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8Campaigns and Elections Democracy in Action
Elections: The Rules of the Game
Regularly Scheduled Elections Fixed, Staggered, and Sometimes Limited Terms Term Limits Winner Take All The Electoral College
8.1
Regularly Scheduled Elections
Elections held at fixed intervals Party in power cannot change date
Congressional elections held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November of even-numbered year Presidential elections every four years
8.1
Fixed, Staggered, and Sometimes Limited Terms
Fixed Terms of Office U.S. Representative = 2 years U.S. Senator = 6 years President = 4 years
Staggered Terms of Office All House members run every two years Only 1/3 of Senate also run every two years
8.1
Term Limits
President limited to two terms Twenty-Second Amendment
Efforts to limit terms of state legislators State-level limits largely adopted in 1990s
Proposals for federal office limits defeated by Congress and Supreme Court
8.1
Winner Take All 8.1
Plurality of votes wins Majority is not required Favors moderates
Single-member districts Usually only one winner per office In combination with winner-take-all system, virtually guarantees two-party system
Proportional representation
The Electoral College 8.1
Electoral system Number of electors same as number of representatives
and senators Electors vote for candidate who wins state Candidate with majority of electoral votes wins If no majority, House of Reps. chooses
Electoral College influences politics Candidates must win in most populous states 2000 Election – Al Gore
TABLE 8.1: 2004, 2008, and 2012 battleground states
8.1
Counting Votes
Different types of ballots Subject to miscounts
8.2
Counting Votes
Absentee ballots and mail voting Importance of poll workers Determining who can vote
8.2
Running for Congress
The House of Representatives Most House races are not competitive Partisan gerrymandering
8.3
FIGURE 8.1: Safe and competitive House seats, 2000–2010
8.3
Running for Congress
The Senate Better financed than House races Midterm elections
8.3
FIGURE 8.2: Seats gained or lost by the president’s party in midterm elections, 1974–2010
8.3
The House of Representatives
Mounting a primary campaign Fundraising Personal organization Media visibility
Campaigning for the general election More voters than primary Partisanship is more important
Name recognition for incumbents and funding
8.3
The Senate
Higher profile Six-year terms
Higher cost of Senate campaigns Interest groups often commit more money to
competitive races in smaller states
8.3
Figure 8.3: Rising campaign costs in congressional general elections
8.3
The Senate
Incumbency advantage Not as great as U.S. House
8.3
Running for President
Stage 1: The Nomination Stage 2: The National Party Convention Stage 3: The General Election
8.4
Stage 1: The Nomination
Presidential primaries Delegates and superdelegates Various types of primaries “Front loading”
8.4
Stage 1: The Nomination
Caucuses and conventions Delegates selected by party members
Strategies Appeal to partisanship in primaries Appeal to moderates in general elections
8.4
Stage 2: The National Party Convention
The party platform Defines the direction a party wants to take on policy
The vice presidential nominee Choice attracts wide media attention
The value of conventions Nomination by petition
Must meet each state’s ballot access requirements
8.4
Stage 3: The General Election
Presidential debates “Joint appearance” instead of true debate
Television and radio advertising More aggressive in battleground states Target ads to specific audiences
8.4
Stage 3: The General Election
The Outcome State of the economy probably most deciding factor of
who wins
8.4
Money in U.S. Elections
Efforts at Reform Continuing Problems with Campaign
Finance
8.5
Efforts at Reform
The Federal Election Campaign Act Followed by creation of the Federal Election
Commission
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) Soft money Contribution limits and disclosure Independent expenditures
8.5
FIGURE 8.4: Presidential primary cumulative receipts, 2011–2012 (millions of dollars)
8.5
FIGURE 8.5: Super PACs and million dollar donors
8.5
Continuing Problems with Campaign Finance
Costly campaigns only for the wealthy Incumbents have the advantage PAC money goes to incumbents
8.5
TABLE 8.2: Average campaign expenditures of candidates for House of Representatives, 1988–2010 general election
8.5
FIGURE 8.6: How PACs and others allocated campaign contributions to House candidates, 2009–2010
8.5
Continuing Problems with Campaign Finance
Candidates’ personal wealth Growth in individual contributions and
use of the Internet to fund campaigns
8.5
Improving Elections
Reforming Campaign Finance Reforming the Nominating Process Reforming the Electoral College The Importance of Elections
8.6
8.6Reforming Campaign Finance
Regulation of presidential campaign contributions
More aggressive reform than BCRA Reform of the FEC
Reasons for reform Disproportionate influence of the early primary states
8.6Reforming the Nominating Process
FIGURE 8.7: Voter turnout in the 2008 presidential primaries
8.6
Reasons for reform Strong ideological bias of primary voters Difficulty in producing a clear winner Proportional voting Role of superdelegates
8.6Reforming the Nominating Process
Direct popular election of president Most frequently proposed reform Would give every voter equal weight
Opposition to reform Would undermine federalism Encourage unrestrained majority rule Would hurt most competitive states
8.6Reforming the Electoral College
8.6The Importance of Elections
Elections are complex The rules of the game affect how it is played Rules can be changed
Elections are central to democracy Outcome must have legitimacy
Elections have undergone structural and institutional improvements
Participation still most important aspect
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