Presentation Pro
Magruder’s
American Government
CHAPTER 7
The Electoral Process
© 2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
CHAPTER 7
The Electoral Process
SECTION 1
The Nominating Process
SECTION 2
Elections
SECTION 3
Money and Elections
Go To
Section:
1 2 3
Chapter 7
SECTION 1
The Nominating Process
• Why is the nominating process a critical first
step in the election process?
• What are self-announcement, the caucus,
and the convention nominating methods?
• Why is the direct primary the principal
nominating method used in the United
States today?
• Why do some candidates use the petition as
a nominating device?
Go To
Section:
1 2 3
Chapter 7, Section 1
A Critical First Step
In the United States, the election
process occurs in two steps:
1. Nomination, in which the field of candidates
is narrowed
2. General election, the regularly scheduled
election where voters make the final choice
of officeholder
Go To
Section:
1 2 3
Chapter 7, Section 1
Why is nominating Important [*write down
somewhere*]
1.It’s a major function of political parties
2.Reason for the decentralized character of
major parties
3.Nominations place a real and practical
limits on the choices that voters can make
in an election
Go To
Section:
1 2 3
1-4 Years Before Election
•first steps for potential candidates
•include broadening their visibility,
•testing their appeal nationwide,
and
•developing committees to explore
•their viability as a candidate. If
•the results are encouraging, the
•contender will officially announce
his
•or her candidacy.
1-4 Years Before Election
•The costs of running for office
•are huge and raising funds is an
•ongoing effort throughout the
•campaign. Lack of funds often
•cause contenders to drop out of
•the race.
Start the Race Fundraising
1 2 3
Go To
Section:
January–June of the
Election
Year Primaries and
caucuses help determine
•the party’s nominee. At
this stage, voters
•choose their party’s
frontrunner and many
•candidates concede
defeat.
Primaries and Caucuses
Caucus
SelfAnnouncement
Convention
Nominating
methods
Petition
Go To
Section:
1 2 3
Direct
Primary
Ways to Nominate
1.Self-Announcement: person who wants to run
for office simply announces that fact
•
Oldest form of the nominating process
•
May be used by someone who failed to win a regular party’s
nominating or by someone unhappy with the party’s choice
•
Examples:
•
George Wallace of the American Independent Party
in 1968
•
Eugene McCarthy, Independent in 1976
•
John Anderson in 1980
•
Ross Perot in 1992
Go To
Section:
1 2 3
Chapter 7, Section 1
2. Petition: local level in American politics- candidates
are nominated by petitions signed by a certain number of
qualified voters in the election district
• Minor party and independent candidates are usually
required by State law to be nominated by petition.
• Petition is often used at the local level to nominate for
school posts and municipal offices.
Go To
Section:
1 2 3
18 months. Before presidential elections: parties send
out a “Call to Convention”- asking states to meet to
select presidential nominations and select delegates
they will send to the national party convention…two
methods:
Caucuses &
Primaries
Both lead up to the
convention
Go To
Section:
1 2 3
3. Caucuses
•
•
Caucus: closed meeting of like-minded people who meet to
select the candidate they will support , the caucus as a
nominating device fell out of favor in the 1820s
Held locally and they choose delegates to a local convention
@ the local convention, chose delegates to the state convention
@ the state convention, chose delegates to the national
convention
•Analyzing Political Cartoons
The first delegate-selection
event in a presidential election by
caucus is held in Iowa,
followed afterward by the first
scheduled primary in New
Hampshire.
Go To
Section:
1 2 3
4. Primaries
•
State convention meetings with 2 Purposes:
• voters select delegates from their states to attend the
national party convention
• Vote to nominate a presidential candidate for their party or
show preference for a presidential candidate
•
•
•
•
This is preferred because it allows people to decide on
candidates for presidency and nominees have to work hard to
get support.
2008: 40 states used presidential primary system
16 states hold their primaries on ‘Super Tuesday’= February 5th
3/4ths of states hold their primaries in mid-March
Go To
Section:
1 2 3
Two kinds of primaries: Winner-Take-All vs. Proportional Representation
In winner-take-all states, the delegates are awarded only to the candidate who
wins the preference vote.
40% of vote =
0
delegates
60%
of vote
=100%
delegate
In a state with proportional representation, delegates are awarded to those
candidates who win at least 15% of the vote.
40% of vote =
Go To
Section:
40 %
delegates
1 2 3
60%
of vote
=100%
delegate
•
Each state/territory has an assigned number of delegates it can send to
the convention based on population/voting patterns/ # of congressional
representatives and state government officials that are members of that
party
Democrats
Send: 5, 552 to national convention
Republicans
Send: 2,286 to national convention publicans
Go To
Section:
1 2 3
August–September of the
Election Year Delegates to
•each party’s convention adopt
•the party platform, nominate their
•party’s presidential candidate,
•and ratify his or her choice of
•vice-presidential running mate
.
September–November of
the Election Year Following
•the conventions, each
candidate
•focuses on his or her opponent.
•Debates provide opportunities
•to compare and contrast each
•candidate’s qualifications and
•plans for the future.
National Conventions
Go To
Section:
1 2 3
Debates
November on the Tuesday
after the first
Monday in November, the
voters cast their
•ballots and the presidentelect is determined
.
Election Day
5. Convention
•
•
Parties select host city [look for arenas, stadiums, and
sporting venues]
•
2008 Republican NC: wanted seating capacity of 25,000
•
2008 Democratic NC: wanted seating capacity of 84,000
Goals of National convention:
1. Name party’s presidential/vice presidential candidate
2. Promote party unity
3. Adopt party platform
Go To
Section:
1 2 3
Agenda of Convention
1.
2.
Choose Vice Presidential candidate- they give acceptance speech
“Roll call of the states”= call states in alphabetical order [Alabama to
Wyoming]
•
Each complete roll call of states A-Z is called a ballot
•
Each State spokesperson gives a speech about the state’s
history/geography/its famous people… then announces its “delegate count”
or choice for president
•
Candidate usually wins party’s nomination on the 1st ballot…if no one
gets majority of votes, chairperson calls for a 2nd ballot
3.
Nominee for that party gives Acceptance Speech
Go To
Section:
1 2 3
Nominating and Electing a Candidate
Go To
Section:
1 2 3
Chapter 7, Section 1
Section 1 Review
1. The most commonly used method of nomination today is
(a) the caucus.
(b) the direct primary.
(c) self-announcement.
(d) the convention.
2. A runoff primary is held in some States when
(a) no one wins a majority of votes.
(b) there is only one candidate.
(c) not enough voters turn out on election day.
(d) a candidate asks for a recount.
Want to connect to the Magruder’s link for this chapter? Click Here!
Go To
Section:
1 2 3
Chapter 7, Section 1
SECTION 2
Elections
• How does the administration of elections in
the United States make democracy work?
• What role do precincts and polling places
play in the election process?
• In what ways can voters cast their ballots?
• What role do voting machines and other
innovations play in the election process?
Go To
Section:
1 2 3
Chapter 7, Section 2
The Administration of Elections
Elections are primarily regulated by State law, but
there are some overreaching federal regulations.
•
•
•
•
•
Congress has the power to set the time, place, and manner of
congressional and presidential elections.
Congress has chosen the first Tuesday after the first Monday in
November of every even-numbered year for congressional elections
presidential election being held the same day every fourth year.
Help America Vote Act: upgrade voting machines, training of election
officials, computerize registration
Allow absentee voting: people can vote without going to polling place
on election day through the mail
Go To
Section:
1 2 3
Chapter 7, Section 2
Precincts and Polling Places
Polling Places
•
Precincts
•
•
•
A precinct is a voting
district.
Precincts are the smallest
geographic units used to
carry out elections.
•
A polling place is where
the voters who live in a
precinct go to vote.
It is located in or near
each precinct. Polling
places are supposed to
be located conveniently
for voters.
A precinct election board
supervises the voting
process in each precinct.
Go To
Section:
1 2 3
Chapter 7, Section 2
Casting the Ballot
History of the Ballot
•
•
•
Voting was initially done orally. It was considered “manly”
to speak out your vote without fear of reprisal.
Paper ballots began to be used in the mid-1800s.
In the late 1800s, ballot reforms cleaned up ballot fraud by
supplying standardized, accurate ballots and mandating
that voting be secret.
Go To
Section:
1 2 3
Chapter 7, Section 2
Office-Group and Party-Column Ballots
All candidates of the same
Party are grouped together u
Under title of office.
Go To
Section:
1 2 3
Lists candidates under
Party’s name.
Chapter 7, Section 2
Voting Machines and Innovations
•
•
•
Electronic vote counting
has been in use since the
1960s that reads ballots
like a Scantron machinemachine scans your votes
and records them
Vote-by-mail elections
have come into use in
recent years.
Online voting is a trend
that may be encountered
in the near future.
Go To
Section:
1 2 3
Chapter 7, Section 2
Section 2 Review
1. Elections are held on
(a) the first Wednesday after Halloween.
(b) the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
(c) the second Thursday after the first Monday in March.
(d) the first Monday in December.
2. The Office-Group Ballot encourages
(a) voter fraud.
(b) split-ticket voting.
(c) voter dissatisfaction.
(d) the Democratic Party.
Want to connect to the Magruder’s link for this section? Click Here!
Go To
Section:
1 2 3
Chapter 7, Section 2
SECTION 3
Money and Elections
• What are the issues raised by campaign
spending?
• What are the various sources of campaign
funding?
• How do federal laws regulate campaign finance?
• What role does the Federal Election Commission
have in enforcing campaign finance laws?
• What loopholes exist in today’s campaign finance
laws?
Go To
Section:
1 2 3
Chapter 7, Section 3
Campaign Spending
Go To
Section:
1 2 3
Chapter 7, Section 3
Sources of Funding
Private and Public Sources of
Campaign Money
Nonparty groups such as
Small contributors: $5$100
Wealthy supporters:
large donations
Candidates: spend
own money..Ross Perot spend
$65 to run as independent president in
1992
Go To
Section:
1 2 3
Political Action Committees
[PACs]:special-interest groups who
support a candidate
Temporary
fund-raising
organizations
Government Subsidy:
grants of money from the
government
Chapter 7, Section 3
The Federal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) enforces:
• the timely disclosure of campaign finance information
• limits on campaign contributions
– Cant give more than $1,000 in a primary
– Cant give more than $5,000/yr to a PAC
– Cant give more than $20,000 to a party committee
• limits on campaign expenditures
• provisions for public funding of presidential
campaigns
Go To
Section:
1 2 3
Chapter 7, Section 3
Loopholes in the Law
“More loophole than law…” —Lyndon Johnson
•
•
Hard money- contributions given directly to candidates for
their campaigns for Congress or White House..they’re
limited and must be reported
Soft money— unlimited money given to State and local party
organizations for “party-building activities” [like voter
registration] but end up being used for presidential or
congressional campaigns…
•
$500 million was given to campaigns in this way in 2000.
Go To
Section:
1 2 3
Chapter 7, Section 3
Go To
Section:
1 2 3
• Independent campaign spending—a person
unrelated and unconnected to a candidate or
party can spend as much money as they want
to benefit or work against candidates.
• Issue ads—take a stand on certain issues in
order to criticize or support a certain candidate
without actually mentioning that person’s name.
Negative Issue Ad by MoveOn.org: President Bush Can't Think of a Mistake, 2004 (0:29)
Negative Issue Ad by MoveOn.org: The Corporation's Choice, 2004 (0:30)
Negative Issue Ad by Swiftboat Veterans for Truth: Christmas in Cambodia, 2004 (0:31)
Go To
Section:
1 2 3
Section 3 Review
1. Sources of campaign funding include
(a) nonparty groups, such as political action committees.
(b) government subsidies.
(c) candidates’ personal funds.
(d) all of the above.
2. Under federal election legislature passed in the 1970s, candidates
are not allowed to
(a) take government subsidies.
(b) use their own money in campaigns.
(c) take contributions of more than $1,000.
(d) all of the above.
Want to connect to the Magruder’s link for this section? Click Here!
Go To
Section:
1 2 3
Chapter 7, Section 3