Upload
trula
View
40
Download
0
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
Elections . Essential Questions: Why do we have elections? Is our election system perfect? Or are there reforms to make the process more democratic? . Lesson Objective: To understand the Presidential election process in the United States. Key Terms. Prospective judgment - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Citation preview
Elections
Lesson Objective: To understand the Presidential
election process in the United States Essential Questions:
Why do we have elections?
Is our election system perfect? Or are there reforms to make the process more democratic?
Key Terms• Prospective judgment• Retrospective judgment• Primaries• Caucus • General Election• Electoral College
Elections• Election provide for more responsive
government– Provide for a peaceful transfer of power
• Reason to Vote– Prospective judgment• Voting for the belief in the candidate or party
–Retrospective judgment• Voting against the incumbent party or politician
• Which kind of win gives a politician a mandate?
Types of Elections• Primary Election–Within the party to decide the candidate to
run in the General election– Closed Primaries
• Only party members may vote– Open Primaries
• Anyone may vote; regardless of party affiliation – Blanket Primaries
• May vote in either primary- but not both• What are the benefits and disadvantages
of these different election rules?
• •
Closed Primari
es
• •
Open Primari
es
• •
Blanket Primari
es
Presidential Elections• Actually three sets of 50 state-wide
elections– First two are party primary elections– Voters are electing delegates to the Party’s
nominating convention• Winner-take-all and Proportional (normally need
to meet a minimum threshold) • Primaries vs. Caucuses
– Primaries are seen as more democratic – all you do is vote– Caucus- people must invest hours discussing the issues –
higher quality participation– What are the Pros and Cons of each?
• General Election- Tuesday after the first Monday in November – every 4 years
Primaries
Pros Cons
Caucuses
Pros Cons
The Party Convention • Have become very scripted and have few
surprises– Growing importance and attention of the media
have given national party organization more power than the states
• Delegates are committed and selected through state party conventions –Unrepresentative of general population- Why?
• Media’s role– Convention are primetime television now
• Inter-party debate can look divisive- leads to how scripted it is• Also makes it boring leading to less coverage
Electoral College• Ultimately decides the President– Compromise between popular election and having
Congress elect the President – Senate + Congressional Representation= Electoral
College Votes– Changes with every census – 535 votes- Majority of 270 wins – If no one wins majority- Congress Votes– Popular Vote winner doesn’t always win ex. 2000
election- Gore won popular vote- Bush won election• Before 12th Amendment President and Vice
President were same ballot- ex. 1800 election
Reform• The idea of the electoral college strikes many as
un-democratic • Reform ideas– Throw out Electoral College
• Unlikely because it would require an Amendment – Congressional District
• Votes go to each district and +2 for winning the state • Nebraska and Maine do this• Requires just a change in state laws
– Get rid of actual electors• Solves faithless electors problem
– Its not really a problem– Doesn’t solve any real problems
• What new problems could these reforms create?
Voting Patterns• Party Realignment – Large group of voters changes their political
party• ex. Southern Strategy
–New voters start to come out to vote • ex. Conservative Movement / Moral Majority
– Rare occurrences and take place in short period of time
• Secular Realignment– Gradual changes in party alignment
• Harder to find now with fluidity of electorate – more independents
Low Voter Turnout• U.S. Voter participation is lowest in
Industrialized world – for many reasons• Too Busy • Difficulty of Registration• Difficulty of Absentee Voting • Number of Elections• Voter Attitudes• Weak Political Parties • Is low voter turnout a problem?• How can we improve the process? Should
we improve the process?