U.S. Government chapter 13
List the formal qualifications that must be met in order the become president
must be natural born citizen of U.S. , must be at least 35 years old, must have been a resident of the U.S. for at least 14 years
When does the formal election of the president and vice president take place?
on January 6
When people vote in a presidential election, for whom are they actually voting?
presidential electors
What are the three major strengths of the electoral college system?
(a) It is a known process. (b) It normally identifies the President-to- be quickly and certainly. (c) Although it presents an enormous obstacle to minor-party candidates, it helps promote the two-party system.
What are the three major defects in the electoral college system?
(a) The winner of the popular vote is not guaranteed the presidency. (b) The electors are not required to vote in accord with the popular vote. (c) Any election might be decided by the House of Representatives.
What are some other objectives parties hope their conventions will accomplish?
promote party unity, capture the attention and interest of the country at large, and generate support for the party's ticket
What is "front loading," and what effects has it had on primary campaigns?
"Front-loading" refers to the efforts by many States to move their primary contests to earlier dates in the primary schedule. Front-loading has multiplied the importance of name recognition and money, because the front-loaded process forces contenders to mount and pay for campaigns in a number of widely separated States that hold their primaries early and, often, on the same day or within a few days of one another.
What are the three main objectives to election by the house?
(a) Voting is by States, not by individual members, so States with small populations have as much weight as the most populous States. (b) If the representatives from a State are so divided that no candidate is favored by a majority, that State loses its vote. (c) Because a majority of the States is required for election, there is a real possibility that the House could not make a decision by Inauguration Day.
What three new elements did the election of 1800 introduce into the process of selecting a president?
(a) party nominations for the presidency and vice presidency (b) the nomination of candidates for presidential electors pledged to vote for their party's presidential ticket (c) the automatic casting of the electoral votes in line with those pledges
What are the two main reasons that the winner of the popular vote does not always win the presidency?
(a) the winner-take-all feature of the electoral college system (b) the way the electoral votes are distributed among the States, which means that the allotment of electoral votes does not match the facts of population and voter distribution
List the two formal duties that the constitution assigns to the vice president
(a) to preside over the Senate (b) to help decide the question of presidential disability
What is the maximum number of years that a president may serve in office?
10 years
How long is the presidents term?
4 years
Briefly describe how the caucus process works
A party's voters gather in a closed meeting in local caucuses, most often at the precinct level. There they express a preference among the contenders and select delegates to a local or district convention, where delegates to a State convention are elected. At the State level, delegates to the national convention are chosen.
What is a presidential primary?
A presidential primary is an election in which a party's voters (1) choose some or all of a State party organization's delegates to their party's national convention, and/ or (2) express a preference among various contenders for their party's presidential nomination.
What impact has the proportional representation rule had on the shape of presidential primaries?
Although it was developed by and for the Democratic Party, the proportional representation rule has forced most States to change their primary laws to account for the rule. This means that, in many States, Republican delegates are also chosen on a proportional representation basis. The rule has also led several States to give up the popular selection of delegates and hold only a preference primary.
What are "battleground states" and what importance do they play in campaign strategy?
Battleground States are those States in which the outcome is "too close to call" and either candidate could win. Both campaigns tend to concentrate their efforts in those States.
How are primaries different for the party in power and the party out of power?
For the party out of power, the primaries are often "knock-down, drag-out" affairs, in which several top personalities and factions in the party vie with one another for the presidential nomination. For the party in power, the contest is generally not as hard-fought, because either the President himself is seeking reelection or has given his backing to someone he favors for the nomination.
In those states that do not hold presidential primaries, how are delegates to the national convention chosen?
In those States, delegates to the national convention are selected by a system of local caucuses and district and/or State conventions.
Explain the difference between winner- take- all and proportional representation in the primary process
In winner-take-all contests, the candidate who wins the preference vote automatically wins the support of all of the delegates chosen at that primary. In the proportional representation system, any candidate who wins at least 15 percent of the votes cast in a primary gets the number of that State's convention delegates that corresponds to his or her share of that primary vote.
How does the 25th amendment provide for situations in which the president is disabled?
It says the Vice President is to become Acting President if (1) the President informs Congress, in writing, that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, or (2) the Vice President and a majority of the members of the Cabinet inform Congress, in writing, that the President is so incapacitated.
What are some of the common characteristics of presidential candidates?
Most have substantial, well-known records in public office; most have served in elective offices; many have been governors; most are Protestants; most have come from the larger States (although television and the Internet have made this less important); most have a pleasant, healthy appearance, seem to be happily married, and have an attractive family; few have been divorced; a well-developed speaking ability and the ability to project well over television are also very important.
Explain two proposal to reform the primary process
One proposal is to hold a single, nationwide primary and have both parties choose their presidential candidates in those contests. National conventions would be done away with or would be used only to pick the vice-presidential nominees and/or write party platforms. Another proposal is the regional primary plan, in which a series of primaries would be held at two- or three-week intervals across the country.
How was the vice presidency changed in recent years?
Recent Presidents have made much greater use of their Vice Presidents, so the office has been reinvented and has become more influential.
Why would reform be difficult?
Significant reform would require joint action by Congress, the several States, and both major parties. Also, neither party wants to abandon the national convention, which is a unifying device.
Name at least three arguments against direct popular election
Smaller States would lose their advantage under direct election and would likely kill a direct election amendment; direct election would weaken the federal system, because the States would lose their role in the choice of a President; direct election would put too great a load on the election process, because candidates would have to campaign strenuously everywhere; direct election would spur various forms of election fraud, leading to lengthy post-election challenges; key groups in certain States would not have the critical power they now enjoy, and so would oppose direct election.
What happens on that date?
The President of the Senate opens the electoral votes from each State and counts them before a joint session of Congress. The candidate with a majority of the electors' votes is declared elected.
What if no candidate for vice president has won a majority of electoral votes?
The Senate decides between the top two candidates. It takes a majority of the whole Senate to elect.
Why can the position of the vice president be considered both very important and very unimportant?
The Vice President is very important because he or she is only a heartbeat away from the presidency. However, the Constitution pays little attention to the office of the Vice President, and many Vice Presidents have had little to do.
What if no candidate for president has won a majority of electoral votes?
The election is thrown to the House of Representatives, which chooses a President from among the top three candidates in the electoral college. Each State delegation has one vote, and it takes a majority of 26 to elect.
When and where do the electors cast their electoral votes?
The electors cast their votes at their State capital on the Monday after the second Wednesday in December.
How is the number of delegates from each state to a party's national convention determined?
The party gives each State party a certain number of delegates based on that State's electoral vote. In addition, both parties have developed complicated formulas that also award bonus delegates to those States that have supported the party's candidates in recent elections.
What does it mean to "balance the ticket"?
To "balance the ticket" means to choose a running mate (candidate for Vice President) who can strengthen the presidential candidate's chances of being elected by virtue of certain ideological, geographic, racial, ethnic, gender, or other characteristics.
How are the procedures for picking delegates different in the republican and democratic parties?
To a large extent, the Republican Party leaves the matter of delegate selection to its State organizations and to State law. The Democratic Party, on the other hand, has adopted several national rules to govern the process—mainly to broaden participation in the delegate selection process.
What are the three major goals of this event?
a) naming the party's presidential and vice-presidential candidates (b) bring the various factions and the leading personalities in the party together in one place for a common purpose (c) adopting the party's platform
Briefly describe what happens during a party's convention
a) welcoming delegates, organizing the convention, short speeches (b) more speeches, adoption of the party's platform, keynote address (c) nomination of the party's vice- presidential candidate, acceptance speech by the vice-presidential candidate, nomination of the party's presidential candidate (d) acceptance speech by the presidential candidate
How does the 25th amendment of the constitution provide for presidential succession?
declared that the vice president become president in case of removal of the president from office or of his death or resignation
How does the original provisions of the constitution provide for presidential succession?
did not provide for the succession of a vice president; rather declared that the powers an duties of the office of the president where to "devolve on the vice president"
How does the presidential succession act of 1947 of the constitution provide for presidential succession?
fixes the order following the vice president; says the speaker of the house and then the president pro term of the senate are next
How did the 22nd amendment affect the number of terms a presidents may serve?
it limited the two number of full terms that a president may serve
What change did the 12th amendment make to the electoral college system?
it separated the presidential and vice-presidential elections.
On what type of voters do campaign focus much of their efforts following the national convention?
swing voters, the roughly one-third of the electorate who have not made up their mind at the start of the campaign
What are the first two delegate- selection events in the country?
the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary
Who acts as president if neither a president or a vice president has qualified by inauguration?
the Speaker of the House
What is the name for the group of people who choose the president and vice president?
the electoral college
How and when are the electors chosen?
the electors are chosen by popular vote in every State, on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November every fourth year.
What nominating event takes place after all of the primaries and caucuses?
the national convention
Is the nomination process set by constitution, federal law, sate law, or some other way?
the nomination process is set by the constitution
What happens to the electors ballots after they are cast?
they are sent by registered mail to the president of the Senate in Washington.
Why have several presidents been in favor of a single six year- term?
they have argued that a single, nonrenewable term would free a president from the pressures of a campaign for a second term and so allow and chief executive
