Politcal Science- Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Voting and Elections

There are different methods in participating politically:
1. Vote.
2. Talk about politics.
3. Call your public officials.
4. Campaign.
5. Give money.
6. Protest against government decisions.
7. Form an interest group or PAC- Political Action Committee.

Unconventional methods-
1. Protest.
2. Voting- most traditional way.

Over the years, suffrage has expanded. People could vote for the House and Senate- that’s all that the constitution allows.

Over the years, electorate has expanded. There have been many changes:
1. After 1800 they eliminated religious, land and tax qualifications.
2. By 1870 they got rid of race qualifications.
3. When they got rid of all impediments.
4. In the 1920, the nineteenth amendment was added to the constitution giving woman the right to vote.
5. In 1965, the Civil Rights act was passed- ended the Grandfather Clause, literacy test and white primaries.
6. In 1964, the poll taxes were eliminated with the twenty- fourth amendment.
7. In 1961, the twenty- third amendment gave the citizens of Washington DC the right to vote- until now they weren’t considered a state.
8. In 1971, the twenty-sixth amendment was passed lowering the voting age from twenty- one to eighteen.

Increased participation-

During the Progressive Era in the early 1900s, they wanted to get the American people more involved in government so they began:
1. Initiative- you initiate a law.
2. Referendum- you vote on a law.
3. Recall- when you kick someone out of office.

Direct primaries allow citizens to pick candidates. This is the most common form of political participation. This allows you to choose candidates that will service the nation best. The voter turnout has decreased in America. It is higher during a presidential election and issues of importance.

Why is it low?
1. Expanded electorate.
2. Failure of political parties to people.
3. Mistrust of government- people don’t trust the government.
4. Apathy- disinterest.
5. Satisfaction- people are happy with the way things are.
6. Political efficacy- people don’t believe that their vote counts.
7. Mobility- moving leads to a lack of social belonging.
8. Registration process is a pain in the neck. To make it easier, they passed the Motor Voter bill- when you apply for your driver’s license, you sign up to vote.

Who votes? There are factors which influence voting:
1. Education- the more education you have, the more likely you are to vote.
2. Occupation and income- those with white collar jobs are more likely to vote than those with blue collar jobs.
3. Age- older people are more likely to vote.
4. Race- minorities are less likely to vote.
5. Gender- at one time, gender wasn’t an indicator. But now, more women come out to vote.
6. Religion- people linked to religion are more likely to vote.
7. Marital status- if you are married, you are more likely to vote.
8. Union membership- unions encourage members to vote.
9. Community membership- of you are part of a community, you are more likely to vote.
10. Party identification- if you belong to a party, you are more likely to vote.
11. Geography- if you are in a state where the parties are competitive, you are more likely to vote.

Type of elections:
1. Primary elections- when you choose a candidate from your party.
a. Closed primary- when you may vote only for the party you are registered under.
b. Open primary- you may vote for any party. Some states have this.
c. Blanket primary- you can vote for both sides. This exists in the states of Alaska and Washington.
d. Run- off primaries- there is no majority, so you take the two with the highest votes and they have a run- off- they run again.
2. General elections- elections in which voters choose from all of the candidates nominated.
3. Special election- held when there is a need.

When are elections held?

Local, state and federal elections are determined by their own laws. Congress has decided that the presidential elections will take place on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Congressional elections are held every other year and the presidential is every fourth year. On the even year that there is no presidential election, it’s called an off year. On an off year election, if the president is popular, he can help Congressmen get elected- Coattail effect.

Road to presidency:

The minute the president is elected, he starts the ball rolling for his next election:
1. Exploration- whether he has the political and economic clout to win again.
2. Announcement- you make a public announcement in front of the press and announce that you are running for president.
3. Start with the presidential primaries and caucuses. It used to be that presidents were selected through a caucus- state party officials got together and nominated him. Because of corruption, all of the states, aside from Iowa, have gotten rid of their caucuses. Even Iowa lets other people give their input. Primaries allow voter to vote for the candidate they want.
4. Nominating conventions- the summer before the November elections, each party holds a convention. Delegates come up from every state and the party decides how to choose delegates. At the convention, the candidate for president and vice president are chosen. They also write out the party platform at the convention. They also bring unity.
5. Campaigning- you travel to the important states known as swing states and you put a lot of effort in to make sure you get that state. Usually at this point, the candidate for president and vice president try to be more moderate so that they can reach everyone. Since 1960, there have been televised debates where the candidates face off each other.
6. After all of the campaigning is the election. On the first Monday after the first Wednesday in December, electors meet in DC and electors cast votes for president. This election determines which candidate wins the votes for each state.
7. Electoral College- electors go to DC on the first Monday after the first Wednesday in December. The candidate who wins the majority of the electoral votes wins the presidency. He needs to win 270. Electoral vote by the state is winner takes all. If no one wins, it goes to the House of Representatives.

Partisanship in elections- do or don’t people vote along party lines? Parties want to maintain their base.
1. Maintaining elections- people vote along party lines and the party in control remains in control.
2. Deviating election- minority party is able to gain control from other sources. The base stays the same- second and third parties vote for them. Voter loyalties don’t really change.
3. Critical elections- where there’s a real change- party loyalties change because of either a social or political change.
4. Realigning elections- when the minority party forms a greater base of voters.
5. Dealigning elections- when party loyalty becomes unimportant.

In the election of 2000, sides spent over a billion dollars.

Candidates got donations from businessmen up until 1970. Then they set up a campaign finance reform. The Federal Elections Campaign Act limited money you can spend on campaigning and you must say where you got the money from. This allowed tax payers to list donations as tax deductions.

In 1974, after the Watergate scandal, congress established a Federal Election Commission. It helped enforce the Federal Elections Act and it set up public financing. There were amendments to this in 1976 and 1979. The amendment stated that there will be federal funding on the primary and general level. It also restricted contributions from foreigners and from individuals. Furthermore, it restricted the formation of PACs and their contributions. In Buckley vs. Valeo, the Supreme Court said that you can limit individual contributions, you can ask where the money came from and is going to, but you can’t place a limit on a self financed campaign.

Soft money is money that isn’t regulated by the US government. It is supposed to be used for general ideas. In the end, it was really used for specific campaigns. In the election of 2002, 400 million dollars where used as soft money.

The McCain Feingold Act, or Bipartisan Reform Campaign Act stated that you can’t use soft money in federal campaigns. It also limited individual and group contributions.

Another loophole was 527- unregulated political organization- a single issue group. Parties could have many 527s and get money through these.

In 2004, they tried to pass laws regulating 527s, regulating their usage of soft money and making it that the FEC must be able to look at their books.