Unit 5

Ante Up!

Voter Qualifications

Whose power is it anyway?

• Where does this power come from?

• Is it a duty, right or responsibility?

• How is this supported by the Constitution? Which Amendments have to do with suffrage?

• How is this regulated by their reserve powers?

Voter Requirements

Universal Requirements

•Citizenship–Aliens are generally denied the

right to vote–Nothing in the Constitution says

that they cannot

Residency Requirements

– You have to be a legal resident in the state the you wish to vote

– Voting Rights Act 1970: Banned any waiting period of more than 30 days for a presidential election

Age–Voting age can be no more than 18

–However, it can be less

Other Requirements

•Registration–49 states require voters to be registered

–North Dakota does not require registration

Outlawed Requirements

•Literacy Test•Grandfather Clause•Poll Tax

Why do people choose not to vote?

• Voter Apathy – lack of interest in politics.

• They do not think their vote (or one vote) makes a difference

• What would happen if everyone believed in this?

Voter Turn Out

North Carolina

People More Likely to Vote Have a:

Higher level of income

Higher level of education

35 years or older

Married

Occupation: Business/ProfessionalWhite-Collar

Member of Civic Groups

Strong Supporter of a Party

Believes in political process

Easy registration process

People Less Likely to Vote Have a:

Lower level of income

Lower level of education

Younger than 35

Not Married

Occupation: Unskilled & blue collar

Isolated individual

Weak or no party affiliation

Voter apathy

Difficult registration process

How to get a Candidate Elected

Nominating Candidates

– Each state decides how candidates can be nominated

Nomination Process

Caucus

• Selects a candidate for presidential office where a closed number of party members vote instead of a direct primary where everyone can vote.

National Convention

• Nominate a presidential & vice presidential ticket & platform for the election

Primary Election

• Qualified voters choose a candidate to represent their party in the General Election.

How to get the word out

• Endorsement – when people with power support a candidate

• Advertising & Image molding• Canvassing – going through

neighborhoods asking for votes

How to pay for the campaign

• Private funding – less than 10% from individuals• Political party contributions• PACs – Political Action Committees – political

fundraising organizations who want to help a candidate

• Public Funding – Taxpayers can contribute money from their tax refund to Presidential Campaign fund which is then divided up between the candidates

Types of Elections

Primary Election

• Elections held to Nominate candidates

for political office

• Used to see which candidate is going to represent a political party.

2 Types of Primary Elections

• Closed Primary – only declared party members may vote

• Open Primary – voters do not have to register, just have to choose which party to vote for before entering booth

General Elections

– Voters cast ballots to PUT A CANDIDATE IN OFFICE

– Candidates of different parties run against each other for election to political office• Held first Tuesday after first Monday in

November

– Popular vote – votes cast by the people– Electoral vote – votes cast for President

as part of the Electoral College

Non Partisan Elections

– Political parties are prohibited from participating

– Candidates organize & run without party help

Special Elections

• Run-off Elections – when there is a “tie” a run off must be held to determine a winner

• Recall – voter can remove a public official from office

Types of Voting

• Absentee voting – voting earlier than the election day

– Those too ill or disabled– Those who will be away from their

county– Those serving in the military

• Straight Ticket/Party Voting – voting only for one political party

• Split Ticket Voting – voting for different parties for different offices in the same election

Types of Ballots

Ballot

• How a voter registers a choice in an election

• Paper Ballots – first used in our history

Australian Ballot

– Four essential features of the Australian Ballot• It is printed at the public expense• It lists the names of ALL candidates in an

election• It is given out ONLY at the polls, one per

qualified voter• It is marked in secret

Party Column Ballots

• Can be called the Indiana ballot• Each party’s candidates are listed in

a column under the party’s name• There tends to be a box on this ballot

to choose to vote for one political party only

Sample Ballots

– Ballots that list all candidates for office to try to assist the voting public to make an informed choice

Bedsheet Ballots

– A typically American ballot because of its length

– Local levels where most often seen because many offices are listed

– Voters can become apathetic because of the length of the ballot

•The term associated with this is Ballot Fatigue (Voter Apathy)

ELECTORAL COLLEGE

Something to think about…

What is the main purpose of the Electoral College?

When you vote for a presidential election, your vote is part of the POPULAR VOTE.

Presidents are not elected by the POPULAR VOTE. Your vote is actually for people called electors.

Electors: One of the people chosen from each state & D.C. who formally select the President & Vice President.

The Group of Electors is called the

Electoral College.

Qualifications

• Each state appoints its electors. A state’s certification of its electors is generally sufficient to establish the qualifications of electors.

• Cannot be:– Senator, Representative or person holding

an office in the U.S. govt– State officials who have engaged in rebellion

against the U.S. or given aid & comfort to its enemies (post-Civil War era)

Here’s the deal

•538 electors in the electoral college

• Each state has a # of electors equal to the total number of Senators & Representatives it has in Congress

• The candidate who receives a majority (270 or more) of the electoral votes

becomes the next president.

• If no candidate receives a majority of votes, the House of Representatives chooses the President from the 3 leading candidates.

•http://www.270towin.com/

Political Parties

What is a Political Party?

• organization of citizens who share similar views on issues

• work together to put their ideas into effect through government action.

Role of Political Parties

• Selecting & Supporting candidates• Serve as a link• Acts as a watchdog

Party Organization

What do party members do?

– Nominate Candidates– Campaign for Candidates– Raise money, stuff envelopes, poll

voters, & drive people to the polls– Make telephone calls

Role of Political Parties

• Selecting & Supporting candidates– Informing the public & activating

supporters through pamphlets, bumper stickers, ads, signs, buttons

– Act as bonding agent • To ensure qualified representatives are

carrying the people’s message to government

Role of Political Parties (cont)

• Serve as a link– Enables the branches & levels of

government to communicate

• Acts as a watchdog– The party not in power is watching the

party in power

National Level

– Raise money for Presidential campaigns

– Organize the national convention

– Create the party’s platform• Senatorial Committee – elect Senators• House Committee – elect Representatives

State Level

– Work on electing state officials

– Work within the state to elect candidates to national office

Local Level

Cities are divided into districts or precincts

– Organizes local election efforts– Responsible for all elections

2011 Political Candidates• Barack Obama• Joe Biden • Tom Hoeflig• JD Ellis• Melin Miller• Harry Bertram• Vergil Goode• Jim Clymer  •  Dr Jill Stein• Cheri Honkala• Mitt Romney• Paul Ryan• Rocky Anderson• Luiz Rodriguez• Gary Johnson• Jim Grey• Tom Stevens • Alden Link• Peta Lyndsay• Yari Osorio

Political Parties in the United States

http://politics1.com/parties.htm

Political Parties & What they do

•Major U.S. parties – Republicans & Democrats

Types of Systems

Two – Party System

political system dominated by two major political parties

History of two party system

• Federalist & Anti-Federalists– Began with the ratifying of the Constitution– Now it is tradition & is unlikely to change– Why:

• Single-member districts• Winner is the one who gains a plurality or largest

number of votes• Republicans & Democrats work in a bipartisan

manner to perpetuate the system

History of two party system

• Minor parties have difficulty getting on the ballot & be heard

Minor Parties in the US– Ideological: Based on a particular set of

beliefs Ex.: Communist Party

– Single-Issue: Major parties often take on their issue as their own

– Economic Protest Parties: Blames the business world & the major parties…

Ex: Populist party, Occupy Wall Street

– Splinter Party: Usually form around a certain personality that failed to win the nomination in a major party (Teddy Roosevelt, George Wallace)

Multi party system

• three or more parties compete for control of the government are common in Europe, Israel, & Japan

• Advantage – gives voters the opportunity of voting

from a variety of choices– Majorities are rare & pluralities usually

indicate winners

One party system

• Party & the government are the same thing.

• Example: People’s Republic of China

Platform

– A political party’s statement of its goals & positions on all issues

Plank

–A single issue on a political party’s platform

Republicans vs. Democrats…

What’s the difference anyway?

Republicans

more socially conservative economically libertarian closer ties to both large corporation & locally

owned businesses than do the Democrats less affiliation with labor unions strong belief in personal responsibility, limited

government, & corporate entrepreneurship generally oppose gay marriage, oppose

abortion, & oppose embryonic stem cell research

Democrats

favors farmers, laborers, labor unions, & religious & ethnic minorities

opposed unregulated business & finance, & favored progressive income taxes

– advocates for welfare spending programs targeted at the poor. Environmentalism

– advocates civil liberties, social freedoms, equal rights, equal opportunity, & a free enterprise system tempered by government intervention (what economists call a mixed-economy)

believes that government should play a role in alleviating poverty & social injustice, even if that means a larger role for government & progressive taxation to pay for social services

support gay marriage, abortion, & stem call research.

Political Spectrum

This is a range of differences in political views between parties.

Political Spectrum in the U.S.

Far left: Radical Left Wing: Liberal & Democrat Left Moderate: Democratic mainstream Centrist: Moderate. Democrat & Republican Right Moderate: Republican Right Wing: Conservative mainstream Far Right: Reactionary