend to vote Democrat), gender (men more likely to vote Republican, women more likely to vote Democrat), religion (Jews tend to vote Democratic, Catholics tend to vote Republican), income (poor vote Democrat, rich vote Republican), ideology (liberals vote Democrat, conservatives vote Republican), issues

caucus

party members meet in small groups to select the party's candidates, popular when political parties had lots of control

unit rule

party practice under which the majority of a state can for the minority to vote for the candidate they support

candidate

person running for office motivated by ambition/ideological ideals, exhausting, try to get to know American people

communications director

person who develops the overall media strategy for the candidate, blends free press coverage/paid TV/radio/mail media, basically in charge of the message the candidate is portraying

paid media

political advertisements purchased for a candidate's campaign (particular commercials created by campaign team)

conventional political participation

political participation that tries to influence politics in a well-accepted and moderate manner (voting)

unconventional political participation

political participation that tries to influence politics in unusual or extreme measures (boycotts, protests, etc.)

campaign consultants

private-sector professionals who sell to a candidate their technologies / services / strategies required to get that candidate elected, not a permanent member, brought in to enhance campaign not run it

voter canvass

process by which a campaign reaches individual voters (either by door-to-door solicitation or by telephone), volunteer responsibility

finance chair

professional who coordinates the fundraising efforts and the ways in which money is spent during the campaign

media consultant

professional who produces candidates' video / radio / print advertisements

direct mailer

professional who supervises a political campaign's direct mail fundraising strategies

pollster

professional who takes public opinion surveys that guide an individual's campaign attack strategy

reapportionment

reallocation of the number of seats in the House after the census, affects the number of Electorates each state receives

ways for an incumbent to lose reelection

redistricting (incumbents can be put in districts with stronger incumbents, territory added could be unsupportive), scandals (financial/sexual scandals don't lose reelections - they cause incumbents to retire), presidential coattails (presidential candidates often influence Congressional elections - if they lose the election, their party often has less success in gaining seats in the legislature)

ways to reform the voting process

regional primaries, campaign finance reform, online voting, voting by mail, modernizing the ballot

Electoral College

representatives of each state who cast the final ballots that actually elect the president, vehicle for the people's ideas and opinions, started because the founding fathers didn't think the people were educated enough to effectively elect a president

incumbency advantage

staff support (if staff members within the incumbent's control were helpful to voters, the incumbent has a greater chance of re-election), media and travel (most office holders get out to meet the voting public, often increasing support of the candidate), The "scare-off" effect (incumbents have large amounts of power within the government; challenging one seems risky)

authoritarian system

system of govt that bases its rule on force rather than the consent of the governed

spot ad

television advertising on behalf of a candidate that is broadcast in 60- 30- or 10-second durations

front-loading

tendency of states to choose an early date on the primary calendar in order to influence other states' primaries, tends to benefit the frontrunner, often won by candidate who has raised the most money

electorate

the citizens eligible to vote

incumbency

the holding of an office

turnout

the proportion of the voting-age population that votes

redistricting

the redrawing of congressional districts according to the number of seats allowed per state and population redistribution, used by office holders to create districts that only include their supporters

why don't people vote?

too busy, registration is too difficult, absentee voting is a hassle, too many different elections to keep track of, my vote won't make a difference, the political parties no longer have as much control over voters

soft money

virtually unregulated money funneled by individuals and political committees through state and local parties