Campaigns,
Elections, and the
Media
Unit 4 Review
Alyssa Butler and Taylor Conger
Voting Behavior
Who votes?
the educated
white collar
wealthy
older
majority races
women
religiously active
union membership
married
located in geographic politically active area
strong party ID
Voting Restrictions
U.S. suffrage is not universal, you cannot
vote if you are:
-Under 18
-A felon
-A mental patient
Amendments & Laws:
15th Amendment: Abolished race restrictions
17th Amendment: Citizens can choose senators in direct
primary.
19th Amendment: Abolished gender restrictions
23rd Amendment: Allowed residents of D.C. to vote.
26th Amendment: Allowed 18 year olds to vote
Civil Rights Act of 1965 and Voting Rights Act of 1965: got
rid of poll taxes
McGovern-Fraser Commission: a commission formed at the 1968 Democratic
convention in response to demands for reform by minorities and other groups
who sought better representation
Federal Election Campaign Act: A law passed in 1974 for reforming campaign
finances. The act created the Federal Election Commission, providing public
financing for presidential primaries and general elections, limited presidential
campaign spending, required disclosure, and attempted to limit contributions
Motor Voter Act- Passed in 1993, this act went into effect for the 1996 election.
It requires states to permit people to register to vote at the same time they
apply for drivers’ licenses
Voter Rights
Recall: Kick someone out of office.
Referendum: Gaining people’s approval on
state legislation.
Initiative: People initiate measure and put it
on the ballot.
Road to the White House
Exploration Announcement
Primaries Nominating
Presidential
Campaign Financing: The Federal Election Reform Act of
1974 placed legal limits on campaign funding.
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002: designed to end
the use of soft money.
Soft Money Contributions: No limits on funds contributed.
McCutcheon vs. FEC: meant to limit in hard money funding
to $123,200.
Types of Primaries
Closed primary- Elections to select party nominees in which people who have registered in advance with the party can
vote for that party’s candidates, thus encouraging greater party loyalty
Frontloading- recent pattern of states holding primaries early in order to maximize their
media attention and political influence. Three‐fourths of the presidential primaries are now
held between February and mid‐March. Critics argue that candidates devote too much time
to Iowa and New Hampshire. Although both states are relatively small, they play a crucial
role in generating media attention.
Presidential primary- elections in which voters in a state vote for a candidate ( or delegates pledged to him or her). Most
delegates to the national party conventions are chosen this way
national primary- a proposal by the critics of the caucuses and presidential primaries systems who would replace these
electoral methods with a nationwide primary held early in the election year
regional primaries- a proposal by critics of the caucuses and presidential primaries to replace these electoral methods
with a series of primaries held in each geographic region
Types of Elections and Voting
Elections:
Plurality election- the candidate with the largest number of votes wins, even if it is not a 50% majority
General election- a re elections in which the voters choose from among all the candidates
nominated by political parties or running as independents. Special elections are held
whenever an issue must be decided by voters before a primary or general election is held,
for example, to fill a vacancy in the Senate.
Special Election- Elections called by state governments to fill the vacancies that occur when a member of the House of
Representatives dies or resigns before the biennial election.
Election Day: The Tuesday following the first Monday in November, generally November 8th.
Voting:
policy voting- voting that occurs when electoral choices are made on the basis of the voters’ policy preferences and on
the basis of where the candidates stand on policy issues. For the voter, policy voting is hard work
retrospective voting- a theory of voting in which voters essentially ask this simple question: “What have you done for me
lately?”
Role of the Media
-Informs the public
-Influences public opinion
-Gives the citizens a link to the government
-Decides what is the main subject of national importance.
Media Ownership & Government Regulation:
-Technical Regulation: regulations in radio, television, telephone, telegraph,
cable, and satellite.
Media Vocab
media events- events purposely staged for the media that nonetheless look spontaneous. In keeping
with politics as theater, media events can be stage by individuals, groups, and government officials,
especially presidents
press conferences- meetings of public officials with reporters
investigative journalism- the use of detective-like reporting to unearth scandals, scams, and schemes,
putting reporters in adversarial relationships with political leaders
narrowcasting- as opposed to the traditional “broadcasting” the appeal to a narrow, particular audience
by channels such as ESPN, MTV, AND C-SPAN, which focus on a narrow, particular interest
trial balloons- an intentional news leak for the purpose of assessing the political reaction
sound bites- short video clips of approximately 15 seconds, which are typically all that is shown from a
politician’s speech or activities on the nightly television shows
mass media- Television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and other means of popular communication
Other Vocab
campaign strategy- the master game plan candidates lay out to guide their electoral campaign
caucus (state party)- A meeting of all state party leaders for selecting delegates to the national party
convention. They are usually organized as a pyramid
superdelegates- national party leaders who automatically get a delegate slot at the Democratic
national party convention
selective perception- the phenomenon that people often pay the most attention to things they already
agree with and interpret them according to their own predispositions
legitimacy- a characterization of elections by political scientists meaning that they are almost
universally accepted as a fair and free method of selecting political leaders. When legitimacy is high,
as in the US, even the losers accept the results peacefully
Vocab Continued
initiative petition- a process permitted in some states whereby voters may put proposed changes in
the state constitution to a vote if sufficient signatures are obtained on petitions calling for such a
referendum
civic duty- the belief that in order to support democratic government, a citizen should always vote
mandate theory of elections- the idea that the winning candidate has a mandate from the people to
carry out his or her platforms and politics. Politicians like the theory better than political scientists d0
single-member district- an electoral district or constituency having a single representative in a
legislative body
horse-race journalism- a type of political journalism that focuses on polling data, public perception
instead of candidate policy
527 Group- a tax-exempt organization created for the purpose of influencing the election or
appointment of public officials