The Nomination
Before you get to run for office, you
have to be nominated.
 Nominations are one of the major
functions of a party.
 Nominations help to determine who can
run for office.
 Nominations can come in several ways
and will lead up to the general election
later on.
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How to Get Nominated
Petitions—Some areas have you get
signatures to be on a ballot. This is
usually used at the local levels
 Self Announcement—Some people can
just announce they are running;
although these are usually people not
picked by a party to run.
 Caucus—A meeting of party leaders
decide who they will choose to give their
support to.
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Going to the Convention
Caucuses were bigger in the 1800s.
Conventions replaced them.
 Local caucus select delegates to go to a
convention.
 The delegates vote
(county/state/national) on who will be
their high profile candidates.
 However, primaries have helped replace
the convention as the major tool in
selecting candidates.
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The Primary System
Direct Primary: A primary that is held
within the party to pick a candidate.
 Wisconsin did this first in 1903 to give
the people a larger voice in determining
who they wanted to choose as their
candidate.
 There are several different types of
primaries.
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The Primary System
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A closed primary is a vote that only party members
can vote in.
An open primary is when any voter can vote in any
primary election. You can vote for both Republican
and Democratic primaries.
People liked closed primaries because it keeps other
people away from voting in their party’s primary.
Closed primaries also keep the candidates closer to
their base.
However, closed primaries do not allow independent
voters to have a voice and it forces people to share
their party preference if they wanted to keep it
private.
The Primary System
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Some primaries demand you win the majority
of votes. Others want the plurality of votes.
A runoff primary can be set with the top two
people from the first primary.
Many elected school and municipal offices are
filled in nonpartisan elections (school board,
judges, etc.)
Primaries are great ways of getting a message
out and energizing a base, but they can also
rip a party in half.
An early primary win can also change the
whole tone of the election landscape.
Question Time
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1. How does someone get nominated?
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2. What is the function and purpose of a
primary?
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3. What is the difference between a
primary and a caucus?
The Administration of Elections
Elections are wonderful things, however
they only work if they are kept clean and
honest.
 Many elections in the past have had
fraud and issues.
 Because of this, the federal government
has made many laws and takes an
active look at elections to make sure
that they are fair.

Voting
Technically, Congress only has the
authority to set the time, place, and
manner of holding elections.
 Most states set up their election days to
follow the nation election day.
 The Help America Vote Act of 2002
helped to fix some of the issues in the
election of 2000 by having states
upgrade their voting machines, better
training of election day volunteers, and
have computer voter registration.
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Voting
Many people are away on election
day. They have to fill out absentee
ballots.
 Absentee ballots can be completed
and mailed in before the election.
 Once the election is over, election
officials wait until the absentee
ballots are counted to make an
official ruling.
 Some states allow early voting,
where someone can vote ahead of
time.
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Election Effects
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Some people worry that certain things could
affect an election.
Coattail effect—where a strong candidate
carries others with him/her (Reagan, Obama).
West Coast-East Coast—Where election
results in the east could affect what happens
to results out west.
Lack of a candidate—Where a poor candidate
could upset a party to the point where they
don’t come out to vote.
Ballot fatigue—Some voters get “bored” and
will skip people/offices towards the bottom.
Also, candidates not on the top line or two
receive fewer votes.
Precincts and Polling Places
A precinct is a voting district. They are
usually about 500-1,000 people in size.
 A polling place is where someone goes
to vote…usually a school or nursing
home or library.
 Polls are open from about 6 am to 9 pm,
depending on the state/county/city.
 Poll watchers, one from each party, are
present to monitor elections to make
sure no fraud is in place.
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Casting a Ballot
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A ballot is your voter sheet. They come in
many types.
Office group ballot—Lists all the candidates
by position first and then by random order.
Party column ballot—Lists all the candidates
for the party in a column. Then has the office
on the left side.
Butterfly ballot—Open up with people listed
on either side. Be careful!
Sample ballot—Some states mail you a
ballot so you can see who you will vote for in
a few weeks.
Ballots can be done in a machine,
electronically, placed in a box, or done with a
punch card (watch the chad!).
Computers and Voting
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Over 50% of all voting today is done on a
machine or a computer.
Many machines were lever type.
Machines helped to get rid of fraud.
Machines were expensive and hard to store.
However, since 2002, punch card ballots and
lever machines have been replaced.
Two new types are paper ballots that are
scanned into a machine and touch-screen
displays.
Online balloting could be a way for the future.
Absentee ballots could also become the
norm., like in Oregon.
Question Time
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4. How does voting on the East Coast
affect voting on the West Coast?
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5. Because of issues in 2000 election,
what has been done to help make sure
elections run more smoothly?
Federal Election Commission
The FEC deals with all campaigns.
 The FEC was set up in 1974 as an
independent agency to oversee federal
elections.
 They set up the finance laws so that no
issues are created during the campaign
season.
 However, those laws are not enforced
and parties often find loopholes.
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Campaign Financing
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To run for public office, you need money. Either you
have it already or you have to raise it.
Millions are spent on national elections, only a few
thousand on local elections.
Some states and localities give some money to
candidates already.
People and organizations give money because they
believe in a person or they want something back in
return.
Some donors give to both sides in an election.
Hard money– money given to candidates for
Congress and the White House.
Soft money—money given to political organizations
for “party activities”. Soft money was unregulated
until 2002.
This is a
f$*@#g
valuable
thing, I'm
not just
going to
give it
away for
f$*@#g
nothing.—
Rod
Blagojevich
Campaign Financing
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Only 10% of the population donate to political
campaigns.
Small contributors give small amounts and
only give occasionally.
Parties and candidates tend to target people
who have lots of money and give often.
Some people borrow from friends and family
or spend their own money. Ross Perot spent
$65 million on his own campaign in 1992.
Political parties often have funds stored in their
“war chests” to give to candidates.
Most candidates have to rely on holding their
own fundraisers. Some of these can get very
pricey.
Campaign Financing
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In 1907, Congress forbade any corporation from donating
to a candidate.
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002—Also called the
McCain-Feingold Act. It prohibited parties from raising
funds that were not subject to federal limits.
It also forbade corporations from making their own
campaign ads.
However, non-profits could (the 527 exemption. This led
to the “swift boat campaigns.”
Politicians also had to “approve of their messages” on
ads.
2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission:
Supreme Court ruled that you cannot ban a corporation
from airing campaign ads under the First Amendment
rights.
Campaign Financing
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Since 1910, all contributions must be reported.
All campaign contributions must by made by the
contributor and not in someone else’s name.
Nobody can give over $100 in cash. Over $200 must
be identified by source and date. Over $1000 has to
be reported to the FEC within 48 hours.
No foreign source can donate at all.
All contributions to a federal campaign must be
made through one campaign committee.
Limits are placed on total amounts of money given to
a candidate ($2,100 in a primary, $5,000 to a political
committee per year, $26,700 to a national party, and
$101,400 in one election cycle (2 years))
Campaign Financing
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Political Action Committees (PAC’s) are the political
arms of special interest groups.
They fill “war chests’ and donate to campaigns they
like.
No PAC can give more than $5,000 to any one
candidate in a federal election or $10,000 in one
election cycle.
However, PACs can donate to as many candidates
as they want and up to $15,000 to each party.
Candidates who accept federal money for
campaigns are limited to spending no more than
$37.5 million before the convention and no more
than $74.6 million total.
Question Time
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6. What is the purpose of the FEC?
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7. What is the difference between hard and soft
monies?
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8. What is “swiftboating”?
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9. Why must all campaign donations be disclosed?
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10. What is a PAC and what do they do?
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11. Why do you think there are limits on how much
someone can donate to a campaign?