1. Primaries & Caucuses Campaigning Voting Patterns Electoral College
The Election Process
Primaries & Caucuses
Campaigning
Voting Patterns
Electoral College

2. The Election Process Nomination Process
Nomination: the party’s endorsement of a candidate for office.
Develop a campaign strategy to help win
Delegates: States select delegates to send to national conventions where they select presidential nominees
Primaries: Direct elections for the presidential nominee
Caucuses: Instead of direct elections, party members hold closed meetings to poll the group on who they want to choose.
The Election Process
Primaries & Caucuses
Due to federalism, some states have different laws governing the use of primaries or caucuses. There is no unified federal law over this type of election.

3. The Election Process Nomination Process
Open Primary: Any registered voter can vote
Closed Primary: Must register in advance with that political party to vote
Problems with the system
Too much media attention can distort campaigns and candidates early
Lengthy process = too much $$$
Proposals to “Fix” the system
National Primary: all held on same day
Regional Primary: Shift around the US
The Election Process
Primaries & Caucuses
Primaries primarily focus on the prime primed candidate as his primeness facilitates prime-time primehood.

4. The Election Process National Convention Process
National Convention: Delegates selected from each state primary cast their vote for their nominee
Superdelegates: the democrats use this practice more, allowing a pre-determined group of delegates to cast their votes early. Typically wealthy, powerful party members.
What Happens There?
Scripted media event
Outlines “party platform” of issues the party will focus on in the next 4 years.
The Election Process
Convention Send-Off
Party platforms originally started out as an actual structural platform to have a party on.

5. The Election Process Post-Nomination
National Campaign: After nominations, the nominee focuses attention on the national arena to win general election votes.
Television ads, public appearances, mailings
Problems with Campaigning?
Less about ideas, more about image
Too much $$$ needed.
The Election Process
Film producer Joseph Levine was quoted as saying, “You can fool all of the people all of the time if the advertising is right and the budget is big enough.”
The Campaign Game

6. The Election Process The Law of Campaigning
Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA): 1974, created Federal Election Commission to enforce campaign finance laws.
Created the Presidential Election Campaign Fund which allows taxpayers to donate $3 on their income taxes to be divided amongst presidential candidates.
What did FECA do?
Limits for spending if you take public funds
Report all campaign contributions and how money is spent
Limits individual contributions to $2000.
The Election Process
Money & Campaigning
Yes, you can “choose” to give more money in your income taxes to the people who will arrest you if you don’t pay your income tax.

7. The Election Process Problems with FECA
Soft Money: Loophole where businesses and wealthy people to donate unlimited amounts of money.
Suppose to be for “party use” instead of donated to a specific person; typically held for presidential races
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (McCain-Feingold)
Attempted to ban soft money
Allowed for the formation of “527” groups
Raise unlimited money if spent on advertising not tied to a candidate
Political Action Committees (PACS): Created under FECA, interest groups can now raise money and donate without limits
Interest groups donate to a PAC, PAC registers with the FEC, works independently
Candidates rely heavily on PAC money
The Election Process
Stephen Colbert, star of the Colbert Report, created a SuperPAC to show how easy it is to skirt around the lax campaign finance laws in the US.
Money & Campaigning

8. The Election Process Voting Rights Suffrage: your right to vote.
Originally restricted to white, male, land owners.
Almost all citizens over 18 can vote now
Problems with Voting?
Registration is often inconvenient
Motor-Voter Act: Register to vote when you get your drivers license
Why People Vote
Political Efficacy: Votes make a difference
Civic Duty: Uphold ideas of democracy
The Election Process
Voting Patterns
The 28th amendment would extend voting rights to Feline-Americans, Canine-Americans and Avian- Americans.

9. The Election Process More Likely to Vote?
College Educated > Lower Education
Older > Young
African American & Hispanic Educated > Educated Caucasians
Women > Men
Union Members > Non-Union Members
Married > Single
Studies show that if turnout increased, democrats would win more often.
Reforms stall because Republicans would lose advantage
The Election Process
Voting Patterns
One of my favorite political jokes: I don't approve of political jokes...I've seen too many of them get elected.

10. The Election Process Explaining Citizens’ Decisions
Mandate Theory of Elections: the winning candidate must follow the ideas of their platform that got them elected
Some vote based upon party identification.
Some based upon candidates’ personalities.
Policy Preference: voting based upon policy ideas that closely match your own ideas
Must be knowledgeable about candidates
Retrospective Voting: voting based upon past decisions (either good or bad)
The Election Process
How We Vote
Benjamin Franklin could have said, “My favorite mythical creature? The honest politician.”

11. The Election Process Electoral College Key Concepts
You don’t directly vote for the President
Each state’s electors is equal to the number of house reps and senators they have.
Most states are winner-take-all; the candidate with the most votes wins all the electoral votes
Battleground states: states who could likely change the outcome of the election.
Meet in Nov, cast vote with Senate, Announced in Jan.
The Election Process
Electoral College
“The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything.” – Joseph Stalin

12. The Election Process Problems with the Electoral College
Large State Advantage: Most votes, candidates don’t focus on smaller states at all
Only a few states really matter.
Big cities have more attention than rural areas because that’s where the votes live.
You can win the popular vote but lose the electoral vote, just ask Al Gore or Hillary Clinton.
The Election Process
Electoral College
“The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” – Winston Churchill