PROJECTS
• The great length and cost of American campaigns is unusual when compared to the systems used in other nations. Refer to the systems used in other Western
democracies for comparison and contrast. Ask students to reflect on what changes (for example, changes to the types of candidates) might occur if the United States adopted a shorter campaign period. Preface the assignment with a reminder that reforms often are accompanied by unintended (and unforeseen) consequences, and ask your class to consider the implications of this possibility. Brief reading selections could be placed on reserve in the library to supplement this section.
• If student body officer elections attract a lot of attention on your campus (and are currently being held), have your students interview the various candidates regarding their campaign strategies. Have students write brief essays about how “their”
candidate could improve his/her campaign.
• As a class project, have each student interview a recent candidate for a local office to get the candidate’s reaction to questions of ethics in campaigning. (If your class is large, consider dividing the class into teams to avoid overwhelming local candidates with requests for interviews!) What are the candidate’s views on the nature of the campaign process? Are there any concerns with possible invasion of privacy? Is
“mud-slinging” becoming more of a problem? Is there a link between campaign expenditures and the number of votes received?
• If this is an election year, have students gather campaign material from both the Democratic and Republican local headquarters. Compare both the style and content of the literature. Suggest that students volunteer to work for a few hours for one of the parties, then compare notes in class about their experiences.
• According to the textbook: “Reformers in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries held that the solution to democratic problems was more democracy.... In principle, more democracy always sounds better than less, but it is not such a simple issue in practice.”
This statement could be the basis for a provocative class discussion and analysis.
• Review and discuss debates regarding passage of the McCain–Feingold Campaign Finance Act of 2002. What did its sponsors initially include in the bill? How and why did the final version differ? Did it influence the 2008 election?
• For a reading and writing connection (and if the course is being taught in an election year), have students keep a clipping file on candidates for an office of their choice.
Using broadcast and print media sources and descriptive journal entries for each item, have students identify the policy positions of the candidate from these sources. In a short analytical essay, have them compare the information they obtained through news coverage of their candidates with information they obtained in campaign advertisements about the candidates’ issue positions. Alternatively, students could compare media images between competing candidates using the same format.
• It is common to hear people in public life say, “Vote any way you want, but VOTE.” Have your class consider the following question: Do people in an election campaign organization really want to increase voter turnout, or are they interested in types of people who they think will vote for their party or candidate? Small groups of students could interview local officeholders and ask for their “realistic” opinions.
Are “get out the vote” campaigns geared primarily to a party’s (or candidate’s) supporters? Compare their responses to similar questions asked of campus student leaders.
• Divide your class into two sections and ask them to take opposing positions on the following question: Is it reasonable for a voter to look at personality and
“character” traits as a basis for judging candidates for public office? Class discussion on this topic is often animated and responsive.
• Ask students to research the legislative history of the Motor Voter Act. Who supported the act? Who opposed it? Why? Most political scholars have found that the Motor Voter Act has failed. Why?
• Bring information to class on procedures for voter registration. Consider using your class as the basis for a voter registration drive on campus. Information, publicity, and transportation are often problems for students who would like to vote.
• Ask students to debate the relative value of voter registration. Although voter registration is designed to minimize corruption or cheating in the election, what other possible reasons could be underlying the voter registration system? How do other democratic countries control corruption without voter registration? What other possible mechanisms exist that could control corruption and cheating equally well or better? What issues are raised by current proposals for on-line voting?
• For a reading and writing connection (and if the course is being taught in an election year), have students keep a clipping file on candidates for an office of their choice.
Using broadcast and print media sources and descriptive journal entries for each item, have students identify the policy positions of the candidate from these sources. In a short analytical essay, have them compare the information they obtained through news coverage of their candidates with information they obtained in campaign advertisements about the candidates’ issue positions. Alternatively, students could compare media images between competing candidates using the same format.
• Ask students to debate (or write an analytical essay) on the desirability of having a tax on non-voting. What would be the benefits? What would be the costs? Does the Constitution protect citizens’ right to abstain from voting?
• Ask the students to estimate what the electoral vote would have been in 2000 had Ralph Nader not been on the ballot. (According to the text on page 261, Nader voters favored Gore over Bush by a 5-2 margin.)
• Assign an essay in which the students discuss their opinion of the 2000 election. Also have them discuss the changes states made for the 2004 and 2008 elections. Have states done a better job of making sure all votes are counted?
B ACKGROUND READING
Aldrich, John H., David W. Rohde, and Paul R. Abramson. Change and Continuity in the 2004 Elections. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press, 2006.
Asher, Herbert B. Presidential Elections and American Politics. 5th ed. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole, 1992.
Alvarez, R. Michael. Information and Elections. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 1999.
Bartels, Larry M. Presidential Primaries and the Dynamics of Public Choice. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1988.
Corrado, Anthony. Campaign Finance Reform: Beyond the Basics. Washington, D.C.:
Brookings Institution, 2000.
Corrado, Anthony, Thomas Mann, Daniel Ortiz, and Trevor Potter. The New Campaign Finance Sourcebook. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution, 2000.
Edwards, George C. Why the Electoral College Is Bad for America. New Haven, Yale University Press, 2004.
Franz, Michael M., et al. Campaign Advertising and American Democracy. Philadelphia:
Temple University Press, 2008.
Hart, Roderick P. Campaign Talk: Why Elections Are Good For Us. Princeton, NJ:
Princeton University Press, 2000.
Institute of Politics, ed. Campaign for President: The Managers Look at 2004. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2006.
Lavrakas, Paul J., and Michael W. Traugott. Election Polls, the News Media and Democracy. New York: Chatham House Publishers, 2000.
Leighley, Jan E. Strength in Numbers? : The Political Mobilization of Racial and Ethnic Minorities. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2001.
Longley, Lawrence D., and Neal R. Peirce. The Electoral College Primer 2000. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999.
Malbin, Michael J., ed. The Election After Reform: Money, Politics, and the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2006.
Mayer, William G., ed. The Maing of the Presidential Candidates 2004. Lanham, MD:
Rowman & Littlefield, 2004.
Miller, Warren, and J. Merrill Shanks. The New American Voter. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1996.
Orren, Gary R., and Nelson W. Polsby. Media and Momentum: The New Hampshire Primary and Nomination Politics. Chatham, NJ: Chatham House Publishers, 1987.
Polsby, Richard G. and Aaron Wildavsky. Presidential Elections. 11th ed. Lanham, MD:
Rowman & Littlefield, 2004.
Rosenstone, Steven J., and John Mark Hansen. Mobilization, Participation and Democracy in America. New York: MacMillan, 1993.
Simon, Adam F. The Winning Message. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Wayne, Stephen H. The Road to the White House 1996: The Politics of Presidential Elections. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1997.
M EDIA SUGGESTIONS
American Presidents: The Most Powerful Man on Earth. Prod. Richard Smigielski.
Mentorom Multimedia,1998.
In this film, host Walter Cronkite presents a history of the highest office in the nation.
Illustrated with newsreel footage and historic material from the National Archives, Cronkite guides the viewer through a look at past presidents from the Depression years through the cold war. Several scholars, including Alan Brinkley, Martin Walker, Ben Wattenberg, and Kenneth C. Davis, lend their commentary to the program. The office of the presidency has changed dramatically since the days of George Washington, and those developments, influenced by factors both at home and abroad, are outlined here.
Campaign Finance: Abuses and Reforms. Films for the Humanities and Sciences, 1997.
This show provides an overview of campaign finance reform, including interviews with Senator John McCain, Bill Bradley, and Jack Kemp. The broad political issues are discussed, as are several case studies of campaign finance in Florida and Maine.
Debating Our Destiny: 40 Years of Presidential Debates. MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, 2000.
Clips of some of the most compelling debate exchanges over the past 10 years.
The Decline of Politics: The Superficial Democracy. Films for the Humanities and Sciences, 1992.
This program analyzes the influence of modern campaigns, which are characterized by form over substance in American democracy.
Primaries: Defining the Battle in New Hampshire. Films for the Humanities and Sciences, 2004.
This program explains the primary process and looks at the 2004 New Hampshire primary.
…So Goes the Nation. Dirs. Adam Del Deo and James Stern. Endgame Entertainment, 2006.
This film examines the role of Ohio in the 2004 presidential election.
Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election. Dirs. Richard Ray Pérez and Joan Sekler.
Alternavision Films, 2002.
Narrated by Peter Coyote, this 50-minute film examines the controversial occurrences in Florida during the 2000 presidential election, leading up to the eventual administration of George W. Bush. The filmmakers examine what went wrong before, during, and after the disputed election decision. It explores the topic of voter rolls, ballot design, vote recounting, and actions of the Supreme Court.
Voting: A Right and a Responsibility. Films for the Humanities and Sciences, 1996.
This program addresses the importance of voting by looking at the history and issues of voting.
The War Room. Dir. D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hedgus. Cyclone Films, 1993.
A look inside the 1992 presidential race, The War Room, explores the backstage side of national politics by examining the day-to-day operations of Bill Clinton’s campaign staff.