1. Voting
Ch. 10

2. Eligibility to Vote 18 years old
Resident of the state for a specific time
Citizen of the U.S.
No felonies
Register a person is assigned to a district
National Voter Registration Act “Motor Voter Act” allows voters to register when they renew their driver’s licenses.
You can only vote once!
Register at the county office and in some states you can register by mail.

3. Voting Process Gather information
Newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, internet, websites of candidates & political parties
Go to polling place & receive a ballot
Cast your ballot – fill out your choices
Straight ticket – voted for all candidates in one political party
Split ticket – choose candidates from both parties
Absentee Ballot – a way to vote if you will be unable to vote on election day
Wait for returns – reporting of election results
Exit Poll – way of predicting the winner before all of the votes are counted by asking people as they leave who they voted for

4. Voting Process

5. North Carolina Sample Ballot

6. Citizens who vote -
Have positive attitudes toward government and citizenship
Higher education
Middle-aged
Higher incomes

7. Not Voting Electorate – people eligible to vote
Apathy – lack of interest. #1 reason why people don’t vote
Following can’t vote
Felons
Those in mental hospitals
People who do not meet state requirements
Registration is not a problem – states allow people to register when they renew their driver’s license.
Presidential elections – 50% of electorate vote
Elections without Presidential candidates – between 7% and 20% vote

8. The right to vote belongs to every U. S citizen
The right to vote belongs to every U.S citizen. In your opinion, what do citizens forfeit if they do not exercise their right to vote?

9. Political Cartoon Voter apathy is a big issue in the U.S.
I want you to draw a political cartoon that depicts a reason or several reasons people give for not voting.

10. Election Campaigns 2 part process
Primaries – to narrow down the field of candidates
General elections – voters choose candidates for various offices There are also elections on issues, and special elections

11. Special Elections
Runoff – In some states a clear majority is needed to win an election. Usually states only require that you win a plurality
Recall – special election where voters can vote an official out of office before their term is up
prohibited on the federal level. Only 18 states allow it to remove statewide officials. Majority of states allow it in local jurisdictions
Runoff election – chapter 9 – vote again for the top vote getters from the general election

12. Voting on Issues
Initiative – a way citizens can propose new laws or state constitutional amendments. a petition is signed with enough signatures from qualified voters, to put an issue on the ballot
Proposition – (the proposed law). It is put on the ballot at the next general election
Referendum – a way for citizens to approve or reject a state or local law. people can gather signatures to review a law passed by the state legislatures and have it sent back to the voters for their approval at the next general election
Usually with very controversial issues

13. Campaigning Creation of a positive image for a candidate
Convince the voters to like and trust the candidate
Television is the most common means of campaigning
Incumbents – win 80% of the time
Name recognition, franking privilege
Need about $500 million to run a successful campaign

14. Tools and Tactics of Campaigning
Canvassing
Grassroots – small level – Walking around neighborhoods and making phone calls – cheap but time consuming – the voters get to personally know the candidate and the candidate gets to know the voters
Endorsements – a famous or popular person supports a candidate
This is a type of propaganda – to promote a specific idea or person

15. Advertising and Image Molding -
Ads help create a candidate’s image, present their views and attack their opponents
Newspaper ads – used more by local candidates
TV ads – used more by national candidates
Campaign Expenses – pay for ads, airfare, workers salaries, consultants, computers, phones, postage and printing costs, speech writers, handlers for the family, clothes, staff to pick out your clothes .

16. Financing Campaigns
The Federal Election & Campaign Finance Act of 1971
Established rules for campaign finance
Public disclosure of candidate spending
Established federal funding of presidential elections
Limits how much individuals & groups could spend
Created the FEC (Federal Election Committee)

17. Public Funding Presidential Election Campaign Fund
Taxpayers check a box on their federal income tax returns to designate $3 of their taxes to the fund
Candidates can get the money for primary elections if they have raised $100,000 on their own
3rd party candidates qualify IF their party received more than 5% of the popular vote in the previous presidential election

18. Private Funding Soft Money Donations
Donations given to political parties & not designated for a particular candidate
Most goes to TV ads for the parties’ candidates
Elaborate dinners with individual donations
Political Action Committees (PACs)
Organized by special interest groups
Funds candidates who favor their position on issues
Hard money vs. Soft money
Hard money – directly to a candidate
Soft money – general purpose
Soft money gives wealthy people the opportunity to donate as much as they want
Critics argue that wealthy donors may receive special favors not available to the average citizen.
In a democracy, the gov’t should represent all the people, those with and w/out money or power.

19. Campaign Finance Reform 2002
McCain-Feingold Act
Sets rules for 2004 elections and beyond
Prohibits national political parties, federal officeholders, and federal candidates from raising soft money
Bans corporations, unions, and interest groups from running ads aimed at a candidate for federal office 60 days from the general election and 30 days from a primary election
Limits hard money contributions; candidate may collect up to $2000 per donor in each election (hard money); political parties can collect $25,000 per donor each year (soft money)
Emphasis now shifts to getting many small donations rather than a few large ones
Internet web pages are an inexpensive way to reach millions of people who might be willing to make small contributions

20. How do you think the internet has affected campaigns, or might affect future campaigns?