1 Civic Education Workshop Day 2: Presidential Elections

2 Structure of Presidential Elections National Law sets days for Federal elections, minimum qualifications, basic voter rights, and regulations for campaign finance of federal elections State Law controls ballot form, access to the ballot, registration, polling times, absentee ballots, division of Electoral Votes The “Rules of the Game” matter!

3 Running for President Getting Nominated Delegates to national conventions select candidates Previously, delegates were selected before primaries and free to support whomever they wanted Now, most delegates are bound to particular candidates based on primaries

4 Presidential Primaries Primaries are a series of state-wide elections Rules governing primaries are set by state and national political parties Timing Allocation of delegates Open or closed primaries Conventions

5 Presidential Primaries (cont.) Early primary success is critical Creates a bandwagon effect Attracts media coverage and contributions “Success” defined by expectations LBJ; Clinton Importance of early primaries has caused pressure to ‘front-load’ Front-loading makes early money and name recognition more important

6 Presidential Primaries (cont.) Primaries differ from general elections because: They often begin with more than 2 viable candidates Primary and general electorates are not the same Party labels cannot serve as information cues

7 The General Election Early Nominees have the advantage The content of the campaigns change because the opponents change The battle is over defining the nature of the choice (“It’s the Economy Stupid”)

8 General Election (cont.) The Electoral College means that presidential elections are really a set of 50 (plus D.C.) simultaneous state-wide elections The Electoral College over-represents small states Candidates compete in “swing” states

9 Elements of the General Election Polls Learn about voters Test messages Negative campaigns Negative messages stick with voters Must be credible Remember, the goal is not to make voters feel good – the goal is to win. The Debates What is said is important What is said about them is also important