chapter 10 and 11 electoral process
TRANSCRIPT
The Electoral Process: Parties, Politics, and Citizen ParticipationChapters 10 and 11
Thinking About The Electoral Process!
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kfJW3rzVsE
Chapter Goals:• Analyze the two-party system and the multi-party system
• Discuss political ideologies across the political world
• Evaluate how political parties originated and understand their significance to history
• Compare and Contrast the primary election and the general election
• Explain the role of the electoral college in the election process
Elections and Voting Process
Two-Party System• Political Party – A group of citizens with identical views on
public issues who work together to put ideas into political actionRole of Political Party• Nominate – To select a candidate to run for political office• Convince Voters to elect a candidate that supports a party’s
ideas.• Raise $• Hold Rallies and Fundraisers• Give Speeches
Republican v. Democrat
Conservative • Republicans
• Political Parties are given an identity that indicates their stance on issues
Liberal• Democrats
• *Note* Both libertarians and Socialists take up room on the political spectrum
Liberal (D)• Limited Military• Pro-Social Welfare• Pro-Abortion• Tax Wealthy• Heavy Government
Involvement• Anti-Death Penalty• Pro-Gun Control
Conservative (R) • Strong Military• Tax Cuts for Business• Pro-Life• Advocate “Smaller”
Government• Pro-Death Penalty• Global Warming = Natural• Pro 2nd Amendment
Power of the Parties
• Today, the United States has a Two-Party System or two main political parties. There is also a Single-Party System (Nazi Germany, or Cuba).• Why could a one-party system cause havoc in a state?
• Multi-Party System found in Europe and often has coalitions, or no majority. The main two political parties we focus on in the United States are Republican (GOP) and Democratic.
Third Parties
• Parties such as the Green Party, Libertarian Party, or Reform Party. Each allows voters to show anger/displeasure with main parties. Brings new ideas the other parties may be Unwilling to discuss.
History:• Third parties seem irrelevant, but can often alter the election
process by taking votes away from candidates. The most powerful third party was the Progressive Party of 1912. • Roosevelt took votes from Taft, leading W.Wilson to victory• 2000 Ralph Nader of GP took votes away from Al Gore
Political Party Organizations
• The main objective of political parties is to get a powerful message across to voters and to carry out actions. Each level has a Committee who hold special meetings called Caucuses.
National Committee:• Elected by a State Convention, voters in a statewide
election, or chosen by the state central committee.• A chairperson is chosen by a party’s Presidential
Candidate or Committee Members. • He/She choses the time date and location for the National
Convention
What is the National Convention?
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfAcyBzyek4
State Committee• Helps National
Committee by raising money and organizing campaigns to help candidates win.
Local Organization• Conducting all local
campaigns • During elections cities,
wards, etc. are divided into Voting Precincts where each has its own Polling place for voting.
Campaigning Is Cheap, Right?
• It is projected that in 2016, the presidential election could cost upwards of $5 Billion. It is very expensive to fund. Voters, labor unions, and organizations can contribute to the political party/candidate. This is private, Hard Money.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj54bi9nl3w
Campaign Spending cont..
• During the Primary Election candidates must agree to accept no more private money. This is Public Money or Hard Money.• BCRA requires every political candidate to report any
donations and the name of the person donating over $100 as of 2002. Also this limited the amount of money given in both primary and general elections to $2400.
• Soft Money – or money used on advertisements by groups is not part of the federal candidates campaign. These groups are called 527’s. They can take an ad out but cannot state directly who you should or shouldn’t vote for.
Becoming a Voter• The Constitution declares who can vote – any 18 year old
or older. This disregards factors such as Religion, Gender, Ethnicity.
• States require you to register name, Social Security Number, DoB, and Address.• Why would they make citizens register this information?
Elections
• Primary – usually held in late spring or early summer to choose the best or favored candidate.
Two Types:• Closed Primary – only those registered with the candidates
political party can vote• Open Primary – vote for candidates in either major party• During a primary, citizens do not vote for a candidate, rather
they vote for Delegates, a person who represents another (elected representative) who in turn pledges to vote for certain candidates
More About Elections
• A democratic candidate needs to win 2025 delegates to win the nomination.
• In essence, republican candidates need 1191 delegates.• Once the primaries are over, there is a National Convention
held during the summer of the election year. Delegates from each state go and nominate one candidate to run for office.
• While there, delegates establish the Platform, or party’s views on vital political issues.
• A Plank is an individual issue that is part of the platform.
Tickets and Ballots
• General Election – Takes place the Tuesday after the first Monday in November
• Presidential election takes place every 4 years• Congressional takes place every 2 years• The Secret Ballot was adopted in 1888 to protect the privacy of
voters.• Today voting machines can be as easy as punch cards, or DRE
(Direct Recording Electronic systems).• Straight Ticket v. Split Ticket – Straight is voting all one party
(didn’t acknowledge offices up for election). Split is voting for candidates of more than one party.
Finalizing the Process
• When we vote for the president, that is part of the Popular vote.• Our vote does not directly elect the president as previously
mentioned.• George W. Bush lost his first election in the popular vote, but won the
Electoral College. • An elector is one of the people chosen from each state and D.C. to
pick the president, based on our votes. All of they together make up the Electoral College.
• The number of electors for each state equals the number of representatives.
• The candidate who wins 270 or the majority of the electoral votes wins the election. If there is no majority winner, the House of Representatives choses the President.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aD-nOYuiLCA