Chapter 13 Section 3
PRESIDENTIAL SELECTION: THE
FRAMERS’ PLAN
Original Provisions
• Original arguments favored selection by
Congress
– What potential problems?
• Popular vote was not considered efficient in a
time of slow transmission of information
Original Provisions
• Instead went with plan proposed by Hamilton
• President and Vice President selected by a
special body of Presidential electors
– Each would cast two electoral votes, each for a
different candidate.
• most votes wins
• Second place becomes vice president
The Rise of Parties
• The Electoral College, is the
group of people (electors)
chosen from each State and
the District of Columbia to
formally select the
President and the Vice
President.
– Flaws in this original system
became evident starting with
the 1796 election coinciding
with the rise in political
parties
• Would completely
breakdown by 1800 election
The Rise of Parties
• 1800 election parties nominate candidates,
and electors
– Electors all vote for Jefferson and Burr, resulting in
a tie, took House of Representatives 36 votes to
choose Jefferson
– Electors no longer free agents, their vote known
earlier
The Rise of Parties
• 12th Amendment results from 1800 election
– It separates the presidential and vice presidential
elections.
Chapter 13 Section 4
PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATIONS
The Role of Conventions
• Practice built almost entirely by the two
parties
• Is a tradition / custom, not law
• Chicago most popular city to host conventions
The Role of Conventions
• The Apportionment of Delegates
– Each state is given a certain number of
representatives based on their electoral votes
– Sometimes states are awarded bonus delegates
for recent party support
The Role of Conventions
• Selection of Delegates
– Essentially presidents must win two elections, the
general election, and their own party election
– State laws and party rules control how delegates
chosen
• Republicans leaves it to state law and organizations
• Democrats have several national rules to govern
process
Presidential Primaries
• Choose some or all of their delegates to
national convention
• Also express a preference for presidential
nomination
Presidential Primaries
• Hard to describe because they differ from
state to state
• Also ongoing Democrat reform since 1968
trying to encourage grassroots participation
– New Hampshire always holds first primary
• Frontloaded and expensive
Presidential Primaries
• Proportional Representation
– Most were winner-take-all, means if they win that
states primary, they win the support of all the
delegates from that party
• Now that style has disappeared
Presidential Primaries
• Democrats, any candidate who receives 15% vote gets
that percentage of the state’s delegates
• Republicans still hold winner take all where they can
• ½ of all presidential primary states hold only preference
election
The National Convention
•
Three main goals
1. Name presidential and VP nominees
2. Bring together leaders and personalities for one
common purpose
3. Adopt the party’s platform, its formal statement
of basic principles, stands on major policy
matters, and objectives for the campaign and
beyond
The National Convention
• First two days
– Keynote address speech given by party’s most
accomplished orators
– Rules to guide convention decided as well
– Presentation of platform
• Last two days
–
–
–
–
Third day is nomination
Then delegates vote for confirmation
VP choice is confirmed as well
Acceptance speech
Who is Nominated?
•
•
•
•
Incumbent almost always gets nomination
Those with broadest possible appeal
Many governors and senators, large states
Most Protestant
Who is Nominated?
• TV brought about the pretty president / family
• Good speakers
• Not often a women or a minority….OLD
NEWS!