electoral process
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Electoral Process. Nomination Process. Critical component of Democracy Nomination – first step in process Two ways of nomination Party Affiliation Self Appointment Self-Appointment Oldest forum of Nomination process Often used on local level; rarely on National - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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Electoral Process
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Nomination Process• Critical component of Democracy
• Nomination – first step in process– Two ways of nomination
» Party Affiliation» Self Appointment
• Self-Appointment– Oldest forum of Nomination process– Often used on local level; rarely on National
» Who wants to run – publicly declares a bid for an office
» Usually used by someone who failed to receive party nomination (e.g. Theodore Roosevelt – Bull Moose Party)
» Recent examples – Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ross Perot
• Caucus – like minded people who select candidates for election
– Parties form caucus’s to help promote a candidate– Selective not all participated – (e.g. legislative
caucus’s)» Unrepresentative nature» System died after 1824
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Nomination Process• National Conventions
• Means of making nominations on all levels– Local, state, or national caucus’s are formed– Choose who will run for what office
» Local convention chooses candidates for local office & delegates
» Local delegates – county convention – nominate county elections & county delegates
» County delegates – state convention –nominate for state election – choose state delegates
» State delegates – go to national convention – make pres/vice-pres nominations.
– Theory – rank and file members will always be nominated
– Rank & file advance through the representative levels
• Highly corruptible – money & party boss’s formed caucus’s to get officials elected (locally)
– They receive kick backs for promoting and campaigning a nominee
– System collapse after 1870s
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Nomination Process• Direct Primaries
• Intra-party election – party members get together – choose candidate for election
• Most states use some form of direction primaries
• Two forms of primaries – Open & Closed
• Closed Primary – 24 States• Only declared party members can cast a
vote/nominate– Party membership declared through registration– Voters can only vote on their parties ticket
• Open Primary – 26 States• Party nomination election any qualified voter
can cast a ballot• Voters handed ballots with both parties on
ballot – vote how they want– Three kinds of open-primaries
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Nomination Process• Open Primaries
• Blanket Primaries– Voters all receive the same “blanket” ballot– Voters have choice – vote according to
party; or switch back & forth between parties
• Run-off Primaries – 10 States– Absolute majority needed to win a vote– If a majority is not reached – a runoff is
held» Two top vote-getters face each other
for party nomination» Winner takes all
• Non-partisan Primary– Candidates not identified by party labels
» Judges, sheriffs, some county positions run as non-partisan
– Non-partisan primary winners then allowed to run for election
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Nomination Process• Evaluation of the Primary
• Primaries are intra-party nomination elections– Intended to put nomination power in the party’s
membership – not the party leaders– Gives party members an opportunity to participate in
core politics• Weakness’s
– Closed primaries – declaration of party affiliation before voting
– No voting for more than one candidate– Exclusion of independents from the ballots – penciled
in nominees – Primary campaigns are costly
» Intra-party - trying to capture the vote» Leads to Money problems of American politics –
no money = no office– Intra-party conflicts – wound and divide a party
» It has split parties– Un-informed cliental
» General public doesn’t understand primaries» Low voter turn out» Most notable individuals usually get the
nomination
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Nomination Process• Petition Process
• Nomination by petition– Popular on the local level
» Used usually for minor parties or non-partisan officials
– Collection of signatures to put someone in office…or kick them out.
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Elections• Law to govern elections
• Any year 500,000 people voted into 87,000 different offices of the U.S.
– What makes all this work…laws/regulations– Constitution sets days in which elections will be held
(Presidential)» States determine their own elections
• Elections occur simultaneously– States hold elections same time as other elections –
(Presidential & Gubernatorial)• Several methods of casting a ballot
– Absentee voting – someone votes without going to the polls
» Intended to help serve the ill & geriatric– Automated Voting
» Voting electronically– Poll Place (Precinct Voting) –
» Smallest district in a voting procedure» Helps maintain order – everyone goes to their
own precinct to vote– Mail in ballots (Oregon)
» Modified form of the Absentee ballot – promote more cooperation in voting
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Elections• Election essential – Ballot
• Device by which a voters voice & choice is made
– All ballots in all states are secret» Much of history has been dominated
by paper ballots– 1856 new ballot form – Australian Ballot
» Ballot printed at public expense» Lists the names of all candidates in
elections» Given out only at polls» It is a secret ballot
• Three differing varieties of Australian Ballot
– Office Group Ballot» Nominees are all listed under various
offices they seek– Party Column Ballot
» Encourages straight ticket voting» All nominees are listed under their
parties
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Elections• Bed-sheet Ballots
– Idea is the greatest number of nominees = more democratic process
» County corners, treasurer, assessor, surveyor etc…
– Promotes long voting cessions
• Arguments against Bed-sheets– More offices and nominees = less
informed citizenry– Balloting fatigue– The above positions carry no policy
making power/authority
• Electronic or Automated Voting• Half the U.S. uses automated