CNC1 - Chapter 12

Closed primary

a type of primary election in which voters are required to be registered with a political party in order to participate in voting for that party's nominees.

Open primary

a type of primary election in which voters do not have to be registered with a political party in order to participate in voting for that party's nominees.

Primary election

an election conducted within a political party to select its candidates for the general election.

Electoral College

an institution created by the Constitution to permit indirect election of the president.

Political Action Committees

organizations established by individuals or private groups with the aim of raising money to contribute to candidates for elective office. PACs are regulated by the Federal Election Commission.

National Conventions

party meetings held every four years to establish the party platforms and officially nominate presidential candidates to run in the general election.

Soft money

unregulated donations to party organizations to cover their operational. The BCRA (Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act) banned unregulated soft money donations to political parties.

What are the steps for a President to be elected? (the Presidential Nomination Process, etc.)

-Candidate announces plan to run for office. (speeches & debates) -Candidate campaigns to win delegate support (nomination campaign) -Caucuses and primary elections take place in the states. (Caucuses and primaries are ways for the general public to take part in nominating presidential candidates.) -Nominee for president is announced at national party conventions. (The main goal of a national party convention is to unify party members behind the party's platform and nominees.) After the convention, the second stage of the presidential campaign begins: the election campaign. -Citizens cast their votes. (Many Americans think that when they cast their ballot, they are voting for their chosen candidate. In actuality they are selecting groups of electors in the electoral college.) -The electoral college casts its votes. (electors are usually chosen by popular vote.) -The president is inaugurated. (On January 20, the president enters office in a formal ceremony know as the inauguration.)

How many Electoral College votes does it take to win the Presidency?

270 electoral votes are required.

How often are elections held for the Senate?

A Senator holds his/her seat for six years, but elections are held every two years. This process divides the Senate into three groups, resulting in the reelection of one of the three groups (one-third of the Senate) at a time. By doing so, the Senate is sure to maintain experienced senators as new ones (aka "Freshmen Senators") replace the old ones.

Split-ticket voting

A ballot on which not all votes have been cast for candidates of the same party. A ticket on which not all the candidates nominated by a party are members of the party.

Describe a party-oriented strategy.

A strategy in which a candidate relies on the party's platform and record, as well as the organization's resources, to appeal to voters' partisan identification.

Describe candidate oriented strategy.

A strategy where a candidate using this strategy organizes the campaign efforts around his or her personal characteristics, such as experience, leadership capacity, and integrity.

Describe an issue oriented strategy.

A strategy which is directed at groups of Americans with strong preferences toward policy on specific issues.

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA)

Campaign financing for federal elections is currently controlled by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act. Since the passage of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, which placed additional regulations on the financing of political campaigns, interest groups have been particularly useful to campaigns through their financial sponsorship of political advertising.

Where are the Electors chosen?

Generally, the political parties nominate Electors at their State party conventions or by a vote of the party's central committee in each State. Each candidate will have their own unique slate of potential Electors as a result of this part of the selection process.

What are the steps for Senators and Representatives to get elected?

If you wish to be one of the U.S. senators representing your state, you first need to win the nomination of your state's political party. You then need to win the most popular votes among your state's voters in the general election. Senators: Each state has 2 senators, each of which is elects once every 6 years. Representatives: Each state is divided into several districts, each of which has approximately the same population. Each district elects 1 representative and the number of districts in a state depends on the population. Min. age for Senate is 30, Representative 25 must have been a citizen for a min. of 9 years and must live in the state they which to represent

How often are elections held for the President?

In America, they are held every 4 years. Election Day is the first Tuesday after the first Monday.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the Electoral College?

One advantage is that it preserves the principle of federalism built into the Constitution by the Founders. The Constitution calls for the president and vice president to be selected by representatives of the people of the independent states. The use of the electoral college also makes the election process easier from a technical perspective. Each state sponsors its own statewide election. Another advantage is that this system allows for small states to exert influence over the presidential selection process. Just as small states are overrepresented in the Senate, so too are they overrepresented in the electoral college, since each state is guaranteed at least three electoral votes regardless of population size. Rather than concentrating campaign activity in only the most populated parts of the country, the electoral college system encourages candidates to spend some time and attention campaigning in small states and rural areas. One disadvantage of the electoral college system is that a candidate can win the popular vote nationally and still lose the election, as happened in the 2000 contest between George W. Bush and Al Gore. If we add up the total number of votes each candidate wins in each state, the person with the most popular votes may not necessarily be the person with the majority of electoral votes. The consequence of this is that the person who more Americans want to see in the Oval Office may not end up there if he does not also win at least 270 electoral votes. This scenario is particularly likely if one candidate wins a few large states but loses the vast majority of small states, who are overrepresented in the electoral college. Another disadvantage of the electoral college system is that it concentrates campaign activity in battleground or swing states, which are those in which support for the major candidates is evenly divided. In a swing state, either candidate has a chance at winning the states' electoral votes on election day.

Election Cycle

Political campaigns adopt strategies and employ tactics depending on a number of factors related to the stage in the election cycle, the level of office sought, the characteristics of the state or district, the degree of competition for the seat, and the financial resources available to the candidate. A campaign strategy is the overall approach used to convince citizens to vote for the candidate, while campaign tactics are the specific procedures used to execute the strategy.

What is the Electoral College?

The electoral college was established by the Constitution, although the document does not actually refer to it by that name. Article II, section 1 of the Constitution mentions electors that are to be responsible for selecting the president and vice president. Electors are to be appointed by states. In all but a few states, only the names of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates—and not the names of the electors nominated to vote on behalf of each candidate if chosen—appear on the ballot. In other words the people vote for electors who then vote for the president and the vice president.

Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA)

The original law—known as the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA)—distinguished between hard money for candidates and soft money for campaigns.

Describe how campaigns have moved from being party-centered to candidate-centered.

The shift from party-centered to candidate-centered elections is also a result of significant technological advancements that have permitted candidates to exert more control over their individual electoral fortunes. With the introduction of televisions into American homes in the 1950s and 1960s, political campaigns began to focus on candidate image rather than party message. Candidates could bypass the trappings of the political party and make more direct appeals to voters, emphasizing their personality, appearance, or background.

Nominee

The states use different methods for selecting their delegates. Iowa still uses a caucus system, but most other states have moved toward a direct primary system in which the choice of presidential nominee is put directly to the voters. This is known as a primary election. National conventions are largely symbolic proceedings in which delegates affirm state nominees and parties formally present their presidential and vice presidential candidates.

Coattail Effect

The tendency for a popular political party leader to attract votes for other candidates of the same party in an election. For example, the party of a victorious presidential candidate will often win many seats in Congress as well; these congressmen are voted into office "on the coattails" of the president.

Federal Elections Commission (FEC)

This is the US independent regulatory agency created to administer and enforce the statute that governs the financing of federal elections.

Caucus

a local meeting of party members in which the party's nominee is selected.

General election

a national election held every two years as required by the Constitution.

Hard money Limits on campaign contributions

donations given directly to a candidate for congressional office or the presidency. Money donated to candidates and subject to campaign finance regulations is known informally as "hard money," as opposed to the unregulated "soft money" that large donors give to political parties. Organizations can give a maximum of $5,000. Individual contributions to a political candidate were capped at $2,400. An individual may donate up to $30,400 per year to a national party committee and $10,000 per year to state and local party committees. The limit on PAC (political action committees) spending was maintained at $5,000.

How often are elections held for members of the House of Representatives?

every two years

Representative Democracy

individuals are able to influence their government both directly (through lobbying) and indirectly (through elections and representation).

Straight-ticket voting

selection of a party's candidates across all offices on the ballot.

Frontloading

the phenomenon of states moving their primaries earlier and earlier in the election season in order to have more influence over the selection of party presidential nominees.

Electoral votes

the presidential vote choices of electors who have been selected through the state popular vote to participate in the electoral college.

Political legitimacy

the view of citizens that their government has the lawful authority to govern.

Incumbents

those who currently hold political office.