Chapter 14 Campaigns and Elections

Buckley v. Valeo (1976)

-1st Amendment protects campaign spending; legislatures can limit contributions, but not how much one spends of his own money on campaigns. -One of the first challenges to the FEC law -argue law limit free speech -Court rule congress cannot limit candidates donation to their own campaign or set maximum on overall receipts or expenditures for campaign

Citizens United v. FEC

-A 2010 decision by the United States Supreme Court holding that independent expenditures are free speech protected by the 1st Amendment and so cannot be limited by federal law. Leads to creation of SuperPACs & massive rise in amount of third party electioneering (Citizens for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow) -Overturn key parts of BCRA law

Super Tuesday

-A Tuesday in early March in which many presidential primaries, particularly in the South, are held. -So known because of the large number of primaries that take place on that day -when the nomination contest narrows and voters start to converge around fewer or one nominee

Electors

-A group of people named by each state legislature to select the president and vice president -each state receive same number of electors -cannot also be U.S. senators or representatives

open primary

-A primary election in which voters may choose in which party to vote as they enter the polling place -Used by about half of the states today

closed primary

-A primary in which only registered members of a particular political party can vote; voters must declare party affiliation in advance of Election Day

Referendum

-A state-level method of direct legislation that gives voters a chance to approve or disapprove proposed legislation or a proposed constitutional amendment -can repeal an unpopular law

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act

-Banned soft money donations to political parties (loophole from FECA); increased limits on hard money donations to $2000; placed a limit on how much an individual could donate to multiple candidates in a two year cycle -brought greater attention to soft moneys influence on elections and highlight how influence subvert 1970s reforms -Made in 2002 -also known as McCain-Feingold law -Pass house with 240-189 vote and senate with 60-40 vote, Bush sign -Ban soft money contributions

Super PACs

-Newest kind of political action committee -Creation result from CItizens United v. FEC and Speechnow v. FEC -Formed by anyone -Can collect from anyone -Cannot coordinate with candidates -No donations limits

Nonconnected PACs

-No sponsoring organization and often form around a single issue -can solicit funds from anyone in the general public and they can make direct donations to candidates up to limits set by law -Must register with FEC and disclose their donors

primary election

-Nominating election held to choose party candidates who will run in the general election -candidates must first win this

incumbent advantage phenomenon

-Person in office more likely to win (name recognition, free mailing, media coverage); ability to use all the tools of the presidency to support candidacy for a second term -the ability to use all the tools of office to support candidacy for a second term -80 % reelection -already very well known, having commanded the national spotlight as the head of the country for 4 years -4 years of experience doing the job and a record people can use to evaluate performance -still commands the ¨bully pulpit¨ the ability to use their position to get messages out to the American people -already proven can win elections -already have a network of campaign contributors to raise large sums of money -network of campaign staff and volunteers for voter outreach

initiative

-Procedure whereby a certain number of voters may, by petition, propose a law or constitutional amendment and have it submitted to the voters -citizens or an organized group formulate a law in writing, then gather the necessary number of registered voters´ signatures on a petition to place the proposal on the ballot for approval by the electorate at large -have direct and indirect -direct go directly form the citizen effort to the ballot for citizen approval -indirect must first go to the state legislature

voter registration

-System designed to reduce voter fraud by limiting voting to those who have established eligibility to vote by submitting the proper documents. -states require this 30 days in advance to create voter rolls or poll books

Twenty-Third Amendment

-The 1961 constitutional amendment permitting residents of Washington, D.C., to vote in presidential elections; DC gets 3 electoral votes -bring total to 538 -candidate who earn 270 simple majority wins

midterm election

-The congressional election that occurs midway through the president's term of office -federal elections that take place halfway through a president´s term -receive a fraction of the media attention and fewer voters cast ballots

invisible primary

-The period before any votes are cast when candidates compete to win early support from the elite of the party and to create a positive first impression of their leadership skills -sometimes called the media primary or money primary -as the election year nears, candidates compete in this long before states vote

Electoral College

-a body of people representing the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president -a revered and frustrated part of presidential election -simultaneous gathering of electors to vote in capital cities on the same day -framers include in Constitution to temper public opinion and allow informed statesmen to select a consensus president

polling place

-a place where voters go to cast their votes in an election -often a school or community center -size determined by the supervisor of elections

Federal Election Commission

-a six-member bipartisan agency that enforces and administers campaign finance laws

blanket primary

-allows voters to cast votes fro candidates in multiple parties -rarest primary -California and other western states pioneered this -allows split ticket

winner-take-all

-an election system in which the candidate with the most votes wins all of the electoral votes of the state

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 -the most if not even the majority of votes will receive all of states electoral votes

political action committees (PACs)

-committee formed by a special-interest group to raise money for their favorite political candidates -give 12$ to an incumbent for every 1$ they donate to a challenger

wards

-divisions of a city for electoral or administrative purposes or as units for organizing political parties -for purposes of voting, counties, cities, and towns are subdivided into this -they are broken into precincts

hard money

-donations give directly to a candidate; can be traced and regulated

soft money

-donations to a party or interest group -not tracted

war chest

-funds collected by a candidate to spend on a political campaign -bank account for campaigning for a candidate -play a role in victory or loss

Caucuses

-meetings of party leaders to determine party policy or to choose the party's candidates for public office -less convenient and more public -2 hour commitment makes attendance hard -people who show up are dedicated and strong opinioned

Leadership PACs

-nonconnected PAC -can be started by any current or former elected official and can raise money from the general public -cannot be used to fund the officials own campaigns -funds used to cover travel and other expenses

incumbent

-one already holding office -one seeking a second term has a much easier time securing the nomination than a challenger

Connected PACs

-political action committees funded separately from the organization´s treasury through donations from members -also known as Separate Segregated Funds because money separated from sponsoring organizations´ treasuries -cannot solicit donations from anyone not a member of organization -Must register with FEC and disclose their donors

Recall

-procedure whereby voters can remove an elected official from office -19 states allow this to happen in the middle of an elected official´s term -if the effort makes the ballot and over half the voters vote to recall the official, he or she loses their job -a list of candidates to replace the official is on this ballot

Iowa Caucus

-rank and file party members meet at community centers, schools, and private homes where they listen to endorsing speeches, discuss candidates, and then finally cast their ballot before leaving the caucus

front-loading

-states scheduling their primaries and caucuses earlier and earlier to boost their political clout and to enhance their tourism -Iowa and New Hampshire

Swing States

-states with less regular history of being democratic of republican -victories swing from one party to another in different elections -candidates concentrate their resources in those states

coatail effect

-the effect of a strong candidate running for an office at the top of a ballot helping to attract voters to other candidates on the party's ticket -during election years, congressional candidates can often ride the popularity of their party´s presidential candidate

matching money

-the federal government will match, dollar for dollar, all individual donations all individual donations of $250 or less.

Federal Election Campaign Act

-tightened reporting requirements and limited candidates' expenditures -passed by Congress 1971 -limited an individuals contributions to 1000 per election -limited a candidates own contribution to 50000 per election -defined and regulated donations of political action committees -created a voluntary public fund to assist viable presidential candidates

New Hampshire Primary

-traditionally, these are the first of the public votes for the new presidential election. it occurs in Jan. of the election year; voters actively engage presidential candidates; candidates cautiously frame their primary election night speeches to paint themselves as front runners -candidates travel state and hold town hall forums -seek endorsement of Manchester Union-Journal -campaign small towns -voters actively engage candidates

precincts

-voting districts -wards are broken into these -a small geographic area of about 500-1,000 voters

split ticket

-voting for candidates of different parties for various offices in the same election; picking Republicans in some races and Democrats in others

general election

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