 Primary Elections: › Election in which voters decide which of the candidates within a party will represent the party in the general election.  Closed primary : a primary election in which only a party’s registered voters are eligible to vote  Open primary : a primary in which party members, independents, and sometimes members of the other party are allowed to vote  Crossover voting: participation in the primary of a party with which the voter is not affiliated  Raiding: An organized attempt by voters of one party to influence the primary results of the other party  A nonpartisan blanket primary (also known as a Louisiana primary or Jungle Primary ) is a primary election in which all candidates for elected office run in the same primary regardless of political party.

 General elections are those in which voters decide which candidates will actually fill elective public offices  Held at many levels.  Contests between the candidates of opposing parties

 Initiative › An election that allows citizens to propose legislation and submit it to the state electorate for popular vote  Referendum › An election whereby the state legislature submits proposed legislation to the state’s voters for approval  Recall › Voters can remove an incumbent from office by popular vote › Are very rare

 Primary elections or caucuses are used to elect national convention delegates which choose the nominee › Winner-take-all primary › Proportional representation primary › Caucus

 Over years, trend has been to use primaries rather than caucuses to choose delegates  Caucus is the oldest, most party-oriented method of choosing delegates to the national conventions  Arguments for primaries › More democratic › More representative › A rigorous test for the candidate  Arguments for caucuses › Caucus participants more informed; more interactive and informative › Unfair scheduling affects outcomes › Frontloading (being first in the primary calendar) gives some primary states an advantage  Frontloading is the tendency to choose an early date on the primary schedule

 Out-of-power party holds its convention first, in late July, followed in mid-August by party holding the presidency  Conventions were decision-making body in the 19 th century  Today the convention is fundamentally different › Nominations settled well in advance of the convention

 Unit Rule › A traditional party practice under which the majority of a state delegation can force the minority to vote for its candidate  Abolished by the Democrats › New Democratic party rule decrees that state’s delegates be chosen in proportion to the votes cast in its primary or caucus. (30% of votes = 30% delegates from that state) – proportional allocation  Superdelegates  Delegate slot to the Democratic Party’s national convention that is reserved for an elected party official › Some rules originating in Democratic Party have been enacted as state laws thus applying them to the Republican Party as well.

 Changing nature of coverage › No prime time coverage on some days › Extending coverage on the final day of each convention › Reflects change in political culture  More interest in the candidates themselves › Convention still generates much coverage for the party

 The institution that formally elects the president of the United States  Representatives of each state (electors) who cast the final ballots that actually elect a president  Total number of electors for each state equal to the number of senators and representatives that a state has in the U.S. Congress  District of Columbia is given 3 electoral votes

 Result of compromise between: › Selection by Congress versus direct popular election  Three essentials to understanding the design of the Electoral College: › Constructed to work without political parties › Constructed to cover both the nominating and electing phases of presidential selection › Constructed to produce a nonpartisan president

 12 th Amendment (1804) › Attempt to remedy the confusion between the selection of vice presidents and presidents that emerged in the election 1800 › Provided for separate elections for each office, with each elector having only one vote to cast for each › In event of a tie, the election still went to the House › Top three candidates go to House › Each state House delegation casts one vote

 Electoral college crises › At times a candidate can win the Electoral College vote without having won the popular vote  Reapportionment matters › Representation of states in the Electoral College is altered every ten years to reflect population shifts › Recent reapportionment has favored the Republicans › With the exception of California, George W. Bush carried all of the states that gained seats in 2000

 Popular Vote  Congressional District Plan  Keep the College, Abolish the Electors

 Very different from presidential elections › Lesser known candidates, more difficulty getting media attention  Incumbency Advantage › Staff support › Media and travel › The “Scare-off” effect › Redistricting/Gerrymandering

 When incumbents lose it is generally due to: › Redistricting  Gerrymandering › Scandals › Presidential Coattails

 Election takes place in the middle of a presidential term › President’s party usually loses seats in midterms › Tendency for voters to punish the president’s party more severely in the sixth year of an eight year presidency - 6th year itch  Retrospective voting  Senate elections less inclined to the 6 th year itch › 2002 midterm elections were a remarkable exception  Bush picked up seats in the House and Senate › 2006 midterm elections: backlash against the Republicans

 Focus on the Electoral College  Other areas › Nomination  Regional primaries › Campaign Finance Reform › Online Voting › Voting by Mail › Modernizing the Ballot