1. Unit 5
Ante Up!

2. Voter Qualifications

3. 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?
Suffrage amendments: 15 (males), 19 (females), 24 (poll tax) 26 (18 yr old)

4. Voter Requirements

5. Universal Requirements
Citizenship
Aliens are generally denied the right to vote
Nothing in the Constitution says that they cannot
Any state could allow them to do so if it chose to

6. 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
To prevent bribery of outsiders to sway the election results
To be sure that the citizens have enough time to become familiar with the candidates

7. Age Voting age can be no more than 18 However, it can be less
What else can you legally do when you are 18 years old?

8. Other Requirements Registration
49 states require voters to be registered
North Dakota does not require registration
They repealed the voter registration act in 1951 because they considerd themselbes a one party state & did not see the reason to require people to register

9. Outlawed Requirements
Literacy Test
Grandfather Clause
Poll Tax

10. 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?

11. Voter Turn Out

12. North Carolina

13. People More Likely to Vote Have a: Higher level of income
Higher level of education
35 years or older
Married
Occupation: Business/Professional
White-Collar
Member of Civic Groups
Strong Supporter of a Party
Believes in political process
Easy registration process

14. 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

15. How to get a Candidate Elected

16. Nominating Candidates
Each state decides how candidates can be nominated

17. Nomination Process

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

19. National Convention
Nominate a presidential & vice presidential ticket & platform for the election

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

21. How to get the word out
Endorsement – when people with power support a candidate
Advertising & Image molding
Canvassing – going through neighborhoods asking for votes

22. 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

23. Types of Elections

24. Primary Election Elections held to Nominate candidates
for political office
Used to see which candidate is going to represent a political party.

25. 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

26. 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

27. Non Partisan Elections
Political parties are prohibited from participating
Candidates organize & run without party help

28. 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

29. Types of Voting

30. 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

31. Straight Ticket/Party Voting – voting only for one political party
Split Ticket Voting – voting for different parties for different offices in the same election

32. Types of Ballots

33. Ballot How a voter registers a choice in an election
Paper Ballots – first used in our history

34. 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

35. 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

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

37. 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)

38. ELECTORAL COLLEGE

39. Something to think about…
What is the main purpose of the Electoral College?

40. 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.

41. The Group of Electors is called the Electoral College.
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.

42. 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)

43. 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

44. 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.

47. Political Parties

48. 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.

49. Role of Political Parties
Selecting & Supporting candidates
Serve as a link
Acts as a watchdog
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
Enables the branches & levels of government to communicateThe party not in power is watching the party in power

50. Party Organization

51. What do party members do?
Nominate Candidates
Campaign for Candidates
Raise money, stuff envelopes, poll voters, & drive people to the polls
Make telephone calls

52. 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

53. 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

54. National Level Raise money for Presidential campaigns
Organize the national convention
Create the party’s platform
Senatorial Committee – elect Senators
House Committee – elect Representatives

55. State Level Work on electing state officials
Work within the state to elect candidates to national office

56. Local Level Cities are divided into districts or precincts
Organizes local election efforts
Responsible for all elections

57. 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

58. Political Parties in the United States

59. Political Parties & What they do
Major U.S. parties – Republicans & Democrats

60. Types of Systems

61. Two – Party System
political system dominated by two major political parties

62. 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

63. History of two party system
Minor parties have difficulty getting on the ballot & be heard

64. 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)
Influence of Minor Parties
Bring issues to light
Play a spoiler role in an election
Criticizing the major parties

65. 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
Coalitions must be formed with other parties to gain a majority of votes & get the work of governing done

66. One party system Party & the government are the same thing.
Example: People’s Republic of China

67. Platform
A political party’s statement of its goals & positions on all issues

68. Plank
A single issue on a political party’s platform

69. Republicans vs. Democrats…
What’s the difference anyway?

70. 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

71. 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.

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

74. 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
This should be considered a spectrum in which a candidate can fall in between two categories from left (democrats) to right (republicans)
Majority of Candidates elected to office are considered “Moderate”