ElectionsandVoting.ppt

Independent Candidate Who Won

a Major State Election

Qualifying to Vote

• Many people were

barred from voting in our nation’s early

years

• Before amdts. to Const., had to be

Mississippi Burning

• Tried in 1964 for violating the three victims’ civil rights, the trial ended in a hung jury and Killen was set free

• Tried for the actual murder in 2005 and found guilty. Killen was

sentenced to 60 years in prison for murder at the age of 80.

Today’s Requirements to Vote

• At least 18

• Citizen of U.S. & the

state where you want to vote

Voter Registration

• Most states require that you register to vote at least 25 days before the

election

• Some states allow you to register 10 or fewer days before the election

Motor Voter Act

• A.K.A. The National Voter Registration Act

Choosing a Party Affiliation

• You can choose a party to be a member of when you register

– This means you can vote in primary elections for that party’s candidate

Polling Place

• Location where you go to vote

Precinct

• Smallest local voting district - Usually it’s a neighborhood

• Everyone from that precinct goes to the same polling place

People line up for early

Ballot

• List of

candidates

• You cast

Challengers at the Polling Place

• Person who compares your signature to the one on your voter registration card

• There are challengers representing each party

Cast your ballot. . .

machines:

Voting a Straight Ticket

Split Ticket Voting

Absentee Voting

Election Returns

• Results of

the election – who won

President Bush and first lady Laura Bush walk onto the stage at the victory rally.

Exit Polling

to predict the winners before all votes are

officially counted.

A pollster in Austin, Texas, asks a series of questions of a man who has just voted in an election. Exit polling is often

Why so many

people choose not

to vote:

• Some think

apathy, or lack of interest, is the main reason for low voter

Types of

Elections

• General Elections

• Voting on Issues

Begin notes Tues., Nov. 15

Voting on Issues

• In some states and cities, voters can also vote on issues

• Initiative/Proposition Method:

– Step 1) Initiative – Citizens can propose new state laws or state constitutional amendments

• Must have enough people sign petition to get it on the ballot

Voting on Issues,

Cont’d.

• Referendum Method

– Way for citizens to approve or reject a new law

• Local or state govt. proposes it

Special Elections

• Runoff Elections – When no candidate wins a majority

• Recall Elections – Citizens can vote to remove a public

official from office

– Starts with a petition

– Can happen if enough voters

Election Campaigns

General Elections

• Two-part process

– Primary Elections – Narrows down the candidates from each party to just one (per party)

• Winners get to run in the general election

• General Election – Winner gets to be a public official

– Voters choose who wins each office

How they win . . .

• In all races except the presidential race, the candidate who wins the

popular vote is elected to office

• In presidential

2 Types of Primary Elections

• Open Primaries

Open Primary

Elections

• No party membership required to vote for nominees.

• In other words, if you vote in an open primary for a

Republican candidate, you

don’t have to declare yourself a member of the Republican

Closed Primary Elections

• Only declared members of a party are allowed to vote for that party’s

nominees.

• Republican Moderate Party Chairman Ray Metcalfe said the closed primary was an attack on the state's four smaller parties aimed at luring them to the Democratic and Republican folds.

• Sykes also called the primary an attack on undeclared and nonpartisan voters, who make up more than half the electorate.

Argument for Closed Primaries

• Some argue that the closed primary

prevents members

of one political party from crossing over into the other

party’s primary to

try to promote weak candidates who

Argument Against Closed Primary

Elections

• Others say that closed primaries do not permit a truly secret ballot, since voters must first declare a party

preference

Candidate with a plurality of the

votes wins

• Most states give the party’s nomination to the candidate who

receives a plurality (most ) of votes

Majority

• In a few states, the winner of the primary must have a majority of the votes

Runoff Primary Election

• When no candidate gets a majority of the votes, the

Begin Notes Thurs., Nov. 18

Unaffiliated Candidates

• Independent candidates can get on most states’ ballots by petition.

Independent Democratic candidate for mayor of

Other Party Roles

• Campaigning for candidates • Informing Citizens

• Helping Manage Govt.

• Linking the Different Levels of Govt.

• The political party out of power plays an important role as

watchdog.

Presidential Elections

• Three Steps

– Nomination

– Campaign

Begin notes Tues., Nov. 15

Step 1: Party Nominates a

Candidate

• After the primaries, each party nominates its

candidate for pres. at its nat’l convention

• Today, each party knows who it will nominate before its national convention

Step 2: Campaign

campaigns usually begin in September

Step 3: The Vote and the Electoral

College

• In each state, a list (slate) of electors is “promised” to each candidate (each party gets a slate = to # of total electoral votes for that state)

• If candidate wins popular election in a state, his/her party’s electors get to vote

– So. . . The purpose of a popular election is to determine which slate of electors gets to vote for the president

• “Winner take all” system

– Candidate who wins the popular vote in that state wins all of the state’s electoral votes

• If neither candidate wins a majority of electoral votes, the HOR elects the

Begin notes Thurs., April 14

Campaign Techniques

Propaganda Techniques in

Campaigns

• Name-Calling – Saying negative things about the other candidate

• “He’s dangerous and sympathizes with

Endorsement

• Having popular, famous person endorse the

Glittering Generalities

• Emotionally appealing slogans associated w/ highly valued concepts

– Result: Audience does not challenge its true meaning • “It’s time for a CHANGE!” • Freedom!

Bandwagon

• Vote for a

candidate b/c

she’s likely to win anyway

– Candidates often use poll results to do this

• “Polls show Reagan in the lead,” etc.

Just Plain Folks

• Candidate tries to

seem like

most of the people living in an area

Stacked

Cards

• Candidate only tells the good

things he/she has done

• "I have the best record on the

Symbols

Paying for Campaign Elections

Other Campaigning Techniques

• Canvassing – Traveling

Campaign Techniques, Cont’d.

• Political Ads

– Candidate can

Begin Notes Wed., Nov. 16

Paying for Election Campaigns

Paying for Campaigns – Where

the Money Comes From, Cont’d.

• Before 1971, money for campaigns came from business associations, individuals and labor unions

– Problem: Did

Campaign Expenses

• Average amount spent by presidential candidates:

– Hundreds of millions of $$$$

• Average amount spent on candidate for HOR:

– $1.5 million (that’s every two years)

• TV ads are enormously expensive

• Other costs for campaigning include

– Travel (airfare)

Fed. Election Campaign Finance

Act 1971

• Candidates must disclose sources of $$ & how much they spend

• Estab’d. federal funding of pres. Elections

Public Funding of Elections

• People may choose to put part of the taxes to presidential campaigns

• Presidential candidates can use part of the money in primary elections if they’ve raised $100,000

Where campaigns get $$$

• Most money for campaigns comes from private donations:

– Individual citizens

– Political party organizations – Corporations

– After presidential candidates receive

Loopholes in Campaign Finance Laws

• Political Action

Committees (PACs) - Special-interest

groups form PACs to help fund a

candidate’s campaign

• PACs by Industry

Rank Industry Total

Soft Money

• Donations given to political

parties & not designated for any particular candidate

• The party then uses the money for TV ads, etc.

• PACs give most of their $$$ to

incumbents (one who has already been elected & is running for