Chapter 8 Campaigns, Elections and Voting Behavior

Why Run for Office?  Further career (self- interest)  Carry out specific political programs or policies  Respond to certain issues or events

Constitutional Eligibility Requirements  President Natural-born citizen (may change if Governator has his way) At least 35 years old Resident of the U.S. for 14 years before inauguration  Vice President Natural-born citizen At least 35 years old Not a resident of the same state as the presidential candidate  Senate Citizen for at least nine years At least 30 years old Resident of state from which elected (hence Clinton’s move to NY)  Representative Citizen for at least seven years At least 25 years old Resident of state from which elected

Who Runs?  Holders of office predominately white males  Increasing numbers of African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and women running for office  Increasing numbers of African Americans, Latinos, and women hold office (still well below population proportions)  Professionals, especially lawyers

Women And Congress © 2004 Wadsworth Publishing / Thomson Learning™

Characteristics of Modern Campaigns  Longer than in the past  Greater emphasis on money (How much does it cost to buy an election? Several billion spent in 2002)  More candidate-centered (less emphasis on party and party mobilization)  Greater reliance on political consultants hired to devise campaign strategy and manage campaign  Greater emphasis on candidate visibility, or name recognition

Characteristics of Modern Campaigns, (cont.)  Greater reliance on polls and focus groups Tracking polls = poll taken for the candidate to assess how well a campaign is going; done nearly every day Focus groups = small groups of people who are led in discussion by a professional consultant to gather opinions on and responses to candidates and issues

Regulating Campaign Finance  Federal Corrupt Practices Act of 1925 Limited primary and general election expenses for congressional candidates Required disclosures of election expenses Ineffective due to loopholes  The Hatch Act of 1939 Prohibited groups from spending more than $3 million in a campaign Limited individual contributions to political groups to $5,000 Restricted activities of civil servants Circumvented by creating additional groups  Federal Election Campaign Act of 1972 No limit on overall spending Restricted amount of money that could be spent on mass media advertising Limited amount candidate and family could spend on campaign Required disclosure of all contributions over $100 Provided $1 voluntary check-off on federal income tax returns for presidential campaigns

Regulating Campaign Finance (cont.)  Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) of 1974 Created Federal Election Commission (FEC) (to enforce compliance) Provided public financing of presidential primaries and elections Limited presidential election campaign spending (candidates accepting federal support must abide by limits) Limited contributions (citizens could give up to $1,000 to each candidate in federal elections; $25,000 individual limit/year; $5,000 limit for groups to a candidate) Required disclosure of contributions and expenditures (candidates must file periodic reports with FEC, listing contributors, how much was spent, and what it was spent on) 1976 Amendments allowed corporations, labor unions, and special interest groups to establish PACs  Buckley v. Valeo (1976) declared 1972 limitation on what an individual could spend on his or her own election unconstitutional

Campaigning Financing Beyond the Limits  Efforts to skirt the limits on contributions  Soft money = campaign contributions to political parties that escape limits of federal election law Supreme Court said “party building activities” (like voter registration drives) should be encouraged, thus allowing unlimited and unregulated contributions to political parties  Independent expenditures = nonregulated contributions from PACs, organizations, and individuals. Funds may be spent on advertising or other campaign activities that are not coordinated with any candidate’s expenditures (e.g., issue advertising) Courts have held that interest groups have a 1 st amendment right to advocate their positions  Bundling = practice of adding together maximum individual contributions ($1,000 until 2002, $2,000 thereafter) and presenting them to the candidate together to maximize their impact  Effect = greatly increased amount of money spent for campaigns and party activities

Soft Money, Table 8-1, 185 © 2004 Wadsworth Publishing / Thomson Learning™

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002  Banned soft money contributions to the national political parties  Allows $10,000 per person per year to state and local parties  Placed limitations on issue-advocacy advertisements 60 days before a general election; 30 before a primary election  Increased individual contribution limit to federal candidate from $1,000 to $2,000 per candidate per election  Increased yearly limit individual can give to all federal candidates from $25,000 to $95,000  Did not ban soft money contributions to state and local parties ($10,000 per year per individual)

Effect of 2002 Act  Ban on soft money weakens ability of national parties to conduct vote drives and phone banks  Benefits incumbents  Republicans have an advantage when it comes to raising hard money (individual contributions) because their supporters are higher SES

Types of Presidential Primaries  Closed primary = only voters who are declared party members can vote in that party’s primary  Open primary = voters can vote in either party primary without disclosing their party affiliation  Blanket primary = voters can vote in primary elections for candidates of more than one party (a Democrat for the presidential nominee and a Republican for the Senate nominee, for example)  Run-off primary = if no candidate receives a majority in the first primary, some states require a second primary between the top two candidates

The Electoral College  Votes in presidential elections are for electors  President and Vice President are not directly elected by the people  Electors in the Electoral College elect the president and vice president (Article II, Section 1; designed to filter the impact of the people)  Number of electors in each state = state’s number of representatives in both houses of Congress (CA = 55; 53 reps, 2 senators; total = 538; majority = 270)  Electors typically cast their votes for the candidate that receives the plurality of votes in that state  Winner-take-all system of the electoral college exaggerates popular margin of victory  See Figure 8-1, State Electoral Votes, page 190

How Presidents and Vice Presidents are Chosen General Election (first Tuesday in November) Voters vote for electors Electoral College (1 st Monday after second Wednesday in December) Electors vote for president and vice president respectively IF top presidential and vice- presidential candidates receive fewer than 270 electoral votes, decisions are made in the House and Senate. Each state gets one vote in the House, two votes in the Senate. House Representatives vote for president by state. Majority is needed to win. Senate Senators vote for vice president (from top 2 candidates). Majority is needed to win. Vice presidential candidate receives 51 votes or more. Presidential candidate receives 26 votes or more. Top presidential candidate receives 270 votes or more Top vice- presidential candidate receives 270 votes or more President elected Vice president elected President elected Vice president elected If no pres. Candidate receives 26 votes by Jan. 20, and v.p. has been elected, v.p. becomes acting pres. until pres. is elected by the House. If neither candidate is elected by Jan. 20, speaker of the House becomes acting pres. until pres. is elected by the House. If no v.p. candidate is elected by Jan. 20, and pres. has been elected, a v.p. is appointed by the pres. and approved by Congress.

Unusual Outcomes  Congress chose president and vice president Jefferson and Burr in 1801  House chose president J.Q. Adams (1825)  Presidents without majority of popular vote Lincoln, Wilson, Truman, Kennedy, Nixon, and Clinton  President despite plurality for opponent J.Q. Adams (1824), Hayes (1876), Harrison (1888), and Bush (2000)

Merits of Electoral College  Elections more direct than envisioned because electors are committed to candidate who receives plurality of popular vote in state election  Bias toward small states (which tend to be Republican)  Requires amendment to change to direct election  Major parties fear doing away with it would give minor parties greater influence  Reform opposed by small states

Elections  Australian ballot = secret ballot prepared, distributed, and counted by government officials at public expense  Office-block = Massachusetts ballot = candidates grouped together under the title of each office Disliked by parties because it emphasizes the office, discourages straight-ticket voting, encourages split-ticket voting  Party-column = Indiana ballot = all of a party’s candidates for elective office are arranged in one column under the party’s label Used by most states; preferred by parties for above reasons  Coattail effect = influence of popular candidate on the electoral success of other candidates on the same party ticket

Voting in National, State, and Local Elections  Voter turnout = number of eligible voters that actually “turn out” on election day to cast their ballots  2000 = 200 million eligible voters; 50.7% voted Presidential candidate can win with ¼ support of voting-age population  Turnout increases during presidential elections, governor elections  Local election turnouts even lower  Effects of low turnout Threat to representative democracy? Fewer people determining who wields political power Apathy about the political system Weakens accountability of elected officials Satisfaction with status quo? Not a threat to democracy?

Elected by majority? Table 8- 2, 194 © 2004 Wadsworth Publishing / Thomson Learning™

Figure 8-2, 195: Voter Turnout for Presidential and Congressional Elections, 1900 to Present

Factors that Influence Who Votes  Age – the older you are, the more likely you are to vote  Educational attainment – The more educated you are, the more likely you are to vote  Minority status – Whites are more likely to turn out  African Americans  Latinos  Income levels – higher income people are more likely to turn out than low income people  Two-party competition – more competitive states tend to have higher turnout rates

2000 Age © 2004 Wadsworth Publishing / Thomson Learning™

2000 Education © 2004 Wadsworth Publishing / Thomson Learning™

2000 Income © 2004 Wadsworth Publishing / Thomson Learning™

Restrictions on Voting  Colonial period – white, male property holders Left up to the states to decide  Extension to African American males by 15 th amendment (1870); realized by Voting Rights Act (1965)  Extension to women by 19 th amendment (1920)  Extended to 18-year-olds by 26 th amendment (1971)

Current Eligibility and Registration Requirements  Registration = entry of a person’s name onto the list of eligible voters  Requirements = citizenship; age; residency  Qualifications for voting and registration vary by state

Why People Don’t Vote  Political withdrawal – fewer citizens feel involved enough in their community to be interested in voting  Rational ignorance – people choose not to inform themselves on issues because they do not believe their vote is likely to be a deciding factor  Campaign effects – length of campaigns and negative advertising may drive voters away  Satisfaction with status quo – no need to participate

Factors that Influence How People Vote  Socioeconomic and Demographic Factors Education Income and socioeconomic status (SES) Religion Ethnic background Gender Geographic region  Psychological factors party identification perception of candidates issue preferences

Vote by groups © 2004 Wadsworth Publishing / Thomson Learning™

Vote by groups since 1988, Table 8- 3, 199 © 2004 Wadsworth Publishing / Thomson Learning™

Discussion  In what ways are American campaigns and elections both democratic and undemocratic?  Should there be further changes in how federal elections are financed?  What can/should be done to increase voter turnout? Is low voter turnout a problem?  Should the electoral college be abolished? Reformed? Should we have direct elections of the president?

Hot Links to Selected Internet Resources  Book’s Companion Site: brief brief2004  Wadsworth’s Political Science Site:  Federal Election Commission:  OpenSecrets.org:  Center for Voting and Democracy: