Chapter 9-10 Voting, Elections and Campaigns

1. Amendments impacting Voting

15th - No Racial Discrimination

17th - Direct election of senators by citizens, not state legislature appointment

19th - no sex/gender discrimination (Female Suffrage)

24th - no poll taxes (used after 15th to discriminate against poor & Minorities

26th - no age discrimination if 18 (Vietnam Era - Old enough to die, old enough to vote

2. Voter Turnout in U.S.! US Election Criticisms…. ! 1. Struggle for voting rights

! women / minority groups not until 1900s

! 2. Among lowest turnouts - 70% max turnout

! 3. 50 election laws in 50 states - confusing?

3. So…who does vote?! 60s-70s% Presidential Years ! 30s%-40s% Non-Presidential Years

! These are called mid-terms as they fall in the middle of a President’s term. All of House up for election…Good reflection of America?

Remember - 3rd Parties may have a difficult time getting on the ballot in many states because of state ballot laws

Voter Turnout for Presidential and Congressional Elections, 1940-2012

Who Votes continued....2 Big Factors: ! Age

! Age Vote %

! 18-24 could dominate, don’t!

! Education ! Ed Vote %

Voting in 2008 Presidential Elections by Age Group and Educational Level

4. Eligibility and Registration

!Eligibility !1. US Citizenship !2. 18 (NE by date of general election) !3. Residency !4. Register by State’s Deadline - varies! !5. Not a felon - varies! In NE 2 yr loss

!Registration Laws ! Reserved Power - No Nat’l Uniformity

!Most states 10-30 days before election !NE - 3rd Friday before election (25 days)

5. Voter Behavior1. Rational Choice - best interest of me!

2. Retrospective Voting - voting based on how an incumbent did Incumbent - someone seeking re-election

3. Prospective Voting - voting based on prediction of how a candidate will perform

4. Party-line Voting - voting based upon party ideology Party Column Ballot - ballots may be constructed to make party voting easier! (See right)

6. Types of Elections

! 1. Primaries/Caucuses: party members choosing party nominee ! Closed primary - party members only ! Open primary - pick a party and vote (rare)

! appeals to independents and moderates ! Caucus-informal meeting to choose nominee

!Parties allocate a # of delegates to each state !Majority of Delegates = Party Nominee!

(© Cengage

Did you know...Parties used to pick candidates. Primaries opened this up!

Candy Bar Election Review!!!

!2. General elections - Nominees for each office square off and other elections on the ballot like:

Initiatives - Bypassing St. Leg.-Voting by citizens on legislation -Why are most initiatives in off-year elections? -What was on the NE ballot this past year?

Coattail Effect - Popular candidates help those “down” on the ticket in their party. Ex. Did CO Pot Initiative ride Obama’s coattails?

7. The Electoral College Revisited

!EC formally elects Pres. ! States have E votes = to members in Congress

- NE = 5 votes (3+2) !Winner-Take-All in 48 states !NE/ME - District Method - Can split!

! Overall State winner gets 2 ! Winner in each district gets 1.

!538 Total Electoral votes !270 to Win - No 270=HOR decides

!3 Criticisms of Electoral College ! 1. Winner-Take-All System

! Exaggerates margin of victory…

! 2. Only Battleground States Matter - States with balance of dems and reps. is most candidate focus

! 3. Can lose majority and win Presidency ! W. Bush - 271, but lost popular vote by 500,000 ! Trump - 306, but lost popular vote by over a million

62.5 million 61.2 million

2012

270towin.com

Homework- Electoral College Review!

8. Money, Media, & Campaigns

!Money is mother’s milk of politics! ! $6B spent 2010-2012! RECORD

!Negative ads - Effective? ! Image - Nixon v. JFK !Negative Ads - LBJ - “Daisy Girl” ! Living Room Candidate!!!

(Photo by Time Life Pictures/National Archives/Time

9. Changing Media

!Easier access to voters- solicit $, social media messages, etc.

!Changing face of campaigns - less volunteers, more professional marketers and pollsters

10. Regulating Campaign $$$

!1. Early 70s - Created Federal Election Commission (FEC)

!Goals of law creating FEC - ! Limit $$ to candidates ! Create disclosure of $$ (opensecrets.org) ! Limited $$ = Hard Money

! Buckley v. Valeo - decision supporting limitations - Blesses Hard Money

Remember - FEDERAL LEVEL

2. BCRA 2002! Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act

! BCRA Goal - KILL SOFT $$$ Loophole ! Limits $$ to parties & candidates

! Around limits….Birth of…..

! Soft $$ - Unlimited $$ to parties, w/ wink-wink expectations $$ would go to local candidates skirting Hard $$ limits

3. Around BCRA - 02 to Today

Super PACs - Outcome of rulings… interest groups, unions, & individuals can raise and give UNLIMITED $$ to these. For now blessed by Citizens United ruling. Biggest Rule - Cannot be aligned with a campaign. Must be independent for unlimited $$

As long as individuals or groups are not tied to campaigns or parties…unlimited $

$ allowed. Why? 1st Am Rights!

2010 Citizen’s United v FEC

Good Review!