2. ELECTION TIME
“A politician thinks of the next election. A statesman, of the next
generation.”
~James Freeman Clarke
“Each candidate behaved well in the hope of being judged worthy
of election. However, this system was disastrous when the city
had become corrupt. For then it was not the most virtuous but the
most powerful who stood foe election, and the weak, even if
virtuous, were too frightened to run for office.”
~Niccolo Machiavelli
3. NOMINATION PROCESS
The critical first step in the electoral process.
The nomination process narrows the field of possible candidates
for office.
NOMINATION-the naming of those who will seek office
We‟ve seen the nomination process acting as a proponent
factor for the decentralizing of the two major political parties
A very real impact on the electorate‟s right to vote
Limiting the voting stage to TWO choices
1. Republicans
2. Democrats
Those who make it…can have a significant effect in government
4. NOMINATION PROCESS
General Elections-regularly scheduled elections at which voters
make the final selection of officeholders
United States Presidency: every 4 years
2008: Sen. Barack Obama vs. Sen. John McCain
2012: Pres. Barack Obama vs. GOP selection
5. FIVE TYPES OF NOMINATIONS
5 ways in which nominations are made in the United States;
1. Self-Announcement
2. Caucus System
3. Convention System
4. Direct Primary
5. Petition
6. SELF-ANNOUNCEMENT
The oldest form of the nomination process
First used in colonial times
Used at the small town & rural levels
A person who wants to run for office simply announces that fact.
Many of the times used by a candidate who failed to win a regular
party nomination or someone unhappy with the party‟s choice
Example: Ross Perot in 1992
Ran as an Independent and won 19% of the popular vote
1996, ran under the Reform Party
7. THE CAUCUS SYSTEM
A Caucus-a group of like-minded people who meet to select the
candidates they will support in an upcoming election
Caucuses are party meetings by precinct, district, or county,
where registered party members gather to discuss the candidates
and to select delegates to the next round of party conventions.
Caucuses are open to any registered voter in a party, although
experts say the process is dominated by party activists.
Any voter registered with a party can participate in a caucus.
19 states hold caucuses, either for one party or for both
2008: In the Iowa caucus, delegates (represent voters of a state)
chosen at the caucus then attend a county convention, where
delegates are chosen for the state conventions
Effected the close race between Obama and Clinton
8. CAUCUS SYSTEM
Criticism of the caucus system reached its peak in the early
1820s.
Election of 1824: the “corrupt bargain,” accused John Quincy
Adams and Henry Clay of arranging votes
Jacksonian America: Pres. Jackson supporters saw the
caucus method as restrictive, making office mainly open to the
elite and well connected
“Closed door” elections
The caucus system today is open to all members of a party
9. THE CONVENTION
Jacksonians replaced the caucus system with the National
Nominating Convention
The installation of this method of voting gave rise to voter
participation:
1824- 26.9%
1828- 57.6%
1840- 80.2%
All major party
Presidential nominees
have been chosen by
conventions ever since
1832.
10. THE CONVENTION
National Nominating Convention-delegates from the states gathered to
decide on the party‟s presidential nominee
The process seems perfectly suited to representative government
The will of the party‟s membership is passed up through each of its
representative levels:
County Convention State Convention National Convention
By the late 1800s, it became clear that the once hailed convention
system, was under attack by the “political machine”
11. THE DIRECT PRIMARY
By the 1910s, a nee nomination process emerged—The direct
primary election
An intra-party election
14. AMERICAN ELECTIONS
“We always want the best man to win an election. Unfortunately, he
never runs.”
~Will Rogers
“Sooner will a camel pass through the a needle‟s eye than a great
man be „discovered‟ by an election.”
~Adolf Hitler
“Democracy is a form of government that substitutes election by the
incompetent many for appointment by the corrupt few.”
~George Bernard Shaw
15. THE ADMINISTRATION OF ELECTIONS
Democratic government cannot succeed without the use of free,
honest, and accurate elections.
The universal use of elections as a tool for selecting
representatives in modern democracies is in contrast with the
practice in the democratic archetype—ancient Athens.
Elections were considered an oligarchic institution, where most political offices
were filled using allotment (officeholders are chosen by a specified group)
NOW, elections are based off of a “fair electoral system.”
Elect means-to choose or make decision
Greek:
“Vote for Nobody”
16. THE ADMINISTRATION OF ELECTIONS
Elections play a vital role in an active democracy.
Provisions are set-up in the electoral process to help protect the
integrity and law.
We saw these results fulfilled through the several different requirements
needed in order to vote
17. EXTENT OF FEDERAL CONTROL
Elections are held on the State level—not federal.
Congress has the power to fix the “Times, Places, and Manner of holding
Elections”
Congress has required the use of secret ballots and allowed the
use of voting machines in federal elections.
18. WHEN ELECTIONS ARE HELD
Most States hold their elections in correlation with the National
elections (Congress & Presidency)
Absentee Voter‟s Ballot
(2004)
19. EARLY VOTING
Absentee Voting: a provision allowing voting by those unable to
get to their regular polling places on election day.
Usually covers three different groups of people:
1. Those too ill/disabled to make it to the polls
2. Those who expect to be away
3. Those serving in the armed forces
Mail-in ballots
Allowing voters to cast heir ballots over a period of extended time
Over a period of several days
Still incorporated into the mainstream election
20. THE COATTAIL EFFECT
Occurs when a strong candidate running for an office at the top of the
ballot helps attract voters to other candidates on a party‟s ticket.
Many of the times, the party of the victorious president candidate will often win many
seats in Congress as well
Congressmen are voted “in on the coattails” of the president
The theory is prevalent at all levels of government
Often associated with one‟s Party Identification
1980-84: many Republican candidates obtained Senate, House, and
Governorship seats by riding on the coattails of President Reagan.
The proportion of voters choosing House and Presidential candidates of
different parties increased from 13% in 1952 to more than 40%in the
elections of 1972, 1980, and 1988.
Coattail presidencies have become less common in recent years.
Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Barack Obama
21. CASTING THE BALLOT
The device by which a voter registers a choice in an election.
Every State now provides for a secret ballot.
By law, all ballots are cast in such a manner that others cannot know how a person
had voted.
Depending on the type of “voting system”, different ballots can be used.
Ballot reform was in widespread demand during post-Civil War
elections
Political Machines: local party organizations capable of mobilizing or manufacturing
large numbers of votes on behalf of candidates for political office
Progressive Era (1893-1917): Progressivists attacked the long ballot, claiming that
the number of elected offices should be less.
22. THE FLORIDA RECOUNT (2000)
The 2000 election: Bush vs. Gore
Several problems arose with the electoral process at Florida‟s
voting polls
Punch-card ballot misreading
“central time zone” closing polls
Florida State Supreme Court ruling
Florida‟s Electoral Screw-up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHK1-LA8zEU&feature=related
U.S. Supreme Court Case
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CI2U79ykgA
24. THE AUSTRALIAN BALLOT
First devised in Australia in 1856
So successful, that it led to its adoption in other countries and nearly all the
States.
“Basic Ballot” format
4 Essential features:
1. Printed at the public expense
2. List names of all the candidates in the election
3. Handed out AT the polls
4. Secret ballot
2 basic varieties: OFFICE-GROUP & PARTY-COLUMN ballots
25. OFFICE-GROUP BALLOT
Called the Massachusetts ballot (circa. 1888)
Candidates for an office are grouped together under the title of
that office.
States rotate the names so that [alphabetical] first names don‟t
have a psychological advantage
Encourages split-ticket voting
Decentralization of political parties
26. PARTY-COLUMN BALLOT
Often called the Indiana ballot (circa. 1889)
Each party‟s candidate is listed in a column under the party‟s name
Straight-Party Ticket: Often there is a place at the top/beginning of the
column that allows the voter to simply vote for all of one party
27. SAMPLE & “BEDSHEET” BALLOTS
Sample Ballot: mailed to voters as a sample of what election
ballots will look like at the voting polls, prior to the election date.
First used in Oregon (circa. 1907)
“Bedsheet” Ballot: Typical American ballot; frequently listing so
many offices, candidates, and ballot measures/referendums that
even voters have a difficult time marking their decisions correctly.
A lot of criticism has come from these ballots
Referred to as “ballot fatigue”
Drop off in voting that can run as high as 20-30%