Elections and Voting

Question of the Day What is the purpose of Elections in our system? Is this purpose undermined by our consistently low voter turnout rates?

Securing the Right to Vote – A Brief History

Voting and Voter Turnout

World’s Election Turnout

Why People Don’t Vote

Nonvoting: What difference does it make? A huge army of nonvoters, “hangs over the democratic process like a bomb ready to explode and change the course of history.” -Arthur Hadley “I’m not going to shed any crocodile tears if people don’t care enough to vote….I’d be extremely happy if nobody in the United States voted except for the people who thought about the issues and made up their own minds and wanted to vote.” - the late Senator Sam Ervin

Purposes of Elections Select policymakers and staff the government Ensures accountability to the electorate Promotes ethical behavior and attention to public opinion Sets agenda for policy and shapes public policy Mandates confirmed to organize policy and implement platform Reelection = confirmation of policy ideas Confer legitimacy on governments Popular Sovereignty  political power is derived directly from the people

Question of the Day We will review last Friday’s question of the day Today’s Does the Nomination Process for the POTUS need reform?

What is the purpose of Elections in our system What is the purpose of Elections in our system? Is this purpose undermined by our consistently low voter turnout rates? Purpose of Elections: Select policymakers and staff the government Sets agenda for policy and shapes public policy Confer legitimacy on governments

Presidential Elections Stage 1: The Nomination Three major methods utilized by states to determine candidates in general election Winner-take-all primaries Proportional representation primaries Caucus

Presidential Elections Stage 1: The Nomination Campaigning begins well before any declaration of candidacy, as candidates try to line up supporters to win caucuses or primaries in key states raise money for their nomination effort Exploratory Committee

Presidential Campaign Organization

Presidential Elections: Nominating Process Primary Elections Open Primaries  party members, independents, and members of other party can participate Closed Primaries  only registered voters of party are allowed to participate Front-Loading  states choosing an early date on the primary schedule Advantage to the “front-runner” Major advantage to those who can raise money early

Presidential Elections: Nominating Process Caucuses Very few states still have this system Seen by many as “un-democratic” due to lack of participation among “regular” party members

Monday, January 16, 2012: Iowa caucuses Monday, January 16, 2012: Iowa caucuses* Tuesday, January 24: New Hampshire* Saturday, January 28: Nevada caucuses*, South Carolina* Tuesday, January 31: Florida Tuesday, February 7 (Super Tuesday): Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah Saturday, February 11: Louisiana primary Tuesday, February 14: Maryland, Virginia Tuesday, February 21: Wisconsin Tuesday, February 28: Arizona**, Michigan*** Tuesday, March 6: Minnesota caucuses, Massachusetts***, Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas and Vermont Tuesday, March 13: Mississippi Tuesday, March 20: Colorado caucuses**** Tuesday, April 24: Pennsylvania Tuesday, May 8: Indiana, North Carolina and West Virginia Tuesday, May 15: Nebraska, Oregon Tuesday, May 22: Idaho, Kentucky Tuesday, June 5: Montana, New Mexico***** and South Dakota

Question of the Day Does the Nomination Process for the POTUS need reform? What techniques used in Campaign Ads are the most successful?

Presidential Elections: Nominating Process Criticisms of current nominating system: Disproportionate influence to early states (35% of all election coverage on NH and IA = only 2% of delegates!) “Hype” and coverage surrounding the winners/losers is out of proportion to entirety of the race Low voter participation (15-20% eligible voters)

Presidential Elections Stage 2: Convention National Party Convention A national meeting of delegates selected in primaries, caucuses, and conventions who assemble every four years to nominate candidates for president and vice-president, ratify the party platform, elect party officers, and adopt rules.

Presidential Elections Stage 2: Convention Party Conventions Serve 3 general purposes: Endorsement of president and vice-presidential candidates Endorse and/or change the party’s platform Raise voter awareness about the party Selection of delegates primarily done through primary/caucus season Superdelegates  elected officials, national party officers Designed to exercise some control over the nominating process by the party

McGovern-Fraser Commission 1968 Democratic National Convention Eugene McCarthy Hubert H Humphrey

Read the selection on page 276 1.There are three reform ideas for primaries in this selection. 2. Examine the ads and disads for each and decide as a group the best solution

Presidential Elections Stage 3: The General Election “Presidential debates give candidates an opportunity to show how quickly and accurately they can respond to questions and outline their goals”

Presidential Elections Stage 3: The General Election Electoral College Designed by Framers for three purposes: Work without political parties Cover both the nominating and electing phases of presidential selection Produce a nonpartisan president 12th Amendment and 1800 Election  flaw in the framers original idea Election of 2000 and Bush v. Gore

Electoral College “Map”

Presidential Elections Effects of Winner-Take-All Wasted-vote syndrome Reinforcement of moderate and centrist candidates Difficult for minor parties to get elected

Presidential Elections Should we abolish the electoral college system? Popular Vote? Congressional District Plan? Keep the College, abolish the Electors?

Congressional Elections: Incumbency Advantage

Congressional Elections: Incumbency Advantage Incumbents have a strong advantage when seeking reelection Name recognition “Scare-off” Effect Campaign contributions Resources of office/Staff Support Media and Travel Redistricting – “Gerrymandering”

Congressional Elections: Incumbency Advantage How do we attempt to counter the forces of incumbency advantage? Redistricting efforts Scandals William J. Jefferson Mark Foley Presidential Coattails Popular OR unpopular president (2006)

Reforming the Electoral Process How do we “fix” the problems of elections in the United States? Regional Primaries Divide U.S. into 5 regions and hold primary elections on same day PRO: PROS: (1) End the current “camping out” campaigns in Iowa and New Hampshire in hopes of doing better in small, insignificantly populated states, and (2) order brought to the primary season which would allow the candidates to focus more on the regional concerns

Reforming the Electoral Process How do we “fix” the problems of elections in the United States? Campaign Finance Reform Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (2002) McCain-Feingold PRO: PROS: (1) Banned unregulated “soft money” contributions, (2) increased private political contributions for individuals, (3) restricted the use of political ads

Reforming the Electoral Process How do we “fix” the problems of elections in the United States? Online Voting Internet Voting Secure Electronic Registration Voting Experiment (SERVE) PRO: PROS:

Reforming the Electoral Process How do we “fix” the problems of elections in the United States? Voting by Mail All-mail system (currently used in Oregon) PRO: PROS:

Reforming the Electoral Process How do we “fix” the problems of elections in the United States? Modernizing the Ballot Utilizing modern technology at polling places PRO: PROS: