The Electoral Process Unit 6

The Nominating Process

First Step Nominating is the process of candidate selection Those who make nominations place real, very practical limits on the choices that voters can make in an election Five ways that nominations are made: Self-Announcement Caucus Convention Direct Primary Petition

Nominating and Electing a Candidate

Self Announcement Oldest form of nominating process/Write in If someone wants to run, they simply announce that Sometimes used when the person failed to win a regular party nomination or by someone who is unhappy with the parties’ choice Four prominent presidential contenders have used this method: George Wallace-1968 Eugene McCarthy-1976 John Anderson-1980 Ross Perot-1992

Caucus First record in 1763 Legislative Caucus- Meeting of a party’s members in the State legislature Congressional Caucus- Each political party choosing their presidential nominee Used today mostly for local nominations (New England) where it is open to all members of the party

Convention First one took place in 1831. Since then, major political parties have used this method to elect presidential nominees Problems: “party bosses” could manipulate system for preferred candidate Because of this, the caliber of conventions has declined Process: Party members meet at a local level to pick candidates for offices and select delegates to represent them at the county convention (called caucus) At caucus, the delegates nominate candidates for county offices and select delegates for state convention At state conventions, delegates pick nominee for governor or other state office and send delegates to national convention At national conventions, delegates nominate presidential and vice presidential candidates

Direct Primary Replaced conventions in most states and became principal method for nominating in states First state was Wisconsin in 1903 States run these, not parties Types: Closed Primary Only declared party members can vote Open Primary Party nominating election in which any qualified voter can take part Only in 23 states

Types of Direct Primaries The Direct Primary Types of Direct Primaries Closed Primary Only declared party members can vote. Open Primary Any qualified voter can take part. Blanket Primary Qualified voters can vote for any candidate, regardless of party Runoff Primary If a required majority is not met, the two people with the most votes run again Nonpartisan Primary Candidates are not identified by party labels

Primaries Across the United States

Closed Primary Pros of Closed Primary Cons of Closed Primary Prevents one party from “raiding” other party Helps make candidates more responsive to party, its platform, and members Helps make voters more thoughtful because they choose between parties Compromises secrecy of ballot Excludes independent voters from nominating process

Open Primary Cons of Open Primary Pros of Open Primary Voters are not forced to make their party preference public Tendency to exclude independent voters is eliminated Permits primary “raiding” Knocks out concept of party loyalty and party responsibility

Primaries If a tie occurs, runoff primary election is held where top two candidates face each other Municipal and school offices are nonpartisan elections with no party affiliation Primaries tend to cause divisiveness within party Voter turnout for primaries is usually less than half of general election Most vote for the name they are familiar with

Petition Candidates for public office are nominated by means of petition signed by a certain number of qualified voters The higher the office, the higher the number of signatures needed for nomination Usually used at local level Usually required by state laws for nominating minor party candidates

Elections

Administration of Elections Must be free, honest, and accurate Most elections laws are state laws Congressional Elections- 1st Tuesday following 1st Monday in November of every even- numbered year Presidential Elections- same date every 4th year Congress requires secret ballots and voting machines Virginia elects the governor, executive officers and state legislatures in November of odd-numbered years Early Voting Absentee Too ill or disabled to get to polling place Expect to be away from home on election day Serving in armed forces Pre-Voting (allows voters to cast vote few days before election) Texas= 17 days

Why Tuesday Video

Precincts and Polling Places A precinct is a voting district. Precincts are the smallest geographic units used to carry out elections. 500-1000 voters York county Election Districts.jpg Polling Places A polling place is where the voters who live in a precinct go to vote. It is located in or near each precinct. Polling places are supposed to be located conveniently for voters.

Casting the Ballot Secret ballots required by state law. Why? Original voting was orally. Why? Office-Group Ballot: Candidates for an office are grouped together Party-Column Ballot: Each party’s candidates are listed in a column Bedsheet Ballot: Lengthy, hard to read/ found at local level Australian Ballot: has 4 essential features (used in most states today) Printed at public expense Lists the names of all candidates in an election Given only at polls, one to each voter Marked in secret

Voting Machines and Innovations

Voting Machines and Innovations Electronic vote counting has been in use since the 1960s. Punch-card ballots are often used to cast votes. Vote-by-mail elections have come into use in recent years. Online voting is a trend that may be encountered in the near future.

Wireless voting machine issues http://wavy.com/2015/04/01/dept-of- elections-serious-security-concerns-with- wireless-voting-equipment/