1. American Federal Government Chapter 8: Campaigns & Elections

2. Uniqueness of the American System Many offices to fill Low voter turnout o 2004, 60% of eligible Weak political parties Parliament o Few offices o Elected form government o High voter turnout

3. Getting Involved Voting is not the only way Donating Volunteering Working in a campaign Interest group organizations High income/education

4. Why Vote? Imposes burden One vote doesn't affect outcome Civic duty

5. Who Participates? High education vs. low Older more than young Men more than women Overall, whites more than blacks Rates of participation (outside voting) up o Writing a letter o Making a demand o Demonstrating o Activists tend to get message across better

6. The Right To Vote Early: Taxpayer/landowner Jackson: most white males All races: 15th Amendment & Voting Rights Act Women: 19th Amendment 18 year olds: 26th Amendment Direct election of Senators: 17th Amendment

7. Blacks' Suffrage http://www.bing.com/videos/wat ch/video/voting-rights-act- signed/6x5aj92 http://videos.howstuffworks.com /hsw/5962-civil-rights-marching- in-alabama- video.htm?page=20&sort=date

8. Women's Suffrage http://videos.howstuffworks.com/h sw/10330-the-progressive-era- suffrage-video.htm

9. Giving The Vote To 18 Year Olds Debate began WWII, continued through Vietnam Oregon v. Mitchell - Congress can regulate voting age in federal elections 1971

10. Voting Publicly Before 20th century, voted publicly without pre-registering

11. Australian Ballot Printed ballot Distributed by govt Cast in private booth

12. Who Is Eligible? Voting-Age Population (VAP) o From census o Everyone over 18/21 Voting-Eligible Population (VEP) o Excludes prisoners, felons, aliens

13. How Bad Is American Turnout? 53% of voting age population 87% of registered voters Registration is an issue o Burden on citizen o Re-register when move o "Get out the vote" probably ineffective

14. Types of Elections General Election Primary Election o Open (choose one party) o Blanket (mixed) o Closed (your affiliation) o Runoff (some states, if no majority) Presidential Primary o Delegate selection o Delegate selection with advisory presidential preference o Delegate selection with binding preference

15. The Personal Campaign Temporary staff Individual campaigns Reward followers with jobs Media - build personal image Slate doesn't make sense Candidates often don't identify with a party openly Can win a primary without party support o Michele Bachmann

16. Earlier and Earlier... Presidential elections Primaries move earlier Begin campaign 2 years ahead Money, endurance

17. Molding the Message Primaries - get activist supporters mobilized General election - move to the center Positive or negative? Running on a record o How successful? o Economy

18. Getting Airtime Getting on TV is a major goal o Debates o Paid ads (spots) o Interviews or news (visuals)  More credible  Something new  Scheduling

19. Attack Ads http://www.wkrg.com/alabama/arti cle/outrageous-campaign- ads/932564/Sep-17-2010_11-24- am/

20. Tuning Out People often tune out media or see what they want (selective attention) Reinforce existing beliefs May not change beliefs Spots - more information

21. Do Campaigns Work? Decision usually made after primary Campaigns aimed at undecided voters Based on polls Make most difference when: o Low-visibility office o Primaries with many candidates o Ignored by media

22. Voting on Issues Would you vote for or against someone based on their stance on a single issue? Happens most in primaries

23. How To Get Elected President Count on your party Be magnetic, take charge and dignified Campaign against a great economy (incumbent) or terrible (upstart) Retrospective voting

24. Barack Obama's DNC Speech Highlights

25. RNC Highlights

26. What Doesn't Matter So Much? The VP Media Candidate Issues Religion Party affiliation is strong - the brand speaks for the candidate

27. Getting Elected To Congress Districts usually have strong affiliation Redistricting Personal appearances o Incumbent

28. Realignment Big shift in party support based on changing issues Party could dissolve Voters shift support Red vs. Blue States (Counties) Party decay (Split ticket)

29. Party Loyalty Most loyal Democrats: o 1. Black o 2. Jewish o 3. Some Hispanics Most loyal Republicans: o 1. Business/ professionals o 2. Sometimes farmers

30. Group Discussion Group 1: Discuss the American voting system and participation in political parties and voting. Group 2: What is the difference between a primary and an election? How does the system work in the case of a Presidential election? Group 3: Discuss how politicians are elected in America. How well does the system work? What do politicians need to be able to do well? Group 4: What creates party loyalty? What do you see in your own life?