1. Chapter 7 The Electoral Process
The future of this republic is in the hands of the American voter.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower

2. Section 1: The Nominating Process
Objectives:
Explain why the nominating process is a critical first step in the election process
Describe self-announcement, the caucus, and the convention as nominating methods
Discuss the direct primary as the principal nominating method used in the United States today.
Understand why some candidates use the petition as a nominating device

3. A Critical First Step Nominating process
Naming of those who will seek office
Making of nominations
As a prime function of political parties in American politics
As a leading reason for the decentralized character of the two major parties in the US
Five methods of nomination
Self-announcement
Caucus
Convention
Direct primary
petition

4. Self Announcement Oldest form of the nominating process
A person who wants to run for office simply announces that fact
Self-announcement is sometimes used by someone who failed to win a regular party nomination or by someone unhappy with the party’s choice.
Write-in candidate

5. The Caucus
Group of like minded people who meet to select the candidates they will support in an upcoming election
Still used to make local nominations in some places

6. The Convention
Local districts select delegates to represent them at a higher-level meeting where the nominee is chosen

7. The Direct Primary
An intraparty election. It is held within a party to pick that party’s candidates for the general election
Closed Primary
A nominating election in which only declared party members can vote, membership established at registration, only vote in only that party’s primary
Open Primary
A party’s nominating election in which any qualified voter can cast a ballot, found in fewer than half the states
Montana holds an open Primary

9. Closed vs. Open Primaries
Closed supporters
Prevents one party from “raiding” the other’s primary to nominate weaker candidates
Make candidates more responsive to the party, platform, and members
Make voters more thoughtful about what party they vote for
Opposed to closed
Compromises the secrecy of the ballot
Tends to exclude independent voters from the nominating process
Open supporters
Voters are not forced to make their party preferences a matter of public record
Independent voters are not excluded from the nominating process

10. The Runoff Primary
Most states: candidates need to win only a plurality of the votes cast in the primary
The greatest number of votes won by any candidate, whether a majority or not
8 states: absolute majority is needed to carry a primary
Runoff primary
Two top vote getters in the first primary face one another to determine the party’s nomination

11. The Nonpartisan Primary
Elections in which candidates are not identified by party labels
Usually runs unopposed in the general election
Example; judges

12. The Presidential Primary
Not a nominating device
An election that is held as one part of the process by which presidential candidates are chosen

13. Petition
Candidates collect a specified number of signatures from voters to qualify for the general election

14. Section 2: Elections Objectives:
Analyze how the administration of elections in the United States helps make democracy work
Define the role of local precincts and polling places in the election process
Describe the various ways in which voters can cast their ballots
Outline the role that voting devices play in the election process

15. The Administration of Elections
Nearly all elections in the US are held to choose the more than 500,000 persons who hold elective office in the more than 89,000 units of government at the State and local level.
Most election law is STATE not Federal law

16. Congress’s power
Fix the Times, Places, and manner of holding elections
Set the time for choosing presidential electors
Set the date for casting the electoral votes
Set the date for congressional elections
1st Tuesday following the 1st Monday in November of every even-numbered year, every 4th year for presidential
Secret ballots and voting machines

17. Help America Vote Act of 2002
Ballot and voter registration problems of 2000 election
Law requires the State to:
Replace all lever-operated and punch card machines by 2006
Upgrade administration of elections, better training of officials
Centralize and computerize voter registration
Provide for provisional voting
A person eligible to vote and has been challenged can nonetheless cast a ballot that will be counted if later found that he or she is in fact qualified to vote

19. Election Day Most states hold in November
Prevents:
Voting on Sunday
First day of the month which is usually payday
Early voting-32 million voted early in 2012
Absentee voting-vote without going to the polling place
The Coattail Effect-
Strong candidate running for an office at the top of the ballot helps attract voters to other candidates on the party’s ticket

20. Precincts and Polling Places
Precincts-smallest geographic units for elections
500 to 1000 qualified voters
Polling place-voters who live in the precinct vote
Supervised
Opened and closed by State Law

21. Casting the Ballot Secret ballots
No one knows how you vote
Piece of paper, Optical scanners or Touch screens
Australian Ballot-basic form of ballot used today
Provided at public expense
Lists the names of all candidates in an election
Given out only at the polls
Can be marked in secret
Sample ballots-sent out before an election
Bed-sheet ballots- extremely long, usually found at the local level

22. Automated voting Electronic Vote counting Vote-by-Mail Elections
Push buttons on a screen
Circles filled in electronically scanned
Vote-by-Mail Elections
Online Voting

23. Section 3: Money and Elections
Objectives:
Explain the issues raised by campaign spending
Describe the various sources of funding for campaign spending
Examine federal laws that regulate campaign finance
Outline the role of the Federal Election Commission in enforcing campaign finance laws
Distinguish hard money from soft money

24. Campaign Spending 2012-Presidential-$2.5 billion
Primaries and caucuses, conventions, general election campaigns
Advertisements, propaganda, websites, travel

25. Sources of Funding Private Public funds Small contributors
Wealthy individuals and families
Candidates
Nonparty groups
Temporary organizations
Public funds
Subsidy- grant of $ from the government

26. Regulating Finance
Congress first began to regulate the use of money in federal elections in 1907
Unlawful for any corporation or national bank to make “a money contribution in any election”
Laws passed to regulate $
Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) 1971
FECA amendment of 1974 and 1976
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) of 2002

27. Federal Election Commission (FEC)
Administers all federal law dealing with campaign finance
Independent agency in the executive branch
Enforce 4 laws

28. # 1 Disclosure requirement
Require the timely disclosure of campaign finance data
Certified accountant for campaign
No indiv. Group can make a contribution in the name of another
Cash gifts of more than $100 prohibited
No contributions or spending from foreign sources
Raised $5000, candidate must register with FEC

29. # 2 Limits on Contributions
Place limits on campaign contributions
No person can give more than $2500 per election to a federal candidate
No more than $5000 in any year to a PAC
$30,800 to a national party committee

30. PAC Contributions
Neither corporations nor labor unions can contribute directly to any candidate for federal office
Political Action Committees (PAC) can contribute
Seek to affect the making of public policy

31. # 3 Limits on Expenditures
Place limits on campaign expenditures
1925
Most apply to presidential campaigns

32. # 4 Public Funding for Presidential Campaigns
Provide public funding for several parts of the presidential election process
Every person who files a federal income tax return can “check off” three dollars of his or her tax bill to the fund.
$ used to subsidize preconvention campaigns, national conventions and presidential election campaigns.

33. Hard Money, Soft Money Hard-given directly to candidates
Soft-funds given to parties