American Federal Government Chapter 8: Campaigns & Elections

Uniqueness of the American System Many offices to fill Low voter turnout o 2004, 60% of eligible Weak political parties Parliament o Few offices o Elected form government o High voter turnout

Getting Involved Voting is not the only way Donating Volunteering Working in a campaign Interest group organizations High income/education

Why Vote? Imposes burden One vote doesn't affect outcome Civic duty

Who Participates? High education vs. low Older more than young Men more than women Overall, whites more than blacks Rates of participation (outside voting) up o Writing a letter o Making a demand o Demonstrating o Activists tend to get message across better

The Right To Vote Early: Taxpayer/landowner Jackson: most white males All races: 15th Amendment & Voting Rights Act Women: 19th Amendment 18 year olds: 26th Amendment Direct election of Senators: 17th Amendment

Blacks' Suffrage ch/video/voting-rights-act- signed/6x5aj92 /hsw/5962-civil-rights-marching- in-alabama- video.htm?page=20&sort=date

Women's Suffrage sw/10330-the-progressive-era- suffrage-video.htm

Giving The Vote To 18 Year Olds Debate began WWII, continued through Vietnam Oregon v. Mitchell - Congress can regulate voting age in federal elections 1971

Voting Publicly Before 20th century, voted publicly without pre-registering

Australian Ballot Printed ballot Distributed by govt Cast in private booth

Who Is Eligible? Voting-Age Population (VAP) o From census o Everyone over 18/21 Voting-Eligible Population (VEP) o Excludes prisoners, felons, aliens

How Bad Is American Turnout? 53% of voting age population 87% of registered voters Registration is an issue o Burden on citizen o Re-register when move o "Get out the vote" probably ineffective

Types of Elections General Election Primary Election o Open (choose one party) o Blanket (mixed) o Closed (your affiliation) o Runoff (some states, if no majority) Presidential Primary o Delegate selection o Delegate selection with advisory presidential preference o Delegate selection with binding preference

The Personal Campaign Temporary staff Individual campaigns Reward followers with jobs Media - build personal image Slate doesn't make sense Candidates often don't identify with a party openly Can win a primary without party support o Michele Bachmann

Earlier and Earlier... Presidential elections Primaries move earlier Begin campaign 2 years ahead Money, endurance

Molding the Message Primaries - get activist supporters mobilized General election - move to the center Positive or negative? Running on a record o How successful? o Economy

Getting Airtime Getting on TV is a major goal o Debates o Paid ads (spots) o Interviews or news (visuals)  More credible  Something new  Scheduling

Attack Ads cle/outrageous-campaign- ads/932564/Sep _ am/

Tuning Out People often tune out media or see what they want (selective attention) Reinforce existing beliefs May not change beliefs Spots - more information

Do Campaigns Work? Decision usually made after primary Campaigns aimed at undecided voters Based on polls Make most difference when: o Low-visibility office o Primaries with many candidates o Ignored by media

Voting on Issues Would you vote for or against someone based on their stance on a single issue? Happens most in primaries

How To Get Elected President Count on your party Be magnetic, take charge and dignified Campaign against a great economy (incumbent) or terrible (upstart) Retrospective voting

Barack Obama's DNC Speech Highlights

RNC Highlights

What Doesn't Matter So Much? The VP Media Candidate Issues Religion Party affiliation is strong - the brand speaks for the candidate

Getting Elected To Congress Districts usually have strong affiliation Redistricting Personal appearances o Incumbent

Realignment Big shift in party support based on changing issues Party could dissolve Voters shift support Red vs. Blue States (Counties) Party decay (Split ticket)

Party Loyalty Most loyal Democrats: o 1. Black o 2. Jewish o 3. Some Hispanics Most loyal Republicans: o 1. Business/ professionals o 2. Sometimes farmers

Group Discussion Group 1: Discuss the American voting system and participation in political parties and voting. Group 2: What is the difference between a primary and an election? How does the system work in the case of a Presidential election? Group 3: Discuss how politicians are elected in America. How well does the system work? What do politicians need to be able to do well? Group 4: What creates party loyalty? What do you see in your own life?