1. Campaigns & Elections

2. Preview
Put the following steps in order in your notebook. Star any terms you do not understand.
Form a campaign organization
Run in primaries & caucuses
Participate in televised debates
Announce candidacy
Conduct electoral vote
Attend national convention
Raise funds
Hold popular vote
Build coalition of supporters
Develop campaign strategy

3. Types of Elections Primary Election General Election
An election in which voters determine their party’s nominee for an elective office
An election in which voters choose among candidates from different parties to fill an elective office
Special Election
An election in which voters choose someone to fill an unexpected vacancy of a House or Senate seat

4. Primary Elections

5. Primary Election Calendar, 2008

7. Homework: Ch. 10.3
Begin reading at “Joining the Race,” and work with a partner to create a “to-do” list chart for a presidential candidate trying to secure his/her party’s nomination. See the model below.
Form exploratory committee
Develop campaign strategy
Join the race
Campaign
Set up campaign organization
Run in primaries and caucuses
Raise funds
Attend national convention

8. Town Hall Meeting

9. General Elections

11. The “Winner-Take-All” System (The candidate with the most votes wins.)
Reinforces two-party system
(Democrat vs. Republican)

12. What about third parties?

13. Third Parties’ Impact Focus on a single issue
Bring new ideas to the political discussion
Take votes away from major parties

14. Presidential Elections

15. The Electoral College Method by which we elect the president
Each state has a certain number of electors =
# of Senators (2) + # of Representatives
Candidate who wins the majority of the state’s popular vote gets ALL of that state’s electoral votes
Candidate must achieve a majority of the electoral college (270/538 votes) to win

16. Presidential Election Results, 2008 (By County)

17. Preview

18. Homework: Ch. 10.4 Define presidential & midterm elections.
Read Ch up to “Issues Versus Image”
Define presidential & midterm elections.
Explain how John Kerry’s 2004 campaign illustrates the typical candidate’s change in strategy from the primary to the general election.
Explain the effects of our country’s “winner-take-all” system.

19. The Election of 2000 George W. Bush (R) Al Gore (D) Popular Vote
50,456,062
50,996,582
Electoral Vote
271
266
And the winner is…

20. What happened???

21. The Electoral College Map, 2000

22. It all came down to Florida.

23. The Sequence of Events 6 million people vote
Computer count: 327 vote margin for Bush
Gore demands recount by hand
Florida Secretary of State sets deadline
Florida Supreme Court extends deadline
U.S. Supreme Court halts recount
Result of recount: 537 vote margin for Bush
Bush wins ALL of Florida’s 25 electoral votes

24. Green Party Candidate: Ralph Nader
97,488 votes in Florida

25. Conspiracy Theories

26. How can this happen?
Candidate can win by large margin in popular vote, but only needs 50% + 1.
Small states are over-represented in the electoral college

27. How much does your vote count?

28. Problems with Electoral College
Candidates focus only on “swing states,” so people are left out of the process.
Our votes are not actually equal!
More popular candidate nationally can lose the election!

29. “Battleground” or “Swing” States

30. Interest Groups & Lobbying

31. What is an interest group?
A group that seeks to influence government to reach a particular goal or set of goals
Examples

32. What do interest groups do?
Lobby – Attempt to influence policy process by persuading public officials to favor or oppose action on a specific issue
Research – Carry out research and write policy proposals that support their goals
Litigation – Bring lawsuits to influence policy (e.g. NAACP & Brown v. Board of Education)
Grassroots Mobilization – Hold rallies, conduct direct mail/Internet campaigns, etc.

33. What is the artist’s point of view regarding the role of interest groups?

34. Campaign Finance

35. High Cost of Running for Office
2000: More than $3 billion spent on election campaigns
Winning candidates spent…
$500,000 each for House of Representatives
$4.5 million each for Senate

36. Library Activity: Interactive Map

38. Political Action Committee
Private groups sponsored by corporations, trade associations, unions, or other interest groups
Allowed to collect donations & give money to political campaigns
How much do they contribute?
1980: $131 million
2004: $310 million

39. Types of Organizations that Form PACS

40. Campaign Contribution Limits
Individual Limit
PAC Limit
Primary Election
$2400
$5000
General Election

41. Loopholes in Campaign Finance Laws
527 Organizations – Non-profit organizations with no limits on spending (“soft money”) for voter registration & turnout activities
Issue Ads – Political ads funded and produced by interest groups
Cannot explicitly tell people to vote for a certain candidate.

42. Corporate Contributions

43. Issue Ad Example

44. Issue Ad Example

45. 527 Ad

47. What is the artist’s point of view regarding campaign finance?

51. Chalk Talk, Part I
Where do we get information about government & politics?
How much control do political candidates have over this information?

52. Campaign Advertisement Analysis
1968: Nixon (R) vs. Humphrey (D)
Chalk Talk, Part II: What are some images you associate with “war” and “peace”?
“Convention”
“Mother and Child”
vs.

53. Campaign Advertisement Analysis Discussion Questions
What images did you see? (Be descriptive!)
Why do you think the ad uses these images?
Does anything you see remind you of the images you associated with "war" or "peace" in the brainstorming activity? Why or why not?
What feeling(s) do you get from these images? Why
How are the images put together? Does the ad put images of different people, places, or events next to each other? If so, what effect does that have?
Is the ad in color or black-and-white? What effect does that have?
What do you think the ad is about? Why?

54. Campaign Advertisement Analysis Discussion Questions
What was the ad about?
What music did you hear? Describe it.
Was there a voice-over? If so, what words or phrases did you hear?
How was the voice-over of the ad similar to or different from what you expected?
How did the music and/or voice-over complement the images?
What is the relationship between the ad’s images, soundtrack, and subject matter?
What did you learn about the candidate?
How important are the sounds and images in making the ad persuasive?

55. Final Discussion Questions
Which ad do you find more aesthetically appealing? Why?
Which ad do you find more persuasive? Why?
What do you think is more important – images or sound – in creating an effective campaign ad?