Chapter 9
CAMPAIGNS AND ELECTIONS
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
Nominating and Electing a
Candidate
The Direct Primary
Types of Direct
Primaries
Closed
Primary
Open
Primary
Only
declared
party
members
can vote.
Any qualified
voter can take
part.
Blanket Primary
Qualified voters
can vote for any
candidate,
regardless of
party
Runoff Primary
If a required majority
is not met, the two
people with the most
votes run again
Nonpartisan
Primary
Candidates are not
identified by party
labels
Primaries Across the United
States
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 evennumbered year for congressional
elections, with the presidential
election being held the same day
every fourth year.
States determine the details of
the election of thousands of
State and local officials.
Most States provide for
absentee voting, for voters who
are unable to get to their regular
polling places on election day.
Some States within the last few
years have started to allow
voting a few days before election
day to increase voter
participation.
Original Provisions
 According to the Constitution,
the President and Vice
President are chosen by a
special body of presidential
electors.
 Originally, these electors each
cast two electoral votes, each
for a different candidate. The
candidate with the most votes
would become President, and
the candidate with the second
highest total would become
Vice President.
The 12th Amendment
 The 12th
Amendment was
added to the
Constitution in 1804
following the
election of 1800.
 The major change in
the electoral college
made by the
amendment was
that each elector
would distinctly cast
one electoral vote
for President and
one for Vice
President.
The Role of Conventions
Convention
Arrangements
 The convention system has
been mainly built by the two
major parties in American
politics.
 Party national committees
arrange the time and place
for their party’s nominating
convention.
The Apportionment
and Selection of
Delegates
 Parties apportion the
number of delegates each
State will receive based on
electoral votes and other
factors.
 Delegates are selected
through both presidential
primaries and the caucusconvention process.
Vice Presidential Nominee
 Chosen to “balance the ticket” or to offset or
compensate for a weakness of the
Presidential Candidate
Presidential Primaries
 Depending on the State, a presidential primary is an election
in which a party’s voters
(1) choose some or all of a State’s party organization’s delegates to
their party’s national convention, and/or
(2) express a preference among various contenders for their party’s
presidential nomination.
 Many States use a proportional representation rule to select
delegates. In this system, a proportion of a State’s delegates
are chosen to match voter preferences in the primary.
 More than half of the States hold preference primaries where
voters choose their preference for a candidate. Delegates are
selected later to match voter preferences.
The Caucus-Convention
Process
 In those States that do not hold presidential
primaries, delegates to the national conventions
are chosen in a system of caucuses and
conventions.
 The party’s voters meet in local caucuses where
they choose delegates to a local or district
convention, where delegates to the State
convention are picked.
 At the State level, and sometimes in the district
conventions, delegates to the national
convention are chosen.
The National Convention
A party’s national convention is the meeting at which
delegates vote to pick their presidential and vicepresidential candidates. Party conventions accomplish
three main goals:
(1) to officially name the party’s presidential and vicepresidential candidates,
(2) to bring the various factions and the leading personalities in
the party together in one place for a common purpose, and
(3) to adopt the party’s platform—its formal statement of
basic principles, stands on major policy matters, and
objectives for the campaign and beyond.
Who Is Nominated?
 If an incumbent President wants to seek reelection,
his or her nomination is almost guaranteed.
 Political experience factors into the nomination
process. State governors, the executive officers on
the State level, have historically been favored for
nomination. U.S. senators also have fared well.
 Many candidates come from key larger states.
Candidates from larger states, such as California,
New York, and Ohio, have usually been seen as more
electable than candidates from smaller states.
Nomination by Petition
 Candidates have ways to get on the ballot
without the grueling Primary election process
 Differs from state to state, number of
signatures required to get on the ballot
The General Election
 Presidential debates begin after the
convention
 Pivotal in winning elections, influencing
public perception
 Not always influence the outcome of
elections
 IF…the nation is prospering THEN most will
vote based on appeal(established at debates,
and party-Republicans easier access to
money and turnout at higher rates in more
elections
The Electoral College Today
Voters do not vote directly for the President.
Instead, they vote for electors in the electoral
college.
•
•
All States, except two (Maine and
Nebraska), select electors based
on the winner of the popular vote
in that State.

On January 6, the electoral votes
cast are counted by the president of
the Senate, and the President and
Vice President are formally elected.
Electors then meet in the State
capitols on the Monday after the
second Wednesday in December
and cast their votes for President
and Vice President.

If no candidate wins a majority of
electoral votes (270), the election is
thrown into the House of
Representatives.
Flaws in the Electoral
College
There are three major defects in the electoral
college:
(1) It is possible to win the popular vote in the presidential election,
but lose the electoral college vote. This has happened four times
in U.S. history (1824, 1876, 1888, and 2000).
(2) Nothing in the Constitution, nor in any federal statute, requires
the electors to vote for the candidate favored by the popular vote
in their State.
(3) If no candidate gains a majority in the electoral college, the
election is thrown into the House, a situation that has happened
twice (1800 and 1824). In this process, each State is given one
vote, meaning that States with smaller populations wield the
same power as those with larger populations.
Proposed Reforms

In the district plan, electors would be
chosen the same way members of
Congress are selected: each
congressional district would select one
elector (just as they select
representatives), and two electors
would be selected based on the
overall popular vote in a State (just as
senators are selected).
•
The proportional plan suggests
that each candidate would receive
the same share of a State’s electoral
vote as he or she received in the
State’s popular vote.

•
A commonly heard reform suggests
that the electoral college be done
away with altogether in favor of direct
popular election. At the polls, voters
would vote directly for the President
and Vice President instead of electors.
The national bonus plan would
automatically offer the winner of the
popular vote 102 electoral votes in
addition to the other electoral votes
he or she might gain.
Electoral College Supporters
There are two major strengths of the
electoral college that its supporters espouse:
 It is a known process.
Each of the proposed,
but untried, reforms
may very well have
defects that could not
be known until they
appeared in practice.
 In most election years,
the electoral college
defines the winner of
the presidential election
quickly and certainly.
Running for Congress
 Elections depend on…
 1. nature of district
 2. are they an incumbent or a challenger
 3. strength of personal organization
 4. how much $$ they have
 5. well known?
Congressional races
 Most are not close contests
 Safe seat-an elected office where the success
of the candidate is predetermined by the
historic success of one party
 Do elections perform their role?
Coattail effect~The boost that candidates may get in an
election because of the popularity
of candidates above them
on the ballot
Erratic and modest but
continues to appear
Midterms
 President’s Party traditionally loses seats in
the House-not so much in Senate.
 ***In all midterm elections, between 1934
and 1998, party controlling White House lost
seats in the House of Reps.
 Question is…by how much does House
turnover?
 In landslide elections-midterm turnover is
highest!
Advantages of Incumbents
 Since 1970, 95% of incumbents have won re-
election to the House
 H.R. Incumbents outspent challengers by 3:1
 Senate by 1.75:1
Redistricting
 Creates open seats
 Protects incumbents
 Large shifts, like 1994(Republican
Revolution) unlikely due to gerrymandering
by state legislatures
The Senate
 Prestigious-6 year term, 1/3 up for election in
election cycle
 Incumbency is an advantage but not as
strong as in the House
 Interest groups and parties direct more
money to small states where the race is
competitive
 Why? Less expensive, same value
Campaigns and Money
 Reform in three areas:
 1. impose limits on giving, receiving and
spending
 2. public disclosure of sources and use of $
 3. giving government subsidies to presidential
candidates, campaigns and parties.
Campaign Spending
Sources of Funding
Private and Public Sources of
Campaign Money
Small
contributors
Nonparty
groups such
as PACs
Wealthy
supporters
Temporary
fund-raising
organizations
Candidates
Government
subsidies
Federal Elections Campaign
Act
 1971-FECA The Federal Election Commission
(FEC) enforces
 ~limits amounts candidates for federal office
could spend on advertising
 ~disclosure of the sources of campaign funds
and how they are spend
 ~PACs must register with government and
disclose contributions and expenditures
 PAC-a political action committeeorganization that contributes $ to party to
influence elections
1974 Amendments to FECA
 * most sweeping reforms in history
 SEE HANDOUT
 1971 reforms make it harder to raise
money need small amounts from many
 So only wealthy raise enough money to
win
 1974 reforms impose limits on amount an
individual can spend on own campaign,
corporations not allowed to give
money(soft money) to parties But set up
PACS as way around the law.
 Buckley v. Valeo 1976 says freedom of expression
allows individual to contribute unlimited to own
campaign
 McCain Feingold(Bipartisan Campaign Finance
Reform Act 2002) Limits contributions to PACs
by corps and unions
 Citizens United v FEC says can’t limit
contributions to PACs by Unions and
Corporations
 Matching funds in primary $ for $ if raised from
individual donors of not more than $250. Must
first raise $5,000 from these types of donors in
20 states.
Loopholes in the Law
“More loophole than law…” —Lyndon Johnson
 Soft money—money given to State and local party
organizations for “party-building activities” that is
filtered to presidential or congressional campaigns. $500
million was given to campaigns in this way in 2000.
 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.
Results of current
laws/decisions
 Issue advocacy on rise since 2002
 ISSUE ADVOCACY-advertising for an issue
but thinly disguised as electioneering for or
against particular candidates
 Problem-accountability since not required to
disclose amounts or where $ comes from
 Independent expenditures-Supreme Court
upholds on basis of freedom of speech in 1st
Amendment