Chapter 10: Campaigns and Elections

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Chapter 10 Campaigns and Elections
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Campaigns and Elections

• Elections in America
• Election campaigns
• Presidential elections
• Money and politics
• How voters decide
• The decline of voting

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Elections in America

• Voting rights
• Voter participation
• Types of elections
• The criteria for winning
• Electoral districts
• The ballot
• The electoral college

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The Role of Elections in a Democracy

• Suffrage (the right to vote) is an important
  source of protection for groups in American
  society.
• The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was important in
  overcoming overt forms of voting discrimination.

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Types of Elections

• Primary elections
• Open
• Closed
• Runoff elections
• General election
• Referendums

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The Criteria for Winning

• Majority
• Southern primaries
• Plurality
• General election
• Proportional representation
• European elections

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Electoral Districts

• The districts are drawn by the state legislatures
  after reapportionment.
• Political gerrymandering is well accepted.
• Racial gerrymandering was declared to be
  unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

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The Ballot

• Ballots must be neutral and must contain the
  candidates for all the eligible parties.
• The ballot must permits split-ticket and
  straight-ticket voting.
• The coattail effect is possible with a popular
  candidate.
• In 2000, there was controversy over the
  butterfly ballot.

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The Electoral College

• Electors are chosen by each state.
• They meet after the popular election to cast
  ballots for the president and vice president.
• Electors equal the number of House and Senate
  members.

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Election Campaigns

• Advisers
• Polling
• The primaries

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Advisors

• Candidates use political advisors to manage their
  campaigns.
• James Carville and Dick Morris are two of the
  best known campaign strategists.

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Polling

• Conducting political polls is essential for a
  successful campaign.
• They help ascertain the will of the people so the
  candidate can tailor a message that appeals to
  the voters.

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The Primaries

• Candidates must defeat party contenders to win a
  spot on the general election ballot.
• Candidates must also win the approval of the
  party activists.

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Presidential Elections

• How is the president elected?
• What factors have the greatest impact on a
  general election campaign?

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Presidential Elections

• The convention
• The general election
• The 2000 election and its aftermath

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The Convention

• Presidential hopefuls must compete in a series of
  primaries and caucuses to win delegates at the
  nation convention.
• The winner of the primary season will receive the
  partys nomination.

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The General Election

• The general election contest is about winning 270
  electoral college votes.
• This forces the candidates to focus on the states
  with large delegations (California, Texas, etc.)

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The 2000 Election

• The 2000 election was mired in controversy.
• Media confusion regarding the projected winner of
  key states
• The mandated recount of the Florida popular vote
• Confusion in the Florida courts regarding extent
  of manual recounts
• Supreme Court decision rejecting recounts
• Bush declared winner with a 271 to 267 vote in
  the electoral college

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Money and Politics

• Sources of campaign funds
• Campaign finance reform
• Implications for democracy

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Sources of Campaign Funds

• The Federal Election Commission monitors campaign
  fund-raising
• Sources of funds
• Individual donors
• Political action committees
• The candidates
• Parties and soft money
• Public funding

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Campaign Finance Reform

• Both parties have argued that reforms should be
  made to the campaign finance system.
• Incumbents are reluctant to give up the financial
  advantage.
• Each party fears that reform would benefit the
  other side.
• Reform has been slow and limited.

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Implications for Democracy

• Campaign contributions affect the balance of
  power among contending social groups.
• Limits on contributions would undermine free
  speech and political participation.

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How Voters Decide

• Partisan loyalty
• Candidate characteristics
• Issues

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Partisan Loyalty

• Party loyalty may be the best predictor of how an
  individual will vote.
• Partisan loyalties rarely allow a voter to cast a
  ballot for an opposing candidate.

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Candidate Characteristics

• Race, religion, gender, and physical
  characteristics are also important.
• John F. Kennedy had to overcome a resistance to
  voting for a Catholic.

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Issues

• Issues, like the state of the economy, are also
  important.
• However, it is often difficult to get voters to
  restate a candidates position on a particular
  issue.