Transcript Elections and Voting Behavior (notes)

ELECTIONS,
CAMPAIGNS AND
VOTING BEHAVIOR
GUIDELINES FOR ELECTIONS
The Constitution:
• Election of members of the
House of Representatives
every two years
• Creates/defines the electoral
college
• 17th Amendment (1913)
By Law…
• Congress sets the date for
national elections (Tues.
after the first Mon. in
November every evennumbered year).
• Most electoral guidelines and
rules belong to the individual
states.
HOW AMERICAN
ELECTIONS WORK
Three types of
elections:
• Select party nominees
(primary elections)
• Select officeholders
(general elections)
• Select options on
(specific policies)
Referendum: a direct vote in
which the electorate will accept
or reject a proposal; could be
recall of an elected official or
govt.
Initiative petition: a means by
which a petition signed by a
minimum number of registered
voters can force a public vote
(aka proposition).
THE PRIMARIES
Closed primaries: Only
people who have
registered with the party
can vote for that party’s
candidates; encourages
voter loyalty.
Open primaries: Voters
decide on Election Day Democrat or Republican
candidates – but you must
choose one or the other.
Blanket primaries:
Voters are presented with
a list of candidates from
all parties; most anti-party
of them all.
Where is the first
primary election?
HOW AMERICANS VOTE:
Policy Voting
• Basing your vote choice on issue preferences and
where the candidates stand on policy issues.
• Policy voting may occur if:
• Voters know where they and the candidates stand on issues
and
• see differences between candidates
• Unlikely to occur because:
• Candidates can be ambiguous on the issues (elephonkey)
• Media tend to focus on the “horse race” not issues.
HOW AMERICANS VOTE:
Retrospective Voting
(performance): voting based on
a candidate’s past actions.
• Those who feel
worse off are likely to
vote against
incumbents.
• Bad economies make
politicians very
nervous.
HOW AMERICANS VOTE:
Prospective Voting (ideas):
voting based on what a
candidate will do.
Party Identification
• People still generally vote for
a party they agree with.
• With the rise of candidatecentered politics, parties’
hold on voters declined in
the 1960s and 1970s
(dealignment).
• More Independent voters
and split-ticket voting.
HOW AMERICANS SEE THE
CANDIDATES
Voters want a good visual image but…expect:
integrity, reliability, competence.
Campaigns have three effects on voters:
• Reinforcement, Activation, Conversion.
WHETHER TO VOTE: A CITIZEN’S
FIRST CHOICE
From Government in America, 13th edition.
THE ELECTORAL
COLLEGE
THE LAST BATTLE: THE
ELECTORAL COLLEGE
How it works today:
• Each state has as many votes as it does
Representatives and Senators. TOTAL: 538
• Winner of popular vote typically gets all the Electoral
College votes for that state. Faithless Elector?
• Electors meet in December, votes are reported by the
vice president in January.
• If no candidate gets a majority (270 votes), the House
of Representatives votes for president, with each state
casting one vote.
WINNER TAKE ALL
METHOD:
PROPORTIONAL
VOTE METHOD:
•
•Maine and Nebraska assign
their electors differently, but have
few electoral votes.
•
The presidential candidate
who wins the most votes in
the state wins all of the
state’s electors even if one
candidate only beats the other
by ONE vote.
This method is used in 48
States and the District of
Columbia.
•Legislative seats are given to
parties in proportion to the # of
votes they receive in the election.
Parties choose their electors the summer before November election.
Election Day – People vote for that candidate’s electors.
Electors go to State capital to officially vote for their
presidential candidate on the Monday after the
second Wednesday in December.
Votes are transmitted to Washington, D.C. where the House and the Senate
officially announce them on January 6th at 1:00 p.m.
Technically, the president is not elected until that official announcement.
REFORMING THE ELECTORAL
COLLEGE
Winner-Take-All
Popular Vote (plurality or majority)
Proportional Vote