1. Government Chapter 17 Elections and voting

2. Electing the President  Presidential candidates begin the campaign a year before.  Intensity builds after the Convention.  Electoral Votes and the States  Candidate must win 270 electoral votes.  538 available, each state plus 3 for DC  All or nothing concept, except Nebraska and Maine.

3. Electing the President  Pay more attention to large electoral States  Campaign Strategy- Attack or low key, what issues, how to spend money.  Campaign Organization  Campaign manager- overall strategy and planning.  State party chairperson at State and Local level.

4. Electing the President  Using Television- most important tool.  Build the right image, mental picture, of the candidate.  Commercials shape the image.  Debates and news stations also used.  Using the Internet- Set up a site to raise money and give information.

5. Financing Campaigns  2004, 3.9 billion dollars spent between presidential and congressional candidates.  Regulating Campaign Financing  Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), 1971 and amendments are the framework.  Public Disclosure, limit amounts given.  Federal Election Commission (FEC), contributions of over $100 reported, record political contributions.

6. Financing Campaigns  Public Funding- Government funding to run the campaign. 1976-2004 all campaigns took the money.  Private funding- limits set.  PACs- Political action Committees, support political candidates through campaign contributions.  Issue advocacy advertising- pay for commercials for candidates.

7. Financing Campaigns  The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act  Bans Soft money- money directly to parties.  No limit on PACs  $2,000 limit on individual donations.  Prohibited issue ads from groups within 30 days of primary or 60 days of the general election.

8. Section 2: Expanding Voting Rights  Suffrage- Foundation of U.S. Democracy  1789-early 1800’s white male land owning, tax paying, and some religious requirements needed.  Voting should be left to the wealthy.  States gradually drop land ownership and religious requirements. Universal White Male Suffrage achieved.

9. Expanding Voting Rights  Woman Suffrage- Started in mid 1800s, 1914 11 States allowed voting.  19 th amendment, 1920 women can vote  African American Suffrage  1870, 15 th Amendment- limitations set  Grandfather clause- kept African Americans from voting

10. African American Suffrage  Literacy Tests- Different rules for whites and African Americans.  Poll tax- pay to vote.  Limited the ability of minorities to vote.  Voting Rights acts of 1965 and 1970 outlawed literacy tests. Federal Government involved  1960- 29% registered, 2000- 64%  26 th amendment (1970)- 18-20 year olds vote

11. Section 3: Influences on Voters  Personal Background of Voters affect the party choices generally, not always.  Age-  Education  Religion  Gender  Work  Cross-pressured voter- differing elements conflict.

12. Loyalty to Political Parties  Strong Loyalty- Straight Ticket Voters, all republican or democrat.  Weak Party voters- go by the issues and may switch at times. Switch Ticket Voters  Independent Voters- No party, their numbers are rising.  Parties power weakening- issues and image will be more important.

13. Influences on Voters  Parties  Republican- Conservative is right of center  Democrat- Liberal is left of center.  Moderate- between the two or center.  Issues in Election Campaigns- More voters informed.  1. Television  2. Education  3. Issues have more impact on them

14. Influences on Voters  The Candidate’s Image  Many choose a person on image alone.  Competent, trustworthy etc.  Propaganda- using ideas, information, or rumors to influence opinion. Pg 496  Come across as “Plain Folks”, Andrew Jackson, 1828.

15. Influences on Voters  Profile of Regular Voters- education, age and income are important factors.  Profile of nonvoters- registration, citizenship, residency laws limit eligibility.  1/5 th relocate every 5 years, may forget to register.  Participation depends on the race.  Constantly trying to raise participation.