Chapter Nine
Voting, Elections and Campaigns
How Do We Vote
• Straight-Ticket Voting
– Party-Centered Voting
• Split-Ticket Voting
– Candidate-Centered Voting
• Issue Voting
– Prospective Voting
– Retrospective Voting
Election Process
Party Nomination
Process that each party goes through to decide
which candidate will represent their party in the
general election. Generally called the PRIMARY.
General Election
Process in which the candidate from each party
compete against each other. Winner of this
process wins the office.
The Nomination Process is Different
For Congress & The President
Congressional Nomination Process is a series 435 different elections processes
(each district has their own set of primaries). The person winning a PLURALITY of their
party’s votes receives their party nomination. A handful of states require that election
winners must receive a majority of the votes cast.
DIRECT ELECTION PROCESS
Presidential Nomination Process is a series of 50+ separate contests in which the
person winning a MAJORITY of their party’s delegates receives their party nomination.
WATCH THE POWER POINT ON THE PRESIDENTIALNOMINATION PROCESS.
INDIRECT ELECTION PROCESS
After EACH party(and there are more than just two parties) has nominated their
candidate the nominated candidates face off in the GENERAL ELECTION. As previously
noted, the winner of the GENERAL ELECTION is the person who will then become the
elected official.
Primary Election
An election by which each party selects the ONE candidate that will
Represent their party in the general election.
The winner of this election simply gets to represent their party in the
General election, they DO NOT win the right to hold any elected office.
Three types of primaries
1. Closed
2. Modified Open
3. Open
Closed Primaries
Primaries in which members must declare a party (be a registered
member of that party) , and by doing so they are limited to voting
ONLY in their party’s primary
This type of primary prevents independents from voting.
New York, Florida and Pennsylvania are some of the states that
use this type of primary.
Modified Open Primaries
These are primaries in which independents can vote in either (but not
both) party’s primary. They simply ask for which ballot they want.
Massachusetts, New Jersey and Oregon are some states that use
primary method.
Open Primaries
In these primaries individuals may request a ballot for either party.
Individuals no not register as a member of any party.
Missouri uses the OPEN PRIMARY method.
The type of primary that is used can greatly influence the outcome
of some primary contests.
Example:
2000 Primaries and Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
Congressional Elections
Incumbent
The person currently holding an office.
Open Seat
A Congressional election in which there
is no INCUMBENT.
Safe Seat
A Congressional district that is certain
to vote for the candidate of one party.
The Election of Members of Congress
US Senate
• Currently 100 Members – 2 from each state
• Term is 6 years
• 1/3 (approx. 33) up for re-election every 2 years
• The Class (I, II & III)of the Senator determines when they are up
For re-election.
• Until passage of the 17th Amendment in 1913 Senators were in-directly elected.
• Members must be at least 30 years old.
US House of Representatives
•
•
•
•
•
Currently 435 Members – Number from each state based on population
Term is 2 years
All 435 up for re-election every 2 years
Members of the House of Reps were always directly elected.
Members must be at least 25 years old.
SMSP Electoral System
Single-Member
• Each election that is held has ONE winner that is elected to represent
the whole district.
• also known as “winner takes all.”
Simple Plurality
• In the majority of all states the winner of all elections is the candidate
that receives a plurality of the votes cast.
• Majority is 50.1% of the votes cast.
• Plurality is getting more votes than anyone else.
Congressional Job Approval
"Do You Approve or Disapprove of the Job Congress is
Doing?
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Approve
Disapprove
CBS News / New York Times
Poll
April 5 -12, 2010
As the image to the
left demonstrates,
Americans do not
usually have a high
level of confidence in
or approval for the
job being done by
the
U.S. Congress.
Running for Re-election
When a member of Congress chooses to run
for re-election, they win an overwhelming
percent of the time.
Since WWII approximatley 92% of all House of
Rep. incumbents, that run for re-election, win
re-election. Incumbent members of the
Senate have won 78% of the time.
Can we explain how/why this happens,
especially in light of the information
presented on the previous slide dealing with
Congressional Job Approval.
Congressional Job Approval Revisited.
As was demonstrated on a
previous slide, the American
people put very little
confidence in the job that
Congress as a whole is
doing. But, when we ask
Americans how their
individual member of
Congress is doing we find
that most have a much
higher regard for the job
THEIR MEMBER is doing.
WHY DO YOU THINK THAT
IS SO?
The Election of The President of the United States
The Party Nomination Process
• A detailed explanation of the presidential nomination process is provided in the
Power Point Presentation entitled “Nominating Presidential Candidates: A Public
Process Conducted By Private Parties.”
• You are responsible for viewing this presentation.
The General Election Process
• In order to be elected president you must be at least 25 years old.
• Presidents serve 4 year terms with a maximum of 2 full terms or 10 years.
• The president is elected by the ELECTORAL COLLEGE, an indirect process
in which individuals cast votes but they do no directly elect the president.
• The following slides will describe the ELECTORAL COLLEGE PROCESS.
Presidential General Election
Once each party has identified the person that will be their nominee
the general election campaign begins.
It is the winner of this election that will become the
President of the United States.
The general election is always held on the
first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
Originally, the President would be the person that won the majority
of the votes in the ELECTORAL COLLEGE, and the Vice-President
would be the person that won the second most.
(This was changed with the passage of the 12th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1804)
Electoral College
The electoral college is a method of indirectly electing the President
And Vice-President of the United States.
It is based on
the idea that
the registered
voters of each
state will
elect
ELECTORS
(members of
the Electoral
College).
Electoral College (Cont.)
Those electors then meet in their respective State Capitals in early December to
cast their Vote in two separate elections for President & Vice-President.
The
Certificate of
Votes for President
And Vice-President
Is signed by the
State Sec. of State
and it is sent to the
U.S. Senate.
Electoral College (Cont.)
On January 6th, the President of the Senate opens each of the
“CERTIFICATES” from each state, reads and counts the votes.
The individual receiving the absolute majority of the electoral votes,
currently 270 of 538, for president becomes president and the
individual receiving the absolute majority of the electoral votes
For vice-resident becomes vice president.
Current Electoral Vote Distribution
The number of electoral votes each state has is based on the number
of members of Congress that they have.
For example:
Missouri has 9 members of the U.S. House of Representatives
and
Two (2) members of the U.S. Senate.
Therefore, the State of Missouri has a total of
eleven (11) ELECTORAL VOTES.
CAN THE NUMBER OF ELECTORAL VOTES A STATE HAS CHANGE?
YES.
It can change every 10 years when Congress reapportions the seats
based on the U.S. Census.
California gained 8 electoral votes between 1981 and 2001
New York lost 5 electoral votes between 1981 and 2001
The +/- of the Electoral College
(1981 – 2001)
Notice where the gains and
Losses have been:
Losses
– The old Steel Belt
-- “Rust Belt”
-- “Old” Country
-- Democratic Areas +8
-5
-3
-3
-4
-3
+3
Gaines
– The Sun Belt
-- Border States
-- “New” Country
-- Republican Areas
+5
+3
+6