Election Process

How Do We Vote Straight-Ticket Voting Split-Ticket Voting Issue Voting Party-Centered Voting Split-Ticket Voting Candidate-Centered Voting Issue Voting Prospective Voting Retrospective Voting

Election Process Party Nomination General Election Process that each party goes through to decide which candidate will represent their party in the general election. Generally called the PRIMARY. General Election Process in which the candidate from each party compete against each other. Winner of this process wins the office.

Primary Election Closed Primary Open Primary Three types of primaries An election by which each party selects the ONE candidate that will Represent their party in the general election. The winner of this election simply gets to represent their party in the General election, they DO NOT win the right to hold any elected office. Three types of primaries Closed Primary Open Primary

Closed Primaries Primaries in which members must declare a party (be a registered member of that party) , and by doing so they are limited to voting ONLY in their party’s primary This type of primary prevents independents from voting. New York, Florida and Pennsylvania are some of the states that use this type of primary.

Open Primaries In these primaries individuals may request a ballot for either party. Individuals no not register as a member of any party. Missouri uses the OPEN PRIMARY method. The type of primary that is used can greatly influence the outcome of some primary contests. Example: 2000 Primaries and Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

Caucus The term caucus is frequently used to discuss the procedures used by some states to select  presidential nominees such as the Iowa caucuses, the first of the modern  presidential election cycle. Since 1980 such caucuses have become,overall, an important component of the nomination process.

Midterm elections A midterm election refers to a type of election where the people can elect their representatives in the middle of the term of the executive or of another set of members.

Congressional Elections Incumbent The person currently holding an office. Open Seat A Congressional election in which there is no INCUMBENT. Safe Seat A Congressional district that is certain to vote for the candidate of one party.

The Election of Members of Congress US Senate Currently 100 Members – 2 from each state Term is 6 years 1/3 (approx. 33) up for re-election every 2 years The Class (I, II & III)of the Senator determines when they are up For re-election. Until passage of the 17th Amendment in 1913 Senators were in-directly elected. Members must be at least 30 years old. US House of Representatives Currently 435 Members – Number from each state based on population Term is 2 years All 435 up for re-election every 2 years Members of the House of Reps were always directly elected. Members must be at least 25 years old.

The Election of The President of the United States The General Election Process In order to be elected president you must be at least 25 years old. Presidents serve 4 year terms with a maximum of 2 full terms or 10 years. The president is elected by the ELECTORAL COLLEGE, an indirect process in which individuals cast votes but they do no directly elect the president. The following slides will describe the ELECTORAL COLLEGE PROCESS.

Presidential General Election Once each party has identified the person that will be their nominee the general election campaign begins. It is the winner of this election that will become the President of the United States. The general election is always held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

Presidential General Election Originally, the President would be the person that won the majority of the votes in the ELECTORAL COLLEGE, and the Vice-President would be the person that won the second most. (This was changed with the passage of the 12th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1804)

Electoral College The electoral college is a method of indirectly electing the President And Vice-President of the United States. It is based on the idea that the registered voters of each state will elect ELECTORS (members of the Electoral College).

Electoral College (Cont.) Those electors then meet in their respective State Capitals in early December to cast their Vote in two separate elections for President & Vice-President. The Certificate of Votes for President And Vice-President Is signed by the State Sec. of State and it is sent to the U.S. Senate.

Electoral College (Cont.) On January 6th, the President of the Senate opens each of the “CERTIFICATES” from each state, reads and counts the votes. The individual receiving the absolute majority of the electoral votes, currently 270 of 538, for president becomes president and the individual receiving the absolute majority of the electoral votes For vice-resident becomes vice president.

Current Electoral Vote Distribution The number of electoral votes each state has is based on the number of members of Congress that they have. For example: Missouri has 9 members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Two (2) members of the U.S. Senate. Therefore, the State of Missouri has a total of eleven (11) ELECTORAL VOTES. CAN THE NUMBER OF ELECTORAL VOTES A STATE HAS CHANGE? YES. It can change every 10 years when Congress reapportions the seats based on the U.S. Census. California gained 8 electoral votes between 1981 and 2001 New York lost 5 electoral votes between 1981 and 2001