Voting and Elections

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Voting and Elections
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Purpose of Elections

• Confers legitimacy
• Helps organize government
• Select platforms or alternatives
• Ensures accountability
• Go to electorate
• Claim Mandate
• Retrospective vs. Prospective

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Types of Elections

• Primary Elections
• closed, open, blanket
• General Elections
• Referendum, Initiative, Recall

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Presidential Elections

• Biggest type of election in US
• Begins with state parties electing national
  convention delegates
• Winner take all
• Proportional representation
• Proportional w/bonus delegates
• Caucus
• Frontloading of primaries

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Party Conventions

• End of nomination process
• Historically, they were more important
• Now primaries select delegates and most are
  committed to candidates
• Media has played a role in coverage
• Some disenchantment now
• Delegates typically more ideological

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The Electoral College Presidential Elections

• Object to win a majority of the electoral college
• Result of a compromise
• Indirect voting of president
• How Many? Based on representation.
• Whoever wins most votes (over 50) became pres.
• Popular vote winner receives all electoral votes
• It is possible to get the most popular votes, but
  still lose the election

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Congressional Elections

• More low key -- need name recognition
• Congress directly elected by the population
• Incumbency advantage
• Some lose. Why?
• Redistricting, scandals, coattails
• Off-Year or Midterm Elections
• 2002 Elections rare time when presidential
  party gained seats
• Many times people vote a split ticket

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Voting Behavior

• Participation
• 40 of population turnout regularly
• What explains participation?
• Education
• Income
• Age
• Race
• Interest in Politics

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Why low voter turnout?

• Too busy
• Difficulty to register
• Burden is on the individual to do something
• Difficulty of absentee voting
• Number of elections
• Voter attitudes
• alienation, apathy, uncompetitive elections,
  turned off by campaigns
• Parties not mobilizing the electorate

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Can we improve turnout? Does it matter?

• Improve turnout by
• easier registration (motor voter law), make
  election day a holiday, strengthen parties
• Does it matter?
• preferences of nonvoters same as those who vote
  willing to accept way things are

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Voting Patterns

• Race and Ethnicity
• 2000 election 90 of African-American voters
  voted for Gore
• Gender
• Some gender gap exists
• Income
• Ideology

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Changing the Process

• Electoral College
• Direct election
• Regional Primaries
• Campaign Finance Reform
• candidates would not have to limit spending if up
  against a candidate who can bankroll own campaign.