The Electoral Process Nominating Process

Two steps of the election process Nomination – field of candidates narrowed General Election – regularly scheduled election where voters make the final choice of officeholder

Five Ways to Nominate Self-Announcement – person who wants to run for office announces their candidacy Used early in history & for write in candidates Petition – candidate gathers a required # of signatures Used for local nonpartisan level & state/federal level to make it difficult for minor parties Caucus – private meetings of local bigwigs, not widely used since 1820s Direct Primary – party election to choose candidate Convention - delegates selected to choose candidate

Extent of federal control Congress fixes time, place and manner of elections Elections are held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November of even numbered years Requires secret ballot Regulates financing of campaigns for federal office

Absentee voting Ill or Disabled Those who expect to be away (college, travel, etc) Military http://www.idahovotes.gov

Precincts and Polling Places Precinct - voting district Smallest political and Geographic unit in elections About 500 to 1,000 voters Polling place - where those in a precinct vote Poll watchers - from each party help monitor fairness at polling place

Types of Ballots

Electoral Votes A breakdown…not notes https://www. khanacademy Representatives + Senators = Electoral Votes Total of 538 electoral votes (435 Reps, 3 from DC and 100 Sen) Candidate must win majority of electoral votes to win presidency (270) Delegates vote based on popular vote “Winner Takes All” ALL electoral votes go to the candidate who won the most popularity votes in that state

Electoral Votes Some possible dilemmas… What about a tie? House of Representatives votes (each state = 1 vote) What if a candidate wins POPULAR VOTE but not the ELECTORAL VOTE? Candidate does NOT become president Some historical (and present) examples Andrew Jackson/ John Quincy Adams 1824 Samuel Tilden/ Rutherford B. Hayes 1876 Grover Cleveland/ Benjamin Harrison 1888 Al Gore/ George W. Bush 2000 Hillary Clinton/ Donald Trump 2016

Why the Electoral College? Three reasons why the framers of the Constitution wanted an electoral college: Equality – balanced between big states and small states (population) Fear – general public wasn’t educated enough to cast adequate votes Knowledge - No way for people to know about candidates from other places (no media!)

Money and Elections Money is a necessary campaign resource The getting and spending of $ can corrupt the political process

Sources of Funding Private and Public Sources of Campaign Money Small contributors ($200 or less) Examples: Bernie Sanders 77% total contributions Nonparty groups such as PACs (Political Action Committees) Examples: $173M Priorities USA (Clinton) & $20.3M Rebuilding America Now (Trump) Wealthy supporters Examples: $21.8M Sussman (Clinton) & $10.5M Adelson (Trump) Temporary fund-raising organizations Examples: direct mail requests, telethons, Internet solicitations Candidates Examples: Ross Perot - $65 Million & Donald Trump $56.1M

Why do people donate? Political participation Believe in party or candidate Access to government Want appoint to office Social recognition Organizations want things done

Regulating campaign finance The Federal Election Commission (FEC) enforces: Timely disclosure of campaign finance information Limits on campaign contributions Limits on campaign expenditures Provisions for public funding of presidential campaigns

Loopholes in the law “More loophole than law…” —Lyndon B. Johnson Soft money— money given to state and local party organizations for “party-building activities” Independent campaign spending— a person unrelated/unconnected to candidate/party can spend as much money as they want to benefit or work against candidates Issue ads— take a stand on certain issues in order to criticize or support a certain candidate without actually mentioning that person’s name https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Id_r6pNsus