Campaigns & Elections

Campaigns & Elections Chapter 9

Candidate Nomination • Nomination is naming CANDIDATES for public office. • What must one do to be nominated? • Meet requirements for the office • Assemble a staff • Establish a campaign strategy • Campaign for the party’s nomination

Candidate Nomination • Each public office has specific requirements.

Candidate Nomination • U.S. Senate – must be at least 30 years old and have lived in the state you will represent for at least 9 years. • U.S. House of Representatives – must be at least 25 years old and a resident of the state you’ll represent for at least 7 years.

Candidate Nomination • Incumbent – the current office holder. • Challenger – a person running for an office currently held by someone else.

People who help in a campaign (STAFF) • Unpaid, trusted senior advisors • Citizen volunteers • Consultants – paid professionals

What campaign workers do • Develop a campaign strategy • Choose a campaign theme • Find a finance chairperson to raise & spend money • Get support of local party members • Get supporters to vote

Direct Primary • A direct primary is a preliminary election held to select candidates and/or delegates to party conventions.

Closed Primary • Only people who have officially registered as members of one party may vote in a closed primary for their designated party. • Twenty-six states and D.C. use closed primaries.

Open Primary • No party membership is required to participate. • Voters must choose in which party’s primary they will cast their votes. • Twenty-four states use this method, including TEXAS. • (May allow partisans to “cross-party vote” to influence the outcome of a primary election.)

Blanket Primary • An open primary in which all candidates from all parties are listed. This type of primary has been ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.

General Election • General Election - an election held to fill an elective office. • Typically held on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November.

The Campaign Trail • A campaign shows how a candidate handles the kind of stress he/she may face in office. • Weeks of travel, speech-making, and scrutiny from the media enable voters to see how well the candidate withstands pressure and may bring out the true nature of a candidate’s character.

Congressional Campaigns • Favor incumbents! • From 1960-2000 • An average of 93% of U.S. House incumbents won-re-election. • An average of 82% of U.S. Senate incumbents retained their seats. • Why is this? P. 190

Congressional Campaigns • Coat-tail Effect – a popular presidential candidate may “sweep” other members of his party into Congress on his “coat-tails.” • He attracts voters to the election who will vote for other members of his party.

Congressional Campaigns • 1980 Republicans gained 12 Senate seats when Ronald Reagan was elected president. • 2008 How many seats did Democrats pick up with the election of Barak Obama?

Voting • Split-Ticket Voting – A voter votes for people of different parties for different offices on a ballot. • Straight-Ticket Voting – A voter votes for all the candidates of one party in an election.

Campaigning & the Media • 1896 Election • William Jennings Bryan’s “Whirlwind Campaign” • William McKinley’s “Front Porch Campaign”

Campaigning & the Media • Radio was first used in a presidential campaign in 1924 (Calvin Coolidge). • Radio is still a powerful force for political speech. (Ex. Rush Limbaugh 1988, Michael Berry, etc.)

Campaigning & the Media • Television was first used in a presidential campaign in 1952. • Blessings: candidate can reach millions with his/her message, present his/her plans for the nation, target advertising to specific groups. • Curses: candidate can embarrass himself/herself and look stupid, crass, rude, or unattractive.

Campaigning & the Media • Television has also allowed superficial factors to play a greater role in elections, sometimes exceeding real policy or character issues in elections.

Campaigning & the Media • Example: Kennedy-Nixon debates in 1960.

Campaigning & the Media • Reagan-Mondale Debates 1984 • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoPu1UIBkBc

Campaigning & the Media • Spots – paid advertisements • Free media – coverage of campaign activities on the nightly news

Campaigning & the Media • Internet • Websites • Email updates • Fund-raising • http://www.rickperry.org/ • http://www.billwhitefortexas.com/ • http://www.kathie4guv.com/

'Money bomb': Ron Paul raises $6 million in 24-hour period • By Kenneth P. Vogel, Politico.com

Elections & Voting • Federal Elections • House of Representatives – 2 year term • Senate – 6 year term • At first, Senators were elected by _________________, then the ___________ ______________ was ratified allowing for senators to be directly elected by the people in their states.

Elections & Voting • State Elections – • Some are the same as federal elections in even years. • Others hold elections in odd years. • Texas has its state elections in even years, with state offices being selected in the INTERIM of the presidential election.

Elections & Voting • Many local elections are held in the spring. • City • School Board

Elections & Voting • Polling Place – the place where people vote • Poll workers – the people who staff the elections • Poll Managers (precinct judges) • Clerks • Poll Watchers

Elections & Voting • The Voter – Voting in the United States is a responsibility, a privilege, and a constitutional guarantee.

Elections & Voting • At first, only white male landowners could vote. • Fifteenth amendment extended the vote to all citizens regardless of race. • Nineteenth amendment recognized women’s right to vote. • Twenty-fourth amendment eliminated poll taxes. • Twenty-sixth amendment – extended voting to 18, 19, and 20 year-olds.

Elections & Voting • In recent elections, slightly over half of registered voters exercised their constitutional right to vote. “The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.” -- John F. Kennedy

Elections & Voting • Registration • A voter must • REGISTER to vote – officially enroll for the purpose of voting • Be a U.S. CITIZEN • Be a RESIDENT of the state in which he/she will vote.

Elections & Voting • Motor Voter Law 1993 – allows people to register to vote when they apply for a driver’s license or at other state and lcoal government offices.

Elections & Voting • Geography has increasingly become a divisive factor in politics and elections. • Rural areas tend to vote Republican. • Urban areas tend to vote Democrat. • Most of the U.S. population is concentrated in the cities.

Elections & Voting • Religion often affects a person’s view and therefore their votes. • In 1960 John F. Kennedy was the first Catholic elected president. • Many “feared” that he would be influenced by the Vatican or the Pope in his governance. Those fears proved to be unfounded.

Elections & Voting • Ethnicity also may be targeted by political parties for their votes. • Democrats pursue recent immigrants and African Americans. • Both Republicans & Democrats pursue the Latino vote: • Mexicans & Puerto Ricans tend to vote Democrat. • Cubans tend to vote Republican. • Why do you think this is the case?

Methods of Voting • Voice Votes • Handmade Paper Ballots • Official Paper Ballots listing all candidates and issues. (AKA “secret ballot” or “Australian ballot”) • Mechanical Lever Machines • Punch Cards • Optical Scan • Voting by Mail (Absentee) • Electronic Ballot (currently in use in Texas) • Internet-based voting

Campaign Finance • Elections have become very expensive. • People have been accused of buying their way into office. • People have been accused of influencing elected officials with campaign contributions. • For over 100 years, the U.S. has been working on Campaign Reform that would be fair and eliminate corruption.

Campaign Finance • Hard money – campaign money raised for a specific candidate in a specific elections and spent according to federal election laws. • Soft money – campaign money raised apart from federal regulations and given to local, state, and national PARTY ORGANIZATIONS.

Campaign Finance • Political Action Committees (PACs) – committees formed by interest groups which raise money and make contributions to specific individuals’ campaigns or causes.

Campaign Finance • Presidential Election Campaign Fund – a fund made up of voluntary contributions of taxpayers which is split between candidates in a presidential election campaign. • The candidates must meet certain criteria to receive the funds. (p. 198)

Campaign Finance • Independent Expenditures – expenses by a person or group that communicates to the voters to help elect or defeat a candidate without the candidate’s knowledge or support. • Ex. Texas Right to Life purchasing ads in the Houston Chronicle which point out Bill White’s pro-choice statements and voting history.

Issue Ad • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2CaBR3z85c&feature=player_embedded

Independent Expenditures • Buckley vs. Valeo– declared parts of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974 unconstitutional because it violated the freedom of speech by limiting a candidate’s spending of his/her own money by restricting a campaign’s total expenses by limiting independent expenditures But the Court said limits on donations by individuals and committees were okay. If a candidate voluntarily accepts public financing, he/she is subject to the spending limits, though.

Campaign Finance • Campaign Finance Laws • Affect parties differently and can be unfair • Do not adjust for inflation (from 1974) • Tend to favor incumbents who already have name recognition and staff. They also have FRANKING PRIVILEGES (the use of the Postal Service to communicate with constituents for free). • Now require a candidate’s supporters to organize a committee, appt a treasurer, fill out forms, etc.

Should government bear the expense of political campaigns?

Campaigns & Elections