States control election procedures (reserved
power)
Help America Vote Act (2002): requires states
to update the election process
Tuesday after the 1st Monday in November
during even # years.
Midterm elections occur during years when
the president isn’t elected
◦ Governors, House, Senate
◦ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFqln0eyyHM
House – 2 year terms
Senate – 6 year terms continuous body,
which means 1/3 up for election every 2
years
Primaries: contest between candidates within
a party
Closed – only those registered with the party
can vote
Open – anyone can vote for either party, no
affiliation necessary; must choose which party
ballot at the poll
Blanket – choose candidates from any party,
don’t have to choose one party (Alaska and
Washington only)
If no candidate gets majority in the primary,
then the top 2 face off in another primary.
◦ Example: 2014 GA Senatorial Race; David Perdue
and Jack Kingston were top 2 Republican candidates
from primary Perdue won runoff election, so he
went up against Michelle Nunn in general election)
Georgia has open primaries, but you can only
vote in a runoff for the party you originally
voted for.
Contests between candidates of opposing
parties
Once a party chooses the candidate in a
primary, each state holds a general election
ONLY AT STATE/LOCAL LEVEL:
◦ Recall – citizens can remove a corrupt official
◦ Referendum – people vote on a measure passed by
legislature
◦ Initiative – people can get proposed legislation
directly on the ballot
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