Elections: The Rules of the Game
Who determines the rules for U.S. elections?
When are elections held in the U.S.?
Answers:
Although the Constitution sets certain
conditions and requirements, most electoral
rules remain matters of state laws.
November and June – the first Tuesday after
the first Monday of the month.
Voter Eligibility is
Determined by the States
Purposes of Elections
 Legitimize government, even in authoritarian systems.
 Organize government.
 Choose issue and policy priorities.
 Electorate gives winners a mandate.
Types of Elections
 Primary elections can be open or closed.
 Crossover voting or raiding can occur in open
primaries.
 Runoff primaries held if no candidate wins a majority.
 General elections determine who will fill public offices.
 Ballot measures: initiative, referendum, and recall.
Elections: The Rules of the Game
 Regularly Scheduled Elections
 Fixed, Staggered, and Sometimes Limited
Terms
 Term Limits
 Winner Take All – an election system in
which the candidate with the most votes
wins.
 Single-member districts
 Proportional representation
 The Electoral College
Electoral College
 Representatives from each state who select president.
 Electors equivalent to senators plus representatives.
 Framers favored system to remove power from people.
 Originally president and vice president selected alone.
 Changed after Twelfth Amendment.
 1876 and 2000 elections demonstrate concerns.
To win the presidency, the candidate
must have a majority vote of the
______.
a. Supreme Court
b. House of Representatives
c. electoral college
d. popular vote
Under the electoral college system, a
candidate _____________ of a
state’s electoral votes.
a. either wins all or none
b. gets a percentage
c. gets at least a minimal number
d. wins none
If no presidential candidate secures
a majority of the electoral votes
the ______ decides.
a. Supreme Court
b. House of Representatives
c. Senate
d. Both b and c
Running for Congress
• Most congressional elections are not close.
• Competition is more likely when both candidates have
adequate funding.
• Presidential popularity affects both House and Senate
races during both presidential and midterm elections.
Safe & Competitive House Seats, 2000-2010
• Safe Seats
• Coattail Effect - the
boost candidates get
from running along
with a popular
Presidential candidate
from their party
Running for Congress
•The House of Representatives
•Racial, Ethnic Politics complicate redistricting
Minorities Gained in Redistricting
YEAR
BLACKS
1991
2001
2003
26
37
37
HISPANICS
11
19
22
•Malapportionment
•Gerrymandering
•Partisan Gerrymandering
•The Senate
Redistricting Commissions & Alternatives
•37 State Legislators Redraw Most Congressional
Districts
•Thirteen states give first and final authority for legislative
redistricting to a group other than the legislature
•Alaska
•Arizona
•Connecticut
•Idaho
•Indiana
•Iowa
•Hawaii
Joint Legislature/Commission
•Maine
Special Commission
•Montana
•New Jersey
•New Mexico
•Washington
•California
•Because of low populations seven states avoid redistricting
since there is only one representative for each state.
Gerrymandering
is a form of redistricting in which electoral districts are
manipulated for an electoral advantage.
The term originated after Massachusetts Gov. Elbridge Gerry
approved an irregular shaped legislative district in 1812.
Senate elections are likely to be ___
competitive than House elections.
a. more
b. less
c. equally
Keeping a House seat is ___ than
gaining one.
a. harder
b. easier
c. more costly
d. less costly
Congressional candidates secure
most of their campaign funds from
a. the party
b. personal contributions
c. congressional campaign finance monies
d. income tax collections
Why Incumbents Lose
 Redistricting can pit incumbents against one
another.
 Scandals.
 Presidential coattails.
 Midterm elections
 President’s party usually
loses seats.
U.S. House Incumbents Re-elected, 1946-2002
Rising Campaign Costs in General Elections
Times Change
When Abraham Lincoln ran for President, it cost him 75 cents
- the total cost of treating some farm hands to a barrel of cider.
Running for President
Stage 1: The Nomination
 Presidential hopefuls must make
a series of critical tactical decisions.
 One of the hardest jobs for
candidates and their strategists is
calculating how to deal with the
complex maze of presidential
primaries and caucuses that
constitutes the delegate selection
system.
 Another decision candidates must
make is whether to participate in
partial public financing of their
campaigns
Running for President
Stage 1: The Nomination (cont.)
 Presidential Primaries
 Caucuses and Conventions
 Strategies
Running for President
Stage 2: The National Party Convention
• The delegates elected in primaries,
caucuses, or state conventions assemble at
their national party convention.
• Despite the lack of suspense about who the
nominee will be, conventions continue to
be major media events.
• Acceptance speeches provide the nominees
with an opportunity to define themselves
and their candidacy.
Running for President (continue)
Stage 2: The National Party Convention
 The Party Platform
 The Vice Presidential Nominee
 The Value of Conventions
 Nomination by Petition
Stage 3: The General Election
 Presidential Debates
Television & Radio Advertising
The Outcome
Money in U.S. Elections
• Election campaigns cost money, and the methods
of obtaining the money have long been
controversial.
• Scandals involving the influence of money on
policy are not new.
• the Teapot Dome scandal (1925)
• the Watergate scandal (1972)
• Public outcry from these discoveries prompted
Congress to enact the body of reforms that still
largely regulate the financing of federal elections.
Money in U.S. Elections
•Efforts at Reform
•The Federal Election Campaign Act (1971)
•Amended in 1974
•In Buckley v. Valeo, Supreme Court
overturned 1974 amendments in 1976
•The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA)
•Soft Money
•Issue Advocacy Advertising
•Efforts at Reform (cont.)
Section 527 and 501(c) Organizations
 527 political committees emerge to fill void.
 Cannot advocate for candidates, only causes and policy.
 501(c)3 committees also can educate voters.
Independent Expenditures
 Supreme Court ruling on FECA (1976) cleared the way.
 No BCRA constraints.
 Full disclosure to the FECA required.
 Spending for or against candidates as long as money is
truly independent of candidate and not corporate or union
treasury money.
527 Groups
Money in U.S. Elections
•Continuing Problems with Campaign Finance
•
•
•
•
Rising Costs of Campaigns
Candidates’ Personal Wealth
Declining Competition
Increasing Dependence of PACs and Wealthy
Donors
• Growth in Individual
Contributions and Use
of the Internet to Fund
Campaigns
Expenditures by PACs
PAC Money Favors Incumbents
Improving Elections
Reforming Presidential Primaries
 End front-loading with regional primaries.
Reforming the Nominating Process
Reforming the Electoral College
 Select the president by popular vote.
 Each congressional district has a vote.
 Keep the College, abolish the electors.
Reforming How We Vote
 Increase turnout with online voting or voting by mail.
 Make voting more accessible with a modern ballot.
Reforming Campaign Finance
 Even the playing field with new campaign finance laws.
Reforming the Electoral College
Should we use a direct popular election
instead of the electoral college?
Pros
• Give every voter the
same weight in
presidential balloting
Cons
• Plan would undermine
federalism
• Unrestrained majority rule
• Winners would have
greater legitimacy
• Populous states would
lose influence
Improving Elections
The Importance of Elections
Elections matter in a constitutional democracy.
Central to the functioning of a constitutional
democracy like that in the United States is a system
of fair elections that is well-administered
Individual citizens can make a difference in elections
in many ways.
 By voting - trust and confidence in elections centers
on the issues presented in this lecture.
 By selecting candidates, working for political parties.
 By organizing groups around common interests.