Elections
Chapter 7
Mr. Topinka
American Government
Fall Semester 2015
Section 1

The Nominating Process
Nominating Process
A Critical First Step



The Nominating Process

The naming of those who will seek office

Sometimes the only real contest for a public office
Five ways for Nomination
Self-announcement



Oldest form of the nominating process
The candidate simply announces his candidacy
Nominating Process (Con’t)
The Caucus



Caucus is a group of like-minded people who meet to select the
candidates they will support
Historically used in U.S. however, died on a national level after
the 1824 election.
The Convention



First used by a minor party in 1831.
In theory, extremely representative, however, can be manipulated
Nominating and Electing a Candidate
2 3
Chapter 7, Section 1
Direct Primary
An intra-party election
Usually controlled by the state, not political parties
Two forms



The Closed Primary


only declared party members can vote



established by registration
27 states
The Open Primary

any qualified voter can vote

23 states
Closed vs. Open Primary


Closed pro




Avoids tampering from rival party
Makes more responsive to party
Makes voters more thoughtful
Closed con


Compromise secrecy
Excludes independents
Direct Primary (Con’t)
The Runoff Primary


If the absolute majority is not reached, the top two candidates
face one another to become a nominee
The Nonpartisan Primary


Elections in which candidates are not identified by party labels
The Presidential Primary


Varies from state to state, however, used to choose a party’s
presidential candidate.
The Direct Primary
Types of Direct
Primaries
Closed
Primary
Open
Primary
Only declared
party members
can vote.
Any qualified
voter can take
part.
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
Blanket Primary
Qualified voters can
vote for any
candidate,
regardless of party
2 3
Chapter 7, Section 1
Primaries Across the United States
2 3
Chapter 7, Section 1
Section 2

Elections
The Administration of Elections
The lengthy process is used to protect the integrity of
the electoral process
The extent of federal control




Most laws are state laws
Congress has set the National Election

Presidential and Congressional the First Tuesday after first
Monday of November every fourth year

With other congressional elections every two years
The Administration of Elections (con’t)
Early Voting


If unable to go to your precinct, one may receive an absentee
ballot

Too ill or disabled

Away from home (college)

Armed forces
The Coattail Effect


A strong candidate running for a high office helps lesser known
party affiliates win office

reverse could happen as well
Precincts and Polling Places


Precinct: voting district
Polling place: located somewhere in the precinct
Casting the Ballot
Ballot is the device by which a voter registers a choice
in an election
Kinds of ballots





The Australian Ballot
The office-group ballot
The Party-column ballot
Voting Machines and Innovation



Electronic vote counting
Vote-by-Mail elections
Online voting
Section 3

Money and Elections
Campaign Spending
Presidential campaigns eat up the most money


Nearly $1.5 Billion in 2000
Commercials, bumper stickers, pamphlets, websites,
travel


60 second commercial can run ½ million dollars
Sources of Funding
Private and public sources







Small contributors

Those who give $5 or $10 or so
Wealthy people

“Fat cats” who give donations
Candidates

Spending their own money
Various nonparty groups, PAC

The political arms of special interest groups
Also, various fundraisers, where people pay $100, $500,
$1,100 or more for dinner

recently, online giving
Subsidy

A grant of money from a government
Why people give
Some for the party they believe in
Most want access to government





Appointed to offices
To meet the insiders
Want certain public policies
Regulating Campaign Finance

FECA and FECA amendments allow congress to
monitor national election funding
Federal Election Commission
An independent agency set up by legislative and
executive branch
Enforces law about:





Disclosure requirements

Required to identify who gives when and how it is
spent
Limits on contributors

No PAC can give more than $95,000 in an election
cycle
PAC

Special-Interest groups that can give donations

Can give $5,000 per Federal election
Federal Election Commission (Con’t)
Limit on Expenditures




Public Funding of Presidential Campaign
Created in 1971, ’74, and ’76 to discourage absurd amounts
of money
Limits how much you can accept and spend
Hard Money, Soft Money
Hard Money


Money raised and spent to elect candidates for congress
and the white house
Soft Money


Funds given to “temporary organizations” and used to help
elect someone