1. The Nominating Process

2. A Critical First Step In the United States, the election process occurs in two steps: 1. Nomination, in which the field of candidates is narrowed 2. General election, the regularly scheduled election where voters make the final choice of officeholder

3. Nominating and Electing a Candidate

4. Three Ways to Nominate

5. The Direct Primary Nonpartisan Primary Candidates are not identified by party labels Runoff Primary If a required majority is not met, the two people with the most votes run again Closed Primary Only declared party members can vote. Types of Direct PrimariesOpen Primary Any qualified voter can take part. Blanket Primary Qualified voters can vote for any candidate, regardless of party

6. Closed vs. Open Primary  Support Closed Primary 1. Prevents one party from raiding the others primary 2. Helps makes the candidate more responsive to the party 3. It helps makes the voters more responsive  Against Closed Primary 1. Forces voters to make their party preference known to the public 2. Excludes independent voters from the process 3. Jake Fowler smells

7. Primaries Across the United States

8. Petition  Candidates must gather a required number of voters’ signatures to get on the ballot by means of petition.  Minor party and independent candidates are usually required by State law to be nominated by petition.  Petition is often used at the local level to nominate for school posts and municipal offices.